Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians


The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians is an epistle attributed to Ignatius of Antioch, a second-century bishop of Antioch, and addressed to the church in Ephesus of Asia Minor. It was written during Ignatius' transport from Antioch to his execution in Rome.

Composition

To the Ephesians is one of seven epistles attributed to Ignatius that are generally accepted as authentic. In 5th century, this collection was enlarged by spurious letters.
It is clear that To the Ephesians was written soon before the martyrdom of Ignatius, but it is uncertain when precisely this martyrdom occurred. Tradition places the martyrdom of Ignatius in the reign of Trajan, who was emperor of Rome from 98 to 117 AD. While many scholars accept the traditional dating of Ignatius' martyrdom under Trajan, others have argued for a somewhat later date. Richard Pervo dated Ignatius' death to 135-140 AD, and British classicist Timothy Barnes has argued for a date some time in the 140s AD.

Content

Ignatius advises the Ephesians that they should revere and obey their bishop as if he were Christ himself:
Interestingly, Ignatius seems to refer to some unknown gospel story, which is not mentioned in the canonical gospel texts:
This story of a spectacular celestial light bears some similarities to the nativity story found in the Gospel of Matthew, but Ignatius places it after the death of Jesus, rather than before it.