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The authenticity of the seven letters is guaranteed by Polycarp and Eusebius, who give the content and order of the letters.<ref>From: Patrick J. Hamell, Handbook of Patrology (NY: Alba House, 1968)</ref> The so-called longer versions are thought to be 4th century forgeries.

The authenticity of the seven letters is guaranteed by Polycarp and Eusebius, who give the content and order of the letters.<ref>From: Patrick J. Hamell, Handbook of Patrology (NY: Alba House, 1968)</ref> The so-called longer versions are thought to be 4th century forgeries.

Ignatius is a particularly important witness to the nature and structure of the Church. Christians all across the world are united in one universal assem­bly which he calls "the Catholic Church" (Ad Smyrnaeans. 8:2, the earliest instance of this phrase in surviving Christian literature). His letter to the Romans, an impor­tant witness to Peter’s pres­ence and leadership in Rome (Ad Romans 4:3), acknowledges that the Roman Church ranks "first in love" (Ad Romans, inscription). The con­trast between the salutation and tone of this letter and those of the letters written to the Asian Churches is significant. His special esteem and deference shown to the Church of Rome demonstrates that a basic consciousness of the primacy of the Church of Peter and Paul existed very early in the second century. It is taken for granted that each local Christian community is led by a single bishop assisted by a council of pres­byters (priests) and several deacons. According to Ignatius, "you cannot have a church without these”" (Ad Tralles 3:1). Many English [[Puritan]]s rejected the letters of Ignatius as forgeries from a later era precisely because they believed it impossible for this degree of hierarch­i­cal structure to have existed at such an early period. Many Protestant Reformers denied the apostolic foun­dation of different ranks of Christian ministers and accused the Church of later times of inventing such a hierarchy.<ref>See Presbyterian W. D. Killen (1886) ''The Ignatian Epistles Entirely Spurious''. See also John Calvin, ''Institutes'', 1-3. He repudiates entirely the letters which so completely discredit his own views on ecclesiastical government. In general, Catholic and Anglican scholars are ranged on the side of the letters written to the Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallians, Romans, Philadelphians, Smyrniots, and to Polycarp; while Presbyterians, as a rule, repudiate everything claiming Ignatian authorship.</ref>  

Ignatius is a particularly important witness to the nature and structure of the Church. Christians all across the world are united in one universal assem­bly which he calls "the Catholic Church" (Ad Smyrnaeans. 8:2, the earliest instance of this phrase in surviving Christian literature). His letter to the Romans, an impor­tant witness to Peter’s pres­ence and leadership in Rome (Ad Romans 4:3), acknowledges that the Roman Church ranks "first in love" (Ad Romans, inscription). The con­trast between the salutation and tone of this letter and those of the letters written to the Asian Churches is significant. His special esteem and deference shown to the Church of Rome demonstrates that a basic consciousness of the primacy of the Church of Peter and Paul existed very early in the second century. It is taken for granted that each local Christian community is led by a single bishop assisted by a council of pres­byters (priests) and several deacons. According to Ignatius, "you cannot have a church without these”" (Ad Tralles 3:1).  

 

Many English [[Puritans]] rejected the letters of Ignatius as forgeries from a later era precisely because they believed it impossible for this degree of hierarch­i­cal structure to have existed at such an early period. Many Protestant Reformers denied the apostolic foun­dation of different ranks of Christian ministers and accused the Church of later times of inventing such a hierarchy.<ref>See Presbyterian W. D. Killen (1886) ''The Ignatian Epistles Entirely Spurious''. See also John Calvin, ''Institutes'', 1-3. He repudiates entirely the letters which so completely discredit his own views on ecclesiastical government. In general, Catholic and Anglican scholars are ranged on the side of the letters written to the Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallians, Romans, Philadelphians, Smyrniots, and to Polycarp; while Presbyterians, as a rule, repudiate everything claiming Ignatian authorship.</ref>  

==References==

==References==