When we think of the saints in the early Church, we will find that most of them were martyrs, since this was a time of great persecution in the Church. If fact, for a long time in our Church’s history, one had to be a martyr in order to be a saint. St Ignatius of Antioch became a bishop in the middle of the first century. Tradition has it that Ignatius was a good friend of John the Evangelist. Ignatius was very loved by his flock, but he spent a great deal of time defending the faith from a lot attacks and heresies. Under the Roman emperor Trajan, he was condemned to death for failing to denounce his faith. On his journey to Rome, while traveling through Greece and Turkey, he wrote pastoral letters to his faithful to encourage them. Those letters survive today, treasures that speak out to us from the early Church. He is quoted as saying: “It is not that I want merely to be called a Christian, but to actually be one. Yes, if I prove to be one, then I can have the name.” Another quote of his along the same lines says this: “It is right, therefore, that we not just be called Christians, but that we actually be Christians.” St Ignatius of Antioch - pray for us.
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