Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries
Share Embed Flag
Download ePaper

Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries

Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries

thefishersofmenministries.com
from thefishersofmenministries.com More from this publisher
11.07.2015 Views

220 THE FIRST AGE OF THE MARTYR CHURCH.natius, blessing all that come to him, sends themhome full of confidence, bold resolution, and fortitude.Not, then, to-day only but every day goto him, reaping spiritual fruits from him. For,indeed, he who comes hither with faith may reapgreat goods. Not the bodies only, but the verycoffins of the saints are full of spiritual grace.For if in the case of Eliseus this happened, andthe dead man who touched his bier broke throughthe bonds of death, how muchmore now. when7 7grace is more abundant, and the energy of theSpirit fuller ?-So, I beseech you, if any one be indespondency, in sickness, in the depth of sin, inany circumstance of life, to come here with faith ,and he will put off all these. "42Before S. Ignatius reached that completion ofhis faith to which he aspired, he was cheered withthe account that his sacrifice had produced itseffect, and peace had been restored to his church ,with the completeness of its body. 43Now in all this-in Pliny's conduct as governor ,in his reference to Trajan, in the emperor's reply,in his treatment of S. Ignatius, and in the restorationof peace afterwards-there is, we conceive, a42 S. Chrysostom, Horn, on S. Ignatius, torn. ii. 600.43 S. Ignatius in the llth sec. of his epistle to the Smyrnseans requeststhem to send a messenger to congratulate the church of Antioch,on elp7iv¬vov(TW, Kal airiAaftov *rb tSiov jJieyaOos, aTroKarecrrddr] avrois rb ISio. The word craven- elbv, or corpusculum, indicates the completenessof a diocesan church with its bishop, the whole Church beingXpioroD, as S. Ignatius had said in sec. 1 of the same epistle, eV tvle/ocA7jo*ia$ avTov.

THE FIRST AGE OF THE MARTYR CHURCH.221very exact sample of what the position of Christianswas in Trajan's time. His answer ruled thequestion of Eoman law for the following two hundredyears. It declared the profession of Christianityto be illicit and a capital offence; but to callthis law into action, or to leave it suspended as athreat over the heads of Christians, was a matterof expedience. When the latter took place, thechurches were said to be at peace; when the former,a persecution was said to rage; but at any timeand place an individual might suffer; while on theother hand a persecution directed to root out thewhole Christian name was not yet thought of.And this state of things seems to continuethrough Hadrian's principate. In his first year,Alexander, fifth successor of S. Peter at Eome,having been imprisoned under Trajan, suffersmartyrdom. It would seem as if the same handhad struck down about the same time the headsof the two great churches of Eome and Antioch,the first and the third in rank, and perhapsordered the execution of the bishop of Antioch atEome, with that of the Eoman bishop, in order togive greater force to the example.44 Many othermartyrs at Eome and in the north of Italy arefound at this time. It is not at all necessary tosuppose the personal action of Hadrian in these.44 There is some doubt about the time of S. Ignatius's martyrdom.We suppose it to be at the end of Trajan's reign. S. Alexander I. ismartyr, and placed in the canon of the Mass next afternST. MARY S

220 THE FIRST AGE OF THE MARTYR CHURCH.natius, blessing all that come to him, sends themhome full <strong>of</strong> confidence, bold resolution, and fortitude.Not, then, to-day only but every day goto him, reaping spiritual fruits from him. For,indeed, he who comes hither with faith may reapgreat goods. Not the bodies only, but the veryc<strong>of</strong>fins <strong>of</strong> the saints are full <strong>of</strong> spiritual grace.For if in the case <strong>of</strong> Eliseus this happened, andthe dead man who touched his bier broke throughthe bonds <strong>of</strong> death, how muchmore now. when7 7grace is more abundant, and the energy <strong>of</strong> theSpirit fuller ?-So, I beseech you, if any one be indespondency, in sickness, in the depth <strong>of</strong> sin, inany circumstance <strong>of</strong> life, to come here with faith ,and he will put <strong>of</strong>f all these. "42Before S. Ignatius reached that completion <strong>of</strong>his faith to which he aspired, he was cheered withthe account that his sacrifice had produced itseffect, and peace had been restored to his church ,with the completeness <strong>of</strong> its body. 43Now in all this-in Pliny's conduct as governor ,in his reference to Trajan, in the emperor's reply,in his treatment <strong>of</strong> S. Ignatius, and in the restoration<strong>of</strong> peace afterwards-there is, we conceive, a42 S. Chrysostom, Horn, on S. Ignatius, torn. ii. 600.43 S. Ignatius in the llth sec. <strong>of</strong> his epistle to the Smyrnseans requeststhem to send a messenger to congratulate the church <strong>of</strong> Antioch,on elp7iv¬vov(TW, Kal airiAaftov *rb tSiov jJieyaOos, aTroKarecrrddr] avrois rb ISio. <strong>The</strong> word craven- elbv, or corpusculum, indicates the completeness<strong>of</strong> a diocesan church with its bishop, the whole Church beingXpioroD, as S. Ignatius had said in sec. 1 <strong>of</strong> the same epistle, eV tvle/ocA7jo*ia$ avTov.

logo

products

Resources

Company

Terms of service
Privacy policy
Cookie policy
Cookie settings
Imprint
Change language
Made with love in Switzerland
© 2024 Yumpu.com all rights reserved

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!