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of the name of God, as also the nearest churches have always sent bishops, and others presbyters and deacons. And concerning Philo the deacon, a man from Cilicia of good report, who also now ministers to me in the word along with Gaius and Agathopus, a chosen man, who follows me from Syria, having renounced this life, who also bear witness to you, and I give thanks to God concerning you. because you received them, the Lord will also receive you. But may those who dishonored them be redeemed in the grace of Jesus Christ, who desires not the death of the sinner, but his repentance. The love of the brethren who are in Troas greets you, from where I also write to you by Burrhus, sent together from the Ephesians and Smyrneans for a word of honor; whom the Lord Jesus Christ will reward, in whom they hope in flesh, soul, spirit, faith, love, concord. Farewell in the Lord Jesus Christ, our common hope, in the Holy Spirit.

TO THE SMYRNEANS.

Ignatius, who is also Theophorus, to the church of God the Father Most High and of His beloved Son Jesus Christ, having obtained mercy in every gift, filled with faith and love, lacking in no gift, most worthy of God and bearer of saints, which is in Smyrna of Asia, in a blameless spirit and in the word of God, very many greetings. I glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who through him has thus made you wise; for I have perceived you to be established in an immovable faith, as if nailed to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ both in flesh and in spirit and confirmed in love by the blood of Christ; being fully persuaded as to our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the firstborn of all creation, the God Word, the only-begotten Son, being of the lineage of David according to the flesh. from Mary the virgin, baptized by John. that all righteousness might be fulfilled by him; having lived holily without sin, and under Pontius Pilate and Herod the tetrarch truly nailed for us in the flesh, from which we also are, from his divinely blessed passion, that he might raise an ensign for the ages through the resurrection for his saints and faithful ones, whether among Jews or among Gentiles, in one body of his church. For he suffered all these things for our sakes. And he truly suffered and not in appearance, as he also truly rose again; but not as some of the unbelievers, ashamed of the creation of man and the cross and death itself, say that in appearance and not in truth he took the body from the virgin and seemed to have suffered, forgetting him who said: The Word became flesh, and: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up, and: If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself. Therefore the Word dwelt in the flesh; for wisdom built herself a house. The Word raised up his own temple, destroyed by the Christ-fighting Jews, on the third day. The Word, when his flesh was lifted up according to the bronze serpent in the wilderness, drew all to himself unto eternal salvation.

But I know that he was in the body not only in being born and being crucified, but I also know and believe that he is in the flesh after the resurrection. And when he came to those about Peter, he said to them: Take, handle me and see, that I am not a bodiless demon; for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see me have. and to Thomas he says: Bring your finger into the print of the nails, and bring your hand and put it into my side. And immediately they believed, that he himself was the Christ. Wherefore Thomas also says to him, My Lord and my God. For for this reason they also despised death, for it is a small thing to say, insults and

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ὀνόματος θεοῦ, ὡς καὶ ἀεὶ αἱ ἔγγιστα ἐκκλησίαι ἔπεμψαν ἐπισκόπους, αἱ δὲ πρεσβυτέρους καὶ διακόνους. Περὶ δὲ Φίλωνος τοῦ διακόνου, ἀνδρὸς ἀπὸ Kιλικίας μεμαρτυρημένου, ὃς καὶ νῦν ἐν λόγῳ ὑπηρετεῖ μοι ἅμα Γαΐῳ καὶ Ἀγαθόποδι, ἀνδρὶ ἐκλεκτῷ, ὃς ἀπὸ Συρίας μοι ἀκολουθεῖ, ἀποταξάμενοι τῷ βίῳ, οἳ καὶ μαρτυροῦσιν ὑμῖν, κἀγὼ τῷ θεῷ εὐχαριστῶ περὶ ὑμῶν. ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐδέξασθε αὐτούς, προσδέξεται καὶ ὑμᾶς ὁ κύριος. οἱ δὲ ἀτιμάσαντες αὐτοὺς λυτρωθείησαν ἐν τῇ χάριτι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, τοῦ μὴ βουλομένου τὸν θάνατον τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ, ἀλλὰ τὴν μετάνοιαν. ἀσπάζεται ὑμᾶς ἡ ἀγάπη τῶν ἀδελφῶν τῶν ἐν Tρωάδι, ὅθεν καὶ γράφω ὑμῖν διὰ Bούργου πεμφθέντος ἅμα ἀπὸ Ἐφεσίων καὶ Σμυρναίων εἰς λόγον τιμῆς· οὓς ἀμείψεται ὁ κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, εἰς ὃν ἐλπίζουσιν σαρκί, ψυχῇ, πνεύματι, πίστει, ἀγάπῃ, ὁμονοίᾳ. ἔρρωσθε ἐν κυρίῳ Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ, τῇ κοινῇ ἐλπίδι ἡμῶν, ἐν ἁγίῳ πνεύματι.

ΠΡOΣ ΣMΥΡNAIOΥΣ.

Ἰγνάτιος, ὁ καὶ Θεοφόρος, ἐκκλησίᾳ θεοῦ πατρὸς ὑψίστου καὶ τοῦ ἠγαπημένου υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἠλεημένῃ ἐν παντὶ χαρίσματι, πεπληρωμένῃ ἐν πίστει καὶ ἀγάπῃ, ἀνυστερήτῳ οὔσῃ παντὸς χαρίσματος, θεοπρεπεστάτῃ καὶ ἁγιοφόρῳ, τῇ οὔσῃ ἐν Σμύρνῃ τῆς Ἀσίας, ἐν ἀμώμῳ πνεύματι καὶ λόγῳ θεοῦ πλεῖστα χαίρειν. ∆οξάζω τὸν θεὸν καὶ πατέρα τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, τὸν δι' αὐτοῦ οὕτως ὑμᾶς σοφίσαντα· ἐνόησα γὰρ ὑμᾶς κατηρτισμένους ἐν ἀκινήτῳ πίστει, ὥσπερ καθηλωμένους ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ σαρκί τε καὶ πνεύματι καὶ ἡδρασμένους ἐν ἀγάπῃ ἐν τῷ αἵματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ· πεπληροφορημένους ὡς ἀληθῶς εἰς τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν,τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ υἱόν, τὸν πρωτότοκον πάσης κτίσεως, τὸν θεὸν λόγον, τὸν μονογενῆ υἱόν, ὄντα δὲ ἐκ γένους ∆αυὶδ κατὰ σάρκα. ἐκ Mαρίας τῆς παρθένου, βεβαπτισμένον ὑπὸ Ἰωάννου. ἵνα πληρωθῇ πᾶσα δικαιοσύνη ὑπ' αὐτοῦ· πολιτευσάμενον ὁσίως ἄνευ ἁμαρτίας, καὶ ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου καὶ Ἡρóδου τοῦ τετράρχου καθηλωμένον ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἐν σαρκὶ ἀληθῶς, ἀφ' οὗ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐσμεν, ἀπὸ τοῦ θεομακαρίστου αὐτοῦ πάθους, ἵνα ἄρῃ σύσσημον εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας διὰ τῆς ἀναστάσεως εἰς τοὺς ἁγίους καὶ πιστοὺς αὐτοῦ, εἴτε ἐν Ἰουδαίοις εἴτε ἐν ἔθνεσιν, ἐν ἑνὶ σώματι τῆς ἐκκλησίας αὐτοῦ. Tαῦτα γὰρ πάντα ἔπαθεν δι' ἡμᾶς. καὶ ἀληθῶς ἔπαθεν καὶ οὐ δοκήσει, ὡς καὶ ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη· ἀλλ' οὐχ ὥσπερ τινὲς τῶν ἀπίστων, ἐπαισχυνόμενοι τὴν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου πλάσιν καὶ τὸν σταυρὸν καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν θάνατον, λέγουσιν, ὅτι δοκήσει καὶ οὐκ ἀληθείᾳ ἀνείληφε τὸ ἐκ τῆς παρθένου σῶμα καὶ τὸ δοκεῖν πέπονθεν, ἐπιλαθόμενοι τοῦ εἰπόντος· Ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, καί· Λύσατε τὸν ναὸν τοῦτον, καὶ διὰ τριῶν ἡμερῶν ἐγερῶ αὐτόν, καί· Ἐὰν ὑψωθῶ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, πάντας ἑλκύσω πρὸς ἐμαυτόν. οὐκοῦν ὁ λόγος ἐν σαρκὶ ᾤκησεν· ἡ σοφία γὰρ ἑαυτῇ ᾠκοδόμησεν οἶκον. ὁ λόγος τὸν ἑαυτοῦ ναόν, λυθέντα ὑπὸ τῶν χριστομάχων Ἰουδαίων, ἀνέστησεν τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ. ὁ λόγος, ὑψωθείσης αὐτοῦ τῆς σαρκὸς κατὰ τὸν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ χαλκοῦν ὄφιν, πάντας εἵλκυσεν πρὸς ἑαυτὸν εἰς σωτηρίαν αἰώνιον.

Ἐγὼ δὲ οὐκ ἐν τῷ γεννᾶσθαι καὶ σταυροῦσθαι γινώσκω αὐτὸν ἐν σώματι γεγονέναι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν ἐν σαρκὶ αὐτὸν οἶδα καὶ πιστεύω ὄντα. καὶ ὅτε πρὸς τοὺς περὶ Πέτρον ἦλθεν, ἔφη αὐτοῖς· Λάβετε, ψηλαφήσατέ με καὶ ἴδετε, ὅτι οὔκ εἰμι δαιμόνιον ἀσώματον· πνεῦμα γὰρ σάρκα καὶ ὀστέα οὐκ ἔχει, καθὼς ἐμὲ θεωρεῖτε ἔχοντα. καὶ τῷ Θωμᾷ λέγει· Φέρε τὸν δάκτυλόν σου εἰς τὸν τύπον τῶν ἥλων, καὶ φέρε τὴν χεῖρά σου καὶ βάλε εἰς τὴν πλευράν μου. καὶ εὐθὺς ἐπίστευσαν, ὡς αὐτὸς εἴη ὁ Χριστός. διὸ καὶ Θωμᾶς φησιν αὐτῷ Ὁ κύριός μου καὶ ὁ θεός μου. διὰ γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ θανάτου κατεφρόνησαν, μικρὸν γὰρ εἰπεῖν, ὕβρεων καὶ