The Christology of Ignatius of Antioch

by Jonathon Lookadoo

The letters of Ignatius of Antioch portray Jesus in terms that are both remarkably exalted and shockingly vulnerable. Jesus is identified as God and is the sole physician and teacher who truly reveals the Father. At the same time, Jesus was born of Mary, suffered, and died. Ignatius asserts both claims about Jesus with minimal attempts to reconcile how they can simultaneously be embodied in one person. This book explores the ways in which Ignatius outlines his understanding of Jesus and the effects that these views were to have on both his immediate audience as well as some of his later readers. Ignatius utilizes stories throughout his letters, describes Jesus with designations that are at once traditional and reinvigorated with fresh meaning, and employs a dizzying array of metaphors to depict how Jesus acts. In turn, Ignatius and his audience are to respond in ways befitting their status in Christ because Jesus forms a lens through which to look at the world anew. Such a dynamic Christology was not to cease development in the second century but continued to inspire readers in creative ways through late antiquity and beyond.

248 pages, Paperback

Published August 29, 2023

Reviews

[Drake Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well written book about the early second century church father Ignatius of Antioch and his viewpoint of Jesus Christ. The author looks at stories about Jesus, exalted prose and story fragments, designations for Jesus, and images for Jesus. This takes the reader beyond statements about Jesus to implied references. These implied references reveal that Ignatius understood much more about Jesus than what he said explicitly.

Jonathan Lookadoo then also evaluates the understanding of Jesus among the church communities at the time. He also considers the interpretation of Jesus in the Ignatian corpus, the shorter and longer recensions. The middle recension is generally accepted among Ignatian scholars, but these other recensions provide a window into the viewpoint of Jesus.

The significance of the author's points are great. This study shows that a rich and defined understanding of the person of Christ was present well before the Council of Nicaea (325 CE). Furthermore, it was widespread throughout the church in Asia Minor.