Which emperor put ignatius to death

Timeline BC AD Now. Ignatius of Antioch Faced Wild Beasts. Today on Christianity. About Christianity. All rights reserved. Ignatius, now approaching fifty, spent the rest of his life in Rome, directing the work of the organisation from his base at the church of Santa Maria della Strada.

The Pope asked Ignatius to send six of his men to the East. Xavier and Ignatius would never see each other again. The shedding his blood in the witness of holy martyrdom was the culmination of a life lived conformed to Jesus Christ. Ignatius sought to offer himself, in Christ, for the sake of the Church which he loved. His holy martyrdom occurred in the year May nothing entice me till I happily make my way to Jesus Christ!

Fire, cross, struggles with wild beasts, wrenching of bones, mangling of limbs-let them come to me, provided only I make my way to Jesus Christ. I would rather die and come to Jesus Christ than be king over the entire earth. Him I seek who died for us; him I love who rose again because of us. Bishop Ignatius was not afraid of death. He knew that it had been defeated by the Master. He followed the Lord Jesus into his Passion, knowing that he would rise with Him in his Resurrection.

He was dedicated to defending the true teaching handed down by the Apostles so that the brothers and sisters in the early Christian communities, and we who stand on their shoulders, would never be led astray by false teaching.

He urged them to always listen to their Bishops because they were the successors of the Apostles. He died a Martyrs death in Rome, devoured by two lions in one of the cruel demonstrations of Roman excess and animosity toward the true faith. Anticipating this event he wrote these inspired words:. I am writing to all the churches to let it be known that I will gladly die for God if only you do not stand in my way.

I plead with you: show me no untimely kindness. Let me be food for the wild beasts, for they are my way to God. Pray to Christ for me that the animals will be the means of making me a sacrificial victim for God. The letters he sent to these groups before he died reveal many of Christianity's ideals in the early 2d century. Ignatius was concerned that the Christian community remain united and that it preserve the faith handed down by the Apostles. He saw the pastor of the community, the bishop, as the leader of this unity in faith.

Ignatius's letters also reflected the growing influence of Greek philosophical concerns over the inevitability of death. Ignatius was convinced that Christian baptism brought about a new life in Christ and that this life was eternal unless it was frustrated by sin. Because martyrdom was a way to overcome the sins committed since baptism, Ignatius wanted to be martyred in order to enter more quickly into eternal life with Christ.

He said that if the animals in the amphitheater were not hungry he would urge them on.