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Library › The Church Fathers › Ignatius of Antioch › Ignatius to Polycarp › Chapter 6

Ignatius of Antioch

Epistle to Polycarp

Chapter 6

The duties of the Christian flock.

Give ye1 heed to the bishop, that God also may give heed to you. My soul be for theirs2 that are submissive to the bishop, to the presbyters, and to the deacons, and may my portion be along with them in God! Labour together with one another; strive in company together; run together; suffer together; sleep together; and awake together, as the stewards, and associates,3 and servants of God. Please ye Him under whom ye fight, and from whom ye receive your wages. Let none of you be found a deserter. Let your baptism endure as your arms; your faith as your helmet; your love as your spear; your patience as a complete panoply. Let your works be the charge4 assigned to you, that ye may receive a worthy recompense. Be long-suffering, therefore, with one another, in meekness, as God is towards you. May I have joy of you for ever!5

Notes

  1. As this epistle, though sent to the bishop, was meant to be read to the people, Ignatius here directly addresses them.↩
  2. Comp. chap. ii. etc.↩
  3. Or, “assessors.”↩
  4. A military reference, simply implying the idea of faithful effort leading to future reward.↩
  5. Comp. Ignatius’ Epistle to the Ephesians, chap. ii.↩

Translation by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson and Frederick Crombie: The Ante-Nicene Christian Library, vol. 1: The Apostolic Fathers (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1870).
Text from Project Gutenberg eBook #77576, proofread by Distributed Proofreaders from Internet Archive scans. Public domain.