First we need to know a little about him. Ignatius was the Bishop of Antioch in Syria. During the reign of the Emperor Trajan, he was arrested and taken to Rome to die a martyr’s death. As he is being carried to Rome, he writes letters to various churches. His seven epistles were written somewhere around the year 110 A.D.
So what did this early second century bishop tell us about church government? To be honest, quite a bit.
One stunning statement that is characteristic of the Ignatian canon is found in his Letter to the Ephesians:
It is manifest, therefore, that we should look upon the bishop even as we would look upon the Lord Himself, standing, as he does, before the Lord. [ANF 1:52, ch. 6]
In the same vein we should note the following statements:
To the Magnesians:
Since therefore I have, in the persons before mentioned, beheld the whole multitude of you in faith and love, I exhort you to study to do all things with a divine harmony, while your bishop presides in the place of God, and your presbyters in the place of the assembly of the apostles, along with your deacons, who are most dear to me, and are entrusted with the ministry of Jesus Christ, who was with the Father before the beginning of time, and in the end was revealed. [ANF 1:61, ch. 6]
To the Smyrnaeans:
See that ye all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as ye would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is [administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful without the bishop either to baptize or to celebrate a love-feast; but whatsoever he shall approve of, that is also pleasing to God, so that everything that is done may be secure and valid. [ANF 1:90, ch. 8]
These statements fly in the face of much of the rhetoric that is used to support congregational government. The level of respect accorded to the various levels of ministry galls some who feel that the ministry is unimportant. But these reflect the feeling of this early period toward the God-ordained church offices. If we are to be the Church they were, can we do any different?
The necessity of the episcopate is spelled out by Ignatius. as follows:
To the Ephesians:
Let no man deceive himself: if any one be not within the altar, he is deprived of the bread of God. For if the prayer of one or two possesses such power, how much more that of the bishop and the whole Church! He, therefore, that does not assemble with the Church, has even by this manifested his pride, and condemned himself. For it is written, “God resisteth the proud.” Let us be careful, then, not to set ourselves in opposition to the bishop, in order that we may be subject to God….Do ye, beloved, be careful to be subject to the bishop, and the presbyters and the deacons. For he that is subject to these is obedient to Christ, who has appointed them; but he that is disobedient to these is disobedient to Christ Jesus. And “he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.” For he that yields not obedience to his superiors is self-confident, quarrelsome, and proud. [ANF 1:51, ch. V].
To the Trallians:
In like manner, let all reverence the deacons as an appointment of Jesus Christ, and the bishop as Jesus Christ, who is the Son of the Father, and the presbyters as the Sanhedrin of God, and assembly of the apostles. Apart from these, there is no Church. Concerning all this, I am persuaded that ye are of the same opinion. [ANF 1:67, ch. 3]
If Ignatius is correct (and I believe he is), then there are a lot of assemblies which are not churches because they have no deacons, presbyters or bishops. While we may disagree with him, we are left with absolutely no doubt as to where this saint stands on the issue of church government. We will be forced take this into account when trying to get back to the Early Church and to doing things the way they did them “way back then.”
