That They Should be One
The Theology of the Episcopate and the Eucharist as found in St. Ignatius of Antioch's Letters to the Philadelphians and Smyrnaeans
To the modern theologian, the practice of the Eucharist and of the consecration of bishops might seem unrelated to a large extent. Of course the bishop celebrates the Eucharist, but in our modern understanding of the function of a bishop, there is a de facto attitude that sees the celebration of the Eucharist as one of many equal tasks that are set before the bishop to carry out for the good of those who are in his diocese. This attitude could not be further from the truth for St. Ignatius of Antioch. In a series of letters that St. Ignatius writes to several churches in Asia Minor on the road to be martyred, he stresses very heavily not only the necessity of unity with the one bishop and his role in the celebration of the Eucharist, but also the fact that both the episcopacy and the Eucharist are necessarily one. But for St. Ignatius, these are not accidents of history. Rather, each one’s unity is tied to the other. The reason that there can only be one episcopacy is the same reason there can be only on Eucharist. This reason is that each derives its power and authority from the one Christ: the bishop being the foundation of the one Body of Christ in the Church and the one who speaks for God, and the Eucharist because it is literally Christ’s one Body that died on the cross.
In St. Ignatius’s letters to the Smyrnaeans and Philadelphians he expounds on the necessity of obedience and of communion with one’s bishop. In his Letter to the Philadelphians he writes,
Every man who belongs to God and Jesus Christ stands by his bishop…But make no mistake, my brothers; the adherents of a schismatic can never inherit the kingdom of God. Those who wander in outlandish by-ways of doctrine must forfeit all part in the Lord’s Passion.[1]
Later in the same letter he says,
Thus, at the time I was with you, I cried out, speaking with a loud voice – the very voice of God – ‘Be loyal to your bishop and clergy and deacons…’ No; that was the preaching of the Spirit itself, telling you never act in the independence of the bishop, to keep your bodies as a temple of God, to cherish unity and shun divisions, and to be imitators of Jesus Christ as He was of His Father.[2]
This point is again reiterated in his Letter to the Smyrnaeans, where he writes,
Abjure all factions, for they are the beginning of evils. Follow your bishop, every one of you, as obediently as Jesus Christ followed the Father…The sole Eucharist you should consider valid is one that is celebrated by the bishop himself…Where the bishop is to be seen, there let all his people be; just as wherever Jesus Christ is present, we have the catholic faith. [3]
St. Ignatius is absolutely adamant that the bishop is the key to unity in the Church. This may seem strange to some readers. Should not Christ be the principle of unity in His own Church? Why are we ascribing this of some man? This seems to entirely overthrow the nature of the Church. If it is Christ who heals us in His Church, then why in the world is He not that by which we are united in the Church? Bishops seem to only be getting in the way of Christ. This difficulty is answered when we see how St. Ignatius thinks bishops are made and what they are. In the opening of his Letter to the Philadelphians, he says,
Your bishop’s office, which exists for the good of the whole community, was never obtained by his own efforts, as I know very well, or by any other mere human agency, still less in any spirit of self-glorification; but it was conferred upon him by the love of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.[4]
For St. Ignatius the bishop is not someone who is chosen merely by men to help them organize the church for practical reasons. Rather, the bishop is chosen by God Himself to lead the Church on His behalf. In his Letter to the Smyrnaeans he writes,
On the other hand, whatever does have his [the bishop’s] sanction can be sure of God’s approval too. This is the way to make certain of the soundness and validity of anything you do.[5]
Bishops are instruments of God in governing His church, not merely human agents who have been given an assignment to govern an earthly organization. It is God’s very voice. This is one of the reasons why there is only one fraternity of bishops. As there is one voice of God in His church, so there is only one bishop who speaks with the voice of God. There is a degree to which he stands in the place of God for the sake of those to whom he ministers. In his Letter to the Philadelphians, he writes,
As children of the light and of truth, therefore, see that you hold aloof from all disunion and misguided teaching; and where your bishop is, there follow him like sheep.[6]
St. Ignatius uses the analogy of the shepherd and the sheep that Christ uses in the gospel of St. John in reference to Himself (John 10) and St. Peter (John 21) to refer to the bishop as he fulfills his role in leading the laity. The necessity of allegiance to one’s bishop is of such a necessity that one who goes behind his back is “a servant of the devil.”[7]
The bishop is the marker unity in the Church of God. Those who are with him are with God. There is no way that one can properly live the life of the Christian within the Church without being loyal to your one bishop. What then does St. Ignatius believe about the Eucharist, and how does it relate to the office of bishop?
St. Ignatius spends less time discussing the Eucharist and its practice in the life of the Church, but he is no less adamant about its necessity in the Church. In his Letter to the Smyrnaeans he says,
They [heretics who deny the Incarnation] even absent themselves from the Eucharist and the public prayers, because they will not admit that the Eucharist is the self-same body of our Savior Jesus Christ which suffered for our sins, and which the Father in His goodness afterwards raised up.[8]
Again later in the same letter,
The sole Eucharist you should consider valid is one celebrated by the bishop himself, or by some person authorized by him…Nor is it permissible to conduct baptisms or love-feasts [the Eucharist] without the bishop.[9]
The unity of the one Eucharist is incredibly important to St. Ignatius. As with the bishops, there are not many different Eucharists that are celebrated. There is only one thing in which every instance of the Eucharist is a participation in. While he doesn’t cite passages from it explicitly, it is clear that St. Ignatius is partially taking his theology of the Eucharist from the book of Hebrews. The reason that the Eucharist is only one is because it is the participation in the one body of Christ, which was sacrificed once and for all for our sins. In the letter to the Hebrews, the author writes,
But this man [Christ], after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God…For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.[10]
St. Ignatius does make explicit reference to the fact of there being one sacrifice. In his Letter to the Philadelphians he writes,
Make certain, therefore, that you will observe one common Eucharist; for there is but one Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and but one cup of union with His Blood, and a single altar of sacrifice – even as also there is but one bishop, with his clergy and my own fellow-servitors the deacons. This will ensure that all your doings are in full accord with the will of God.[11]
Unity in the Church around the Eucharist is essential for salvation. This passage comes just after the earlier quoted passage about the impossibility of salvation for schismatics. The placement of this passage tells us as much as the words themselves. In order to make sure that we are not numbered among the schismatics for whom there is no salvation, we are to make sure that we cling tightly to the Eucharist whose only valid celebration is performed by the bishops and the priests whom they have appointed, for
The sole Eucharist you should consider valid is one celebrated by the bishop himself…[12]
It is through the bishops that we have access to the Eucharist.
The Eucharist and the bishop are united to each other in two ways. The first is by their mission of leading those in the Church to salvation, and the second is in their principle of origination. The Eucharist is the very self-same Body and Blood of Christ, which is our participation in the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Through our faith and participation in the Eucharist we have a share in the blood of Christ. And how do we have access to the Eucharist? Only through the ministry of the bishops who are appointed not by man, but by God Himself and who speak with His voice in the shepherding of His people. It is from one principle that the unity of the fraternity of the bishops and the unity of the Eucharist come. The members of the Church are part of the one Body of Christ. It only then makes sense that this is the way it is lived out in the daily life of the Christian. We all have one common contact point with Christ in the Eucharist, mediated by his appointed officers. The one Body of Christ here on Earth requires various touch points with God to ensure that it truly is one Church. Without these we would simply have masses of individuals running around trying to figure out how best to reside in unity with one another. In the Divine providence of God, He deemed it necessary to have these institutions and sacraments for our own good in order to ensure our true unity with Him. And these two (consecration of bishops and the liturgical practice of the Eucharist) are one because of the one Whom they serve. They are derived from Christ; the one in extending the very ministry of Christ to those under the bishop’s care, the other in sanctifying and deifying those who partake of it through their contact with Christ. They rely on each other because of this unity. Without the bishop there is no Eucharist, because he is the one that Christ has tasked with celebrating it. And without the Eucharist the role of the bishop loses much of its meaning, as the Eucharist is the center of the Christian’s life in growing in holiness.
[1] Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Philadelphians, in Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic Fathers, trans. Maxwell Staniforth, rev. Andrew Louth (London: Penguin Books, 1987), paragraph 3.
[2] Ibid, paragraph 7.
[3] Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Smyrnaeans, in Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic Fathers, trans. Maxwell Staniforth, rev. Andrew Louth (London: Penguin Books, 1987), paragraph 8.
[4] Letter to the Philadelphians, paragraph 1.
[5] Letter to the Smyrnaeans, paragraph 8.
[6] Phil. paragraph 2.
[7] Smyrnaeans, paragraph 9
[8] Ibid, paragraph 7
[9] Ibid, paragraph 8.
[10] Hebrews 10:12, KJV
[11] Phil. paragraph 4
[12] Smyrnaeans, paragraph 8.