Letter to the Romans (Ignatius)

E471504

The Letter to the Romans by Ignatius of Antioch is an early 2nd-century Christian epistle written en route to his martyrdom, notable for its reflections on suffering, martyrdom, and obedience to church authority.

Jump to: Statements Referenced by

Statements (51)

Predicate Object
instanceOf early Christian epistle
patristic text
work of Christian literature
approximateDate c. 107 CE
associatedEvent martyrdom of Ignatius of Antioch NERFINISHED
audience Christians in Rome
author Ignatius of Antioch NERFINISHED
canonicalStatus non-canonical in the New Testament
category Apostolic Fathers NERFINISHED
centralTheme desire for union with Christ through death
imitation of Christ NERFINISHED
martyrdom
obedience to church authority
suffering
contextOfComposition journey to martyrdom
dateWritten early 2nd century
emphasizes loyalty to the bishop and presbyters
rejection of worldly honor
spiritual benefit of suffering
unity of the church
genre epistle
historicalSignificance evidence for early Christian martyr ideology
witness to early 2nd-century Roman Christianity
includedIn collections of the Apostolic Fathers
influenced early Christian views of martyrdom
later hagiographical literature
keyRequest that Roman Christians not intervene to save Ignatius from martyrdom
language Greek
manuscriptTradition middle recension of Ignatius’s letters
mentions wild beasts in the arena
partOfCorpus Ignatian epistles NERFINISHED
seven authentic letters of Ignatius
placeOfOrigin en route from Asia Minor to Rome
preservedIn Greek manuscripts
ancient Latin translations
relatedWork Letter to Polycarp (Ignatius) NERFINISHED
Letter to the Ephesians (Ignatius) NERFINISHED
Letter to the Magnesians (Ignatius) NERFINISHED
Letter to the Philadelphians (Ignatius) NERFINISHED
Letter to the Smyrnaeans (Ignatius) NERFINISHED
Letter to the Trallians (Ignatius) NERFINISHED
religiousTradition Christianity
selfDescriptionByAuthor “God’s wheat” to be ground by beasts
statusInScholarship generally regarded as authentic
theologicalEmphasis Christ-centered soteriology
ecclesial obedience
submission to the bishop
value of martyrdom
usedBy patristic scholars
usedIn studies of early church hierarchy
writtenEnRouteTo Rome NERFINISHED

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Letter to Polycarp relatedWork Letter to the Romans (Ignatius)
Letter to the Philadelphians relatedWork Letter to the Romans (Ignatius)