Life of Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer, Bishop of Antioch. Ignatiev day
The national holiday Ignatius Day in 2020 is celebrated on January 2 (according to the old style - December 20). In the Orthodox church calendar, this is the date of honoring the memory of the Hieromartyr Ignatius of Antioch. The people called him the God-bearer. There are two versions of why he was given such a name. According to the first, Ignatius was inextricably linked with the divine spirit that was present in him. According to the second version, when he was still a small child, Jesus Christ took him in his arms.
History of Saint Ignatius
Ignatius lived in the 2nd century. John the Evangelist was his teacher. During the Trojan persecution of Christians, Ignatius was arrested and sent from Antioch to Rome to carry out a terrible execution over him. Along the way, he overcame six cities and left a message for each church community. Upon arrival in Rome, he was thrown to the hungry lions to be torn to pieces.
Traditions and rituals of the holiday
Traditionally, this folk holiday prayers are held in churches aimed at protecting the home. Priests make religious processions with the icon around the houses in order to protect the owners from misfortune and hunger.
On this day in Rus' it was customary to knock down frost from apple trees. It was believed that such a ceremony helped to grow a rich harvest of apples.
Signs and beliefs
- Frost on the trees on Ignatiev Day - to clear weather.
- If there are many stars in the sky at night, then the year will be fruitful.
- The tits began to chirp loudly - the coming nights will be cold.
- If the sun shines brightly and it is frosty, then in August it will pamper people and pour over with heat. If slush or other bad weather has come, then August will be cloudy and rainy.
- Born on January 2 will be attached to home.
History painted February with special calendar colors. Valentine's Day and February 23 are the most notable pagan holidays of this time (pagan does not mean bad, "nasty"; pagan is folk, commercial, state, but nothing more, no higher). The church sign of February is the Meeting, in Russian - Meeting: The Infant Savior on the fortieth day after Christmas is met by Simeon the God-bearer and the prophetess Anna. The incarnate God enters the Old Testament Temple, the Old Testament meets the New. However, to bring all church calendar by the twelfth holidays it will be unbearable impoverishment. Each of the 365 days of the year is dedicated to the memory of some event or holy person. These "everyday" holidays often go unnoticed - what a pity!
In the year 107, the relics of Saint Ignatius the God-bearer were transferred from Rome to Antioch. Until now, for 19 centuries now, the Church remembers this event every year on February 11 (January 29, old style). We know very few saints who lived in such ancient times (the future holy martyr was born in the middle of the first century). But about Ignatius the God-bearer, not only oral evidence has come down to us, but also his own letters, which is an exceptional rarity. For comparison: the Apocalypse of John the Theologian was probably written only ten years earlier.
Saint Ignatius was the bishop of the city of Antioch. In the year 107, during the reign of Emperor Trajan, he was arrested and sent by stage to Rome, where he was martyred in the circus arena - he was torn to pieces. wild animals. On the way to Rome, the Bishop of Antioch, already foreseeing the imminent exodus, wrote several (we know of five) letters to the Churches of Asia Minor, saying goodbye to them and conveying his last instructions. Another letter was addressed to the Romans, and one to Polycarp personally, the then Bishop of Smyrna.
Where are these Asia Minor Churches now? Ephesus, Smyrna, Thyatira, Laodicea, Magnesia… The apostle Paul also wrote to them (whose sermon in Antioch must have been heard by Ignatius the God-bearer, who was not yet a bishop), John the Theologian addressed them (remember, “write to the angel of the Laodicean church” ?). These Christian communities were located on the territory of modern Turkey. Only ruins remained of Ephesus, now there is a museum; Smyrna is called Izmir - it is a large modern city; but the surroundings of ancient Laodicea still attract masses of people to this day - thousands of tourists come here every day to admire the snow-white rocks of Pamuk-Kale. There are practically no Christians in Turkish settlements, and local residents do not even really understand what makes their cities remarkable. But in those distant times there were the largest communities of the new religion (not even 80 years have passed since the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ). It was to them that Bishop Ignatius, who was in chains, wrote, as about 40 years earlier - the Apostle Paul imprisoned.
The Epistles of Ignatius the God-bearer are real gems of early Christian writing. Their style is simple - no lofty rhetoric, no philosophical frills. Experts say that even from the point of view of the Greek language, the works of Ignatius are not completely flawless - after all, the bishop was a Syrian and hardly received a thorough education. But this is not the point at all: the instructions of the holy martyr are all the most valuable that the saint passed on to his brothers, having reached the highest spiritual life. Martyrdom for Christ was the stage at which all previous life experience seemed imperfect to him. “Now I am just beginning to study,” writes Ignatius, who for a long time headed the largest Christian community of that time.
The Church did not yet have a developed system of canon law and complex hierarchical subordination, but the Archpastor of Antioch found words that express the very essence of canons that have not yet been published: “Therefore, it is necessary to do nothing without a bishop. Obey also the presbytery as the apostles of Jesus Christ - your hope, in which God grant us to live. And the deacons, the ministers of the sacraments of Jesus Christ, should be pleasing in every possible way, for they are not ministers of food and drink, but servants of the Church of God, and therefore they should be protected from reproaches as from fire.
In some places, turmoil and strife began among the faithful, the saint points to the root of the division - the violation of liturgical unity: “So, try to have one Eucharist. For there is one Flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup in the unity of His Blood, one altar, as well as one bishop…”; “Do not think that anything commendable will come of you if you do it on your own; but in the general assembly, may you have one prayer, one forgiveness, one mind, one hope in love and in undefiled joy. There is only one Jesus Christ, and there is nothing better than Him. Therefore, all of you make up, as it were, one temple of God, as it were one altar, as one Jesus Christ, Who came from the One Father and abides in the One, and went to Him alone.”
With special force he denounces heretic docets, who said that the sufferings of the Savior were only apparent, it was only an appearance, because God cannot suffer ... “He endured all this for us, that we might be saved; and suffered truly and raised himself, and not, as some unbelievers say, that he suffered illusoryly. They themselves are a ghost, and as they think, so it will happen to them - incorporeal, like evil spirits. For I know and believe that even after His resurrection He was and is in the flesh. And when he came to those who were with Peter, he said to them, "Take me, touch me, and see that I am not a spirit without a body." They immediately touched Him and believed, being convinced of His flesh and Spirit. Therefore, they despised death, and appeared higher than death ... If our Lord did this illusory, then I also wear bonds only illusory. And why did I give myself over to death, to the fire, to the sword, to be torn to pieces by wild beasts?
Ignatius writes boldly and clearly about lofty dogmas, boldly instructs those who have gone astray, boldly indicates how to act. This is the courage that is born from fiery faith, from clear vision - not by touch, not in the dark, but directly, towards the goal. The goal is the same: “Neither the visible nor the invisible, nothing will keep me from coming to Jesus Christ. Fire and the cross, crowds of beasts, dissections, dismemberments, crushing of bones, cutting off of limbs, crushing of the whole body, the fierce torments of the devil will come upon me - if only I could reach Christ.
Unaccustomed and unexpected for the modern "uncertain" Christian is downright thirst for suffering, martyrdom. Ignatius admonishes the Roman Christians in every possible way not to intercede for him before the authorities, not to deprive him of the opportunity to suffer with Christ. “I beg you: do not show me untimely love. Leave me to be the food of the beasts and through them to reach God. I am the wheat of God: let the teeth of the beasts grind me, that I may become the pure bread of Christ. It is better to caress these animals so that they become my coffin and leave nothing of my body, so that after death I will not be a burden to anyone.
Undoubtedly, there were many glorious and instructive things in the life of the holy bishop, even before farewell letters. But for us, his image remains in this single scene: the bishop says goodbye to his flock, to his children - and then, under the escort of ten soldiers, enduring ridicule and mockery, on his last journey. To Rome, step by step.
Why is Saint Ignatius called the God-bearer? For many interpreters - both ancient and new - this remained not entirely clear. They explained it differently. Someone said that Ignatius was brought to Christ as a child, and the Savior took him in his arms. Others claimed that when the body of the martyr was cut with a sword, they saw that in his heart was written in golden letters "Jesus Christ". The literalism of this tradition probably reflects the idea of the imprinting of the name of Christ in the soul and life of faithful Christians. Ignatius himself calls the God-bearers the faithful Christians who "have Jesus Christ in themselves." “Your faith draws you to the heights, and love serves as a path leading to God,” he writes to the Ephesians. “Because you are all companions to each other. God-bearers and Temple-bearers, holy-bearers, adorned in everything with the commandments of Jesus Christ. That is why I rejoice that I was honored to converse with you in writing and share my joy with you, that you, as is typical of another life, love nothing but God alone. Let us also rejoice, having today the wonderful opportunity to read the authentic letters of the great archpastor of antiquity, whether in a book or on the Internet, meditating on his words and drawing from them the purest teaching about eternal life.
Saint Ignatius was that gospel youth whom the Lord took in his arms. He is called a God-bearer because, loving the Lord deeply, he seemed to carry Him in his heart. He was a disciple of the Apostle John. Managed the Antioch Church for 40 years. By direct order of Trajan, he was martyred in Rome. On the way to Rome, he wrote seven well-known epistles.
They pray to St. Ignatius the God-bearer for the strengthening of their own faith, and especially for children, the gift of spiritual wisdom, help in studying at the seminary, and the admonition of those who have fallen into sects and those of little faith.
Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer Bishop of Antioch
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Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer was born in Syria in the first century and was a disciple of the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian. According to legend, it was Ignatius who was the child whom the Savior embraced and said: “Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” He was called the God-bearer because Ignatius prayed unceasingly to the Lord and seemed to bear his name in his heart. Soon Ignatius was elected Bishop of Antioch. In the year 106, the emperor Trajan was passing through there. At this time, on the occasion of his victory over the Scythians, solemn sacrifices to the gods were arranged everywhere. Christians who refused to participate were executed. Then Bishop Ignatius himself went to Trajan to ward off persecution from fellow believers. The emperor ordered that Ignatius be sent to Rome and thrown to the beasts in the Colosseum. On the way, Ignatius found the news that the persecution of Christians in his native Antioch had been stopped. Even in the arena of the Colosseum, Saint Ignatius did not stop giving thanks to the Lord. This time - for the opportunity to soon connect with him. Hearing about the courage of the saint, Trajan stopped the persecution of Christians.
Troparion to Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer, tone 4
And being a partaker in character, and having been the vicar of the throne, having become an apostle, you gained deed, God-inspired, in visions of the sunrise, for this sake correcting the word of truth, and for the sake of faith you suffered even to the blood, Hieromartyr Ignatius. Pray to Christ God that our souls be saved.
Kontakion to Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer, Tone 3
Your light-bearing day predicts your bright feat to everyone in the den of the Born: For this, thirsting for pleasure from love, you ate from the animals to be eaten, for this sake, the God-bearer was called you, Ignatius all-wise.
Prayer
O great hierarch God-bearing Ignatius! We fall down to you and pray to you: look at us, sinners, resorting to your intercession! Ask the Lord to forgive us all our sins. You martyred your soul for the faith, grant us the courage to imitate you in everything. Nothing in life could separate you from the love of the Lord: neither flattering promises, nor rebukes, nor threats, below the very torment, you joyfully appeared before the beasts to a fierce death and, like an angel, flew up to the abode of our Heavenly Father, and prayer yours can do much before the Lord. Be, holy saint, an intercessor of the Lord, ask us for a prosperous and peaceful life, health, and salvation, and well-being in everything, victory and overcoming the enemies, may He, the Merciful, overshadow His grace and protect us on all holy paths By their Angels. Help us with your holy prayers to Almighty God, may He save us from hunger, cowardice, hail, lack of rain and deadly diseases. Be our quick helper in all sorrow, especially at the hour of our death, appear to us as a bright protector and intercessor and beg the Lord to be honored by all of us, now praying warmly to you, to receive after a Christian death Heavenly Kingdom where all the saints, together with you, eternally glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
folk calendar
January 2 - Ignatiev Day
On this day, special attention was paid to the home, in which a person grew up and was blessed for adulthood.
On January 2, prayers were served to Ignatius the God-bearer for the house to be kept from all sorts of troubles, and for greater fidelity to the house, one should bow low and, in order to completely protect all the houses in the village, it was bypassed by a procession with an icon.
Birthdays on this day: Daniel, Ivan, Ignatius
Holy Ig-na-ty Bo-go-no-sets has a special meaning for us, because he was close to the apo-sto-la -mi, directly from them, I heard the Christian teaching and was a witness of races-pro-country-non-niya and development of trans -vy hri-sti-an-sky communities. In his seven letters, he for-ne-chat-lal for us the apostolic era.
Saint Ig-na-ty was born in Syria in the last years of his life Spa-si-te-la. His life-do-not-describe-sa-nie says that he was that ot-ro-com, whom the Lord took in his hands and said: “Es -whether not about-ra-ti-tes and not bu-de-te like de-ti, do not enter de-te into the Kingdom of Heaven ”(). He is called God-nosed because, loving the Lord strongly, he seemed to be holding Him in his heart. He was a teacher of the apo-sto-la and evan-ge-li-hundred John-on God-word-va. From the message of St. Ig-na-tia to humble-nya-we see that he was especially-ben-but close to the Apostle Peter and co-pro - the leader-gave him in some of his apostolic travels. Neza-long before the destruction of Ieru-sa-li-ma in the year 72, Evod, one of the se-mi-de-sya-ti students of Hri, died -hundred-outs, and Ig-na-ty became his pre-em-no-one at the An-tio-khii-sky ka-fed-re (in the hundred of Syria).
St. Ig-na-ty ruled the An-tio-khii church-view for 40 years (67-107). In a special view, he was able to see the heavenly divine service and hear the Angelic singing. According to the model of the An-gel-sko-th world, he introduced an-ti-background-singing on the god-servant, in some rum two ho- ra che-re-du-yut-sya and, as it were, re-re-kli-ka-yut-sya. This song from Syria is quickly dis-pro-country-elk in the early Church.
In the year 107, during the time of the ho-da against the ar-myan im-pe-ra-tor, Tra-yan passed through An-tio-khiya. Do-lo-zhi-whether it is that St. Ig-na-ty is-ve-du-et of Christ, teaches to despise wealth, keep the thread of virgins and not to bring sacrifice to the Roman gods. Im-pe-ra-tor called the saint-te-la and tre-bo-val so that he would stop his preaching about Christ. Old man from-ka-hall-sya. Then, in the eyes, they sent him to Rome, where on the te-hu on-ro-yes he was given to the ras-ter-for-ni-beasts in Co-li-zee . On the way to Rome, he wrote seven letters, some of which have been preserved to this day. In his prayers, Saint Ig-na-ty asks hri-sti-an not to try to save him from death: “I beg you, not an eye -y-wai-te me nebla-govre-men-noy love-vi. Leave me to be the food of the animals, so that through them I can reach God. I am the wheat of God. Let the teeth of the animals out of me, let me become the clean bread of Christ. Hearing about the courage of the holy-ti-te-la, Tra-yan stopped the go-not-nia on hri-sti-an. His relics would be ne-re-not-se-ny in An-tio-chia, and subsequently returned to Rome and, after all, in the church in the name of the sacred-but-mu-che-no-ka.
In his message to Efe-sya-us, the holy Ig-na-ty wrote-sal: “Keep-ni-those faith and love and de-la-ka-zy -wai-te se-bya hri-sti-a-na-mi. Faith and love are na-cha-lo and the end of life. Ve-ra - na-cha-lo, and love - end, both in union are the de-lo of God. Everything else from-but-sya-sche-e-sya to dob-ro-de-te-whether from them pro-is-ho-dit. No one who uses the ve-du-ing faith does not sin, and no one who has reaped does not hate.
An imitator of the apostolic morals / and their throne with the heir, / fertilizer of the bishops / and glory to the martyrs, inspired by God, / on fire, and the sword, and beasts, you dared for the sake of faith / and, correcting the word of truth, you suffered to the blood, / Hieromartyr Ignatius, / pray Christ God // be saved for our souls.
“Listen to the bishop, so that God will also listen to you ... Let baptism remain with you like a shield; faith is like a helmet; love is like a spear; patience is like a complete weapon.
Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer.
Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer
Life of a saint
Ignatius the God-bearer (Greek Ιγνάτιος ο Θεοφόρος, Ignatius of Antioch, Greek Ιγνάτιος Αντιοχείας; December 20, 107, Rome) - apostolic, hieromartyr of the Ancient Church, third bishop of Antioch after the apostle Peter and Evod, a disciple of John the Theologian; in the See of Antioch, presumably from the year 68.
He was probably born in Antioch. Jerome of Stridon calls Ignatius the God-bearer a disciple of John the Theologian. Information about Ignatius is contained in the Church History of Eusebius of Caesarea (IV). According to Eusebius, Ignatius was exiled to Rome, where he suffered for Christ on December 20, 107, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Trajan (98 - 117), being thrown to the lions in the arena.
Hieromartyr Ignatius with Lions
Why was the saint called the God-bearer
The nickname, according to one version of the legend, was received from the fact that Jesus took Ignatius the child in his arms, as the Gospel of Matthew tells (18:2-5); according to another, it means "the bearer of the Divine spirit."
Known as the alleged author of the seven extant epistles that he wrote during his journey in custody to Rome. Five of them were sent to the Christian communities of Ephesus, Magnesia, Trallia, Philadelphia and Smyrna, who sent their representatives to greet the confessor who was passing through their territory and receive his blessing. One of the epistles is addressed to Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, and the seventh to the Christian community in Rome.
We know little about the life and work of Ignatius. Ignatius was the first major Christian writer of non-Jewish origin and from a non-Jewish milieu. It is assumed that he was a Syrian - on the grounds that the Greek language of his epistles is imperfect. Based on the content of the epistles, we can consider him the first post-apostolic author not rooted in the Old Testament tradition. Eusebius of Caesarea reports that Ignatius was the second Bishop of Antioch after the Apostle Peter and the successor of Euodius; Theodoret claims that he was the successor of the Apostle Peter himself. Some authors suggest that Euvodius and Ignatius were both bishops in Antioch: Euodius was appointed for the Jews, and Ignatius for the Gentile Christians. St. John Chrysostom calls Ignatius "a model of virtues, who showed in his face all the virtues of a bishop."
Martyrdom
Martyrdom (protocols of interrogation and sentence) of St. Ignatius - of late origin (IV and V centuries). They were published by Ruinart in 1689 (Martirium Colbertinum) and by Dressel in 1857 (Martirium Vaticanum). They report the date of death of Ignatius - December 20 (the year is not specified). On this day (according to the Julian calendar) his memory is celebrated in the Eastern Church; Since 1969, the Western Church has been commemorating his martyrdom on October 17, according to the instructions of the Eastern martyrology (4th century) in its Syriac version.
Transfer of the relics of Hieromartyr Ignatius
Also, on January 29 (according to the Julian calendar), the transfer of his relics is celebrated: the relics of Ignatius were transferred from Rome to Antioch in 107 or 108. At first, the relics were in the forefront, and in 438 they were transferred to Antioch itself. After the capture of Antioch by the Persians, they were brought to Rome in 540 or 637 to the church of St. Clement. his bones were kept in Rome. In 108 they were transferred to the outskirts of the city of Antioch. The second transfer - to the city of Antioch itself - took place in 438. After the capture of the city of Antioch by the Persians, the relics of the Hieromartyr were returned to Rome and placed in the church in honor of the Holy Hieromartyr Pope Clement in 540 (according to other sources, in 637). Hieromartyr Ignatius introduced antiphonal chanting into church services. He left seven archpastoral epistles, in which he instructed in faith, love and good deeds, urged to preserve the unity of faith and beware of heretics, bequeathed to obey the bishops and honor them, "looking at the bishop as at Christ Himself."
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