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Cassian my host greets you, and my sister his wife, and their dearest children. May the Lord ever sanctify you with bodily and spiritual health, and may I see you in Christ obtaining the crown.

TO THOSE IN TARSUS.

Ignatius, who is also Theophorus, to the church saved in Christ, worthy of praise and worthy of remembrance and worthy of love, which is in Tarsus, may mercy, peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be multiplied always. From Syria to Rome I am fighting with beasts, not being devoured by irrational beasts (for these, as you know, by God's will spared Daniel), but by human-shaped ones, in whom the savage beast, lurking, stabs and wounds me daily. But I make no account of any of the terrors, nor do I hold my life dear to myself, as loving it more than the Lord. Therefore I am ready for fire, for beasts, for the sword, for the cross, only that I may see Christ my savior and God, who died for me. I therefore, the prisoner of Christ, who am driven over land and sea, exhort you: stand firm in the faith, for “the just shall live by faith;” be unswerving, for “the Lord settles the solitary in a house.”

I have learned that some of the ministers of Satan have wished to trouble you: some, that Jesus was born in appearance, and was crucified in appearance, and died in appearance; others, that he is not the son of the Creator; others, that he himself is the God over all; and others, that he is a mere man; and others, that this flesh is not raised and that one must live and pursue a life of pleasure; for this is the limit of good things for those who will shortly perish. A swarm of so many evils has burst in; but you did not yield to their subjection even for an hour. For you are fellow-citizens and disciples of Paul, who from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum has fulfilled the gospel and who bore the marks of Christ in his flesh. Being mindful of whom, you know for certain that Jesus the Lord was truly born of Mary, being made of a woman, and in truth was crucified. For, he says, “far be it from me to glory, except in the cross of the Lord Jesus.” And in truth he died and rose again. For, he says, “if Christ was to suffer, if he was to be the first from the resurrection of the dead;” and “the death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.” For what need of bonds, if Christ had not died? what need of endurance? what need of scourgings? Why then was Peter crucified, and Paul and James slain by the sword, and John exiled to Patmos, and Stephen stoned by the Lord-slaying Jews? But none of these things was in vain; for in truth the Lord was crucified by the impious. And this one who was born of a woman is the son of God, and the one crucified is the firstborn of all creation and God the Word, and he himself made all things. For the apostle says: “One God the Father, from whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things.” And again: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ,” and: “In him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible;” “and he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

And that he himself is not the God over all, but his son, he says: “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God,” and: “When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.” Therefore, one is he who subjected all things and who is all in all, and another is he to whom they were subjected, who also with all things is subjected. And neither

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ἀσπάζεταί σε Kασσιανὸς ὁ ξένος μου καὶ ἡ ἀδελφή μου ἡ γαμετὴ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ φίλτατα αὐτῶν τέκνα. ἐρρωμένην σε σαρκικὴν καὶ πνευματικὴν ὑγείαν ὁ κύριος ἁγιάσοι ἀεί, καὶ ἴδοιμί σε ἐν Χριστῷ τυγχάνουσαν τοῦ στεφάνου.

ΠΡOΣ TOΥΣ EN TAΡΣΩι.

Ἰγνάτιος, ὁ καὶ Θεοφόρος, τῇ σεσωσμένῃ ἐν Χριστῷ ἐκκλησίᾳ, ἀξιεπαίνῳ καὶ ἀξιομνημονεύτῳ καὶ ἀξιαγαπητῷ, τῇ οὔσῃ ἐν Tαρσῷ, ἔλεος, εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ πληθυνθείη διὰ παντός. Ἀπὸ Συρίας μέχρι Ῥώμης θηριομαχῶ, οὐχ ὑπὸ ἀλόγων θηρίων βιβρωσκόμενος (ταῦτα γάρ, ὡς ἴστε, θεοῦ θελήσαντος ἐφείσαντο τοῦ ∆ανιήλ), ὑπὸ δὲ ἀνθρωπομόρφων, οἷς ὁ ἀνήμερος θὴρ ἐμφωλεύων νύττει με ὁσημέραι καὶ τιτρώσκει. ἀλλ' οὐδενὸς λόγον ποιοῦμαι τῶν δεινῶν, οὐδὲ ἔχω τὴν ψυχὴν τιμίαν ἐμαυτῷ, ὡς ἀγαπῶν αὐτὴν μᾶλλον ἢ τὸν κύριον. διὸ ἕτοιμός εἰμι πρὸς πῦρ, πρὸς θηρία, πρὸς ξίφος, πρὸς σταυρόν, μόνον ἵνα τὸν Χριστὸν ἴδω τὸν σωτῆρά μου καὶ θεόν, τὸν ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ ἀποθανόντα. παρακαλῶ οὖν ὑμᾶς ἐγὼ ὁ δέσμιος Χριστοῦ, ὁ διὰ γῆς καὶ θαλάσσης ἐλαυνόμενος· στήκετε ἐν τῇ πίστει ἑδραῖοι, ὅτι ὁ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται· γίνεσθε ἀκλινεῖς, ὅτι κύριος κατοικίζει μονοτρόπους ἐν οἴκῳ.

Ἔγνων, ὅτι τινὲς τῶν τοῦ Σατανᾶ ὑπηρετῶν ἐβουλήθησαν ὑμᾶς ταράξαι· οἱ μέν, ὅτι Ἰησοῦς δοκήσει ἐγεννήθη καὶ δοκήσει ἐσταυρώθη καὶ δοκήσει ἀπέθανεν· οἱ δέ, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν υἱὸς τοῦ δημιουργοῦ· οἱ δέ, ὅτι αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων θεός· ἄλλοι δέ, ὅτι ψιλὸς ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν· ἕτεροι δέ, ὅτι ἡ σὰρξ αὕτη οὐκ ἐγείρεται καὶ δεῖ τὸν ἀπολαυστικὸν βίον ζῆν καὶ μετιέναι· τοῦτον γὰρ εἶναι πέρας τῶν ἀγαθῶν τοῖς μετ' οὐ πολὺ φθαρησομένοις. τοσούτων κακῶν ἐσμὸς εἰσεκώμασεν· ἀλλ' ὑμεῖς οὐδὲ πρὸς ὥραν εἴξατε τῇ ὑποταγῇ αὐτῶν. Παύλου γάρ ἐστε πολῖται καὶ μαθηταί, τοῦ ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων καὶ κύκλῳ μέχρι τοῦ Ἰλλυρικοῦ πεπληρωκότος τὸ εὐαγγέλιον καὶ τὰ στίγματα τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ περιφέροντος. Oὗ μεμνημένοι πάντως γινώσκετε, ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ὁ κύριος ἀληθῶς ἐγεννήθη ἐκ Mαρίας, γενόμενος ἐκ γυναικός, καὶ ἀληθείᾳ ἐσταυρώθη. ἐμοὶ γάρ, φησί, μὴ γένοιτο καυχᾶσθαι, εἰ μὴ ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ. καὶ ἀληθείᾳ ἀπέθανε καὶ ἀνέστη· εἰ παθητὸς γάρ, φησίν, ὁ Χριστός, εἰ πρῶτος ἐξ ἀναστάσεως νεκρῶν· καὶ ὃ ἀπέθανε, τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ἀπέθανεν ἐφάπαξ· ὃ δὲ ζῇ, τῷ θεῷ ζῇ. ἐπεὶ τίς χρεία δεσμῶν, Χριστοῦ μὴ ἀποθανόντος; τίς χρεία ὑπομονῆς; τίς χρεία μαστίγων; τί δήποτε Πέτρος μὲν ἐσταυροῦτο, Παῦλος δὲ καὶ Ἰάκωβος μαχαίρᾳ ἐτέμνοντο, Ἰωάννης δὲ ἐφυγαδεύετο ἐν Πάτμῳ, Στέφανος δὲ ἐν λίθοις ἀνῃρεῖτο παρὰ τῶν κυριοκτόνων Ἰουδαίων; ἀλλ' οὐδὲν τούτων εἰκῆ· ἀληθείᾳ γὰρ ἐσταυρώθη ὁ κύριος ὑπὸ τῶν δυσσεβῶν. Kαὶ οὗτος ὁ γεννηθεὶς ἐκ γυναικὸς υἱός ἐστι τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ ὁ σταυρωθεὶς πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως καὶ θεὸς λόγος, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐποίησε τὰ πάντα. λέγει γὰρ ὁ ἀπόστολος· Eἷς θεὸς ὁ πατήρ, ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα, καὶ εἷς κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα. καὶ πάλιν· Eἷς γὰρ θεὸς καὶ εἷς μεσίτης θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων, ἄνθρωπος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, καί· Ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκτίσθη τὰ πάντα, τὰ ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς, ὁρατὰ καὶ ἀόρατα· καὶ αὐτός ἐστι πρὸ πάντων, καὶ τὰ πάντα ἐν αὐτῷ συνέστηκεν.

Kαὶ ὅτι οὐκ αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων θεός, ἀλλ' υἱὸς ἐκείνου, λέγει· Ἀναβαίνω πρὸς τὸν πατέρα μου καὶ πατέρα ὑμῶν καὶ θεόν μου καὶ θεὸν ὑμῶν, καί· Ὅτε ὑποταγῇ αὐτῷ τὰ πάντα, τότε καὶ αὐτὸς ὑποταγήσεται τῷ ὑποτάξαντι αὐτῷ τὰ πάντα, ἵνα ᾖ ὁ θεὸς τὰ πάντα ἐν πᾶσιν. οὐκοῦν ἕτερός ἐστιν ὁ ὑποτάξας καὶ ὁ ὢν τὰ πάντα ἐν πᾶσιν, καὶ ἕτερος, ᾧ ὑπετάγη, ὃς καὶ μετὰ πάντων ὑποτάσσεται. Kαὶ οὔτε