Ignatius of Antioch. A.D. 107

Epistola ad Trallianos, cap. 9.

The following passage is no creed nor part of a creed, but it shows what facts of the gospel history were most prominent in the mind of the famous bishop and martyr Ignatius, of Antioch, and the Church of his age, in opposition to the Gnostic heretics, who resolved the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ into an unreal and delusive show or phantom ( dokesis, hence Docetæ}. A similar passage of greater length occurs in the commencement of his letter to the Christians at Smyrna.

The text is from the shorter Greek recension of the seven Epistles, with the chief interpolations of the longer Greek recension added in brackets. The latter mentions also Christ's lonely descent into Hades ( kathelthen eis haden monos ). In the short Syriac Ignatius there is no Epistle to the Trallians. On the Ignatian controversy and literature, see my Church History, Vol. I. § 119, pp. 463 sqq.

Kophothete oun, hotan humin choris Iesou Christou lale tis

Be deaf, therefore, when any would speak to you apart from (at variance with) Jesus Christ [tou huiou tou Theou] [the Son of God], tou ek genous [genomenou] Dabid who was descended from the family of David, tou ek Marias, born of Mary, hos alethos egennethe who truly was born [ kai ek theou kai ek parthenou ... [both of God and of the Virgin ... alethos anelabe soma; ho Logos truly took a body; for the Word

gar sarx egeneto kai epoliteusato aneu hamartias ...],

became flesh and dwelt among us without sin ...],

ephagen te kai epien [alethos], ate and drank [truly],

alethos ediochthe epi Pontiou Pilatou, truly suffered persecution under Pontius Pilate,

alethos [de, kai ou dokesei] estaurothe kai apethanen ... was truly [and not in appearance] crucified and died ...

hos kai alethos egerthe apo nekron [kai aneste dia trion hemeron],

who was also truly raised from the dead [and rose after three days],

egeirontos auton tou Patros autou ... his Father raising him up ...

[kai tessarakonta hemeras sundiatripsas tois Apostolois, [and after having spent forty days with the Apostles,

anelephthe pros ton Patera; was received up to the Father,

kai ekathisen ek dexion autou, and sits on his right hand,

perimenon heos an tethosin hoi echthroi autou hupo tous podas autou]. waiting till his enemies are put under his feet].