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 IGNATIUS

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IGNATIUS

Ignatian letters. Each particular recension has had its apologists and its opponents. Each has been fa- voured to the exclusion of all the others, and all, in turn, have been collectively rejected, especially by the coreligionists of Calvin. The reformer himself, in language as violent as it is uncritical (Institutes, 1-3), repudiates in globo the letters which so completely discredit his own peculiar views on ecclesiastical gov- ernment. The convincing evidence which the letters bear to the Divine origin of Catholic doctrine is not conducive to predisposing non- Catholic critics in their favour, in fact, it has added not a little to the heat of the controversy. In general. Catholic and Anglican scholars are ranged on the side of the letters written to the Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallians, Ro- mans, Philadelphians, SmjTniots, and to Polycarp; whilst Presbyterians, as a rule, and perhaps a priori, repudiate everything claiming Ignatian authorship.

The two letters to the Apostle St. John and the one to the Blessed Virgin, which exist only in Latin, are unanimously admitted to be spurious. The great body of critics who acknowleflge the authenticity of the Ignatian letters restrict their approval to those mentioned by Eusebius and St. Jerome. The sLx others are not defended by any of the early Fathers. The majority of those who acknowledge the Ignatian authorsliip of the seven letters do so conditionally, rejecting what thej' consider the obvious interpola- tions in these letters. In 1623, whilst the contro- versy was at its height, Vedelius gave expression to this latter opinion by publishing at Geneva an edition of the Ignatian letters in which the seven genuine letters are set apart from the five spurious. In the genuine letters he indicated what was regarded as interpolations. The reformer Dallfcus, at Geneva, in 1666, published a work entitled "De scriptis qus sub Dionysii Areop. et Ignatii Antioch. nominibus circumferuntur", in which (lib. II) he called into question the authenticity of all seven letters. To this the Anglican Pearson replietl spiritedly in a work called "V'indicice epistolarum S. Ignatii", published at Cambridge, 1672. So convincing were the arguments adduced in this scholarly work that for two lumdred years the controversy remained closed in favour of the genuineness of the seven letters. The discussion was reopened by Cureton's discovery (1S43) of the abridged Syriac version, containing the letters of Ignatius to the Ephesians, Romans, and to Polycarp. In a work entitled "Vindicia; Ignatianoe" (London, 1M46), he defended the position that only the letters contained in liis abridged Syriac recension, and in the form therein contained, were genuine, and that all others were interpolated or forged outright. This position was vigorously combated l)y several British and German critics, including the Catholics Denzinger and Hefele, who successfully defended the genuine- ness of the entire seven epistles. It is now generally admitted that Cureton's Syriac version is only an abbreviation of the original.

Whilst it can hardly be said that there is at pres- ent any unanimous agreement on the subject, the best modern criticism favours the authenticity of the seven letters mentioned by Eusebius. Even such eminent non-Catholic critics as Zahn, Lightfoot, and Ilarnack hold this view. Perhaps the best evidence of their authenticity is to be found in the letter of Polycarp to the Philipi)ians, which mentions each of them by name. As an intimate friend of Ignatius, Polycarp, writing shortlj' after the martyr's death, bears con- temporaneous witness to the authenticity of these letters, unless, indeed, that of Polycarp itself lie re- garded as interpolated or forged. When, further- more, we take into consideration the pas.sage of Ire- n^us (.Vdv. Ha>r., V, xxviii, 1) found in the original Cireek in Eusebius (Hist. eccl.. Ill, xxxvi) in which he refers to the letter to the Romans (iv, I) in the follow- ing words: "Just as one of our brethren said, con-

demned to the wild beasts in martyrdom for his faith", the evidence of authenticity becomes compelling. The romance of Lucian of Samosata, "De morte pere- grini", written in 167, bears incontestable evidence that the writer was not only familiar with the Igna- tian letters, but even made use of them. Harnack, who was not always so minded, describes these proofs as "testimony as strong to the genuineness of the epistles as any that can be conceived of" (Expositor, ser. 3. Ill, p. 11).

Contents of the Letters. — It is scarcely possible to exaggerate the importance of the testimony which the Ignatian letters offer to the dogmatic character of Apostohc Christianity. The martyred Bishop of An- tioch constitutes a most important link between the Apostles and the Fathers of the early Church- Re- ceiving from the Apostles themselves, whose auditor he was, not only the substance of revelation, but also their own inspired interpretation of it ; dwelling, as it were, at the very fountain-head of Gospel truth, his testimony must necessarily carry with it the greatest weight and demand the most serious consideration. Cardinal Newman did not exaggerate the matter when he said ("The Theology of the Seven Epistles of St. Ignatius", in "Historical Sketches", I, London, 1890) that "the whole system of Catholic doctrine may be discovered, at least in outline, not to say in parts filled up, in the course of his seven epistles". Among the many Catholic doctrines to be found in the letters are the following: the Church was Divinely established as a visible society, the salvation of souls is its end, and those who separate themselves from it cut them- selves off from God (Philad., c. iii) ; the hierarchy of the Church was instituted by Christ (Introd. to Philad.; Ephes., c. vi) ; the threefold character of the hierarchy (Magn., c. vi); the order of the episcopacy superior by Divine authority to that of the priesthood (Magn., c. vi, c. xiii; Smyrn., c. viii; Trail., e. iii); the unity of the Church (Trail., c. vi; Philad., c. iii; Magn., c. xiii); the holiness of the Church (Smyrn., Ephes., Magn., Trail., and Rom.); the catholicity of the Church (Smyrn., c. viii) : the infallibihty of the Church (Philad., c. iii; Ephes., cc. xvi, xvii); the doctrine of the Eucharist (Smj-rn., c. viii), which word we find for the first time applied to the Blessed Sacrament, just as in Smyrn., viii, we meet for the first time the phrase "Catholic Church", used to designate all Christians; the Incarnation (Ephes., c. xviii) ; the supernatural virtue of virginity, already much esteemed and made the subject of a vow (Polye., c. v); the religious char- acter of matrimony (Polyc, c. v); the value of united prayer (Ephes., c. xiii); the primacy of the See of Rome (Rom., introd.). He, moreover, denounces in principle the Protestant doctrine of private judgment in matters of religion (Philad., c. iii). The heresy against which he chiefly inveighs is Docetism. Nei- ther do the Judaizing heresies escape his vigorous condemnation.

Editions. — The four letters found in Latin only were printed in Paris in 149.5. The common Latin version of eleven letters, together with a letter of Polycarp and some reputed works of Dionysius the .\reopagite, was printed in Paris, 1498, by Lef6vre d'Etaples. Another edition of the seven genuine and six spurious letters, including the one to Mary of Cas- sobola, was edited by Symphorianus Champerius, of Lyons, Paris, 1516. Valentinus Paceus published a Greek edition of twelve letters (Dillingen, 1557). A similar edition was brought out at Zurich, in 1559, by Andrew (iesncr; a Latin version of the work of John Brunncr accompanied it. Both of these editions made use of I he Greek text of the long recension. In 1644 .\rchbishop I'ssher edited the letters of Ignatius and Polycarp. The common Latin version, with three of the four Latin letters, was subjoined. It also contained the Latin version of eleven letters taken from Ussher's MSS. In 1646 Isaac Voss published at;