Ignatius to Polycarp
Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer of Antioch · c. 107 AD
Apostolic Fathers, tr. J. B. Lightfoot, Joseph Barber Lightfoot (1828–1889), based on his three-volume critical edition (1885–1890); collected by CCEL.
Disciple of the Apostle John and bishop of Antioch; wrote seven epistles while being escorted to martyrdom in Rome; the first explicit witness to the threefold ministry of bishop, presbyters, and deacons and to the Eucharistic theology of the early Church.