Letters of Ignatius of Antioch (English translations) (2024)

Brief description:

Ignatius was an overseer of the Christian assembly of Antioch in Syria (not to be confused with Antioch in Pisidia). These letters were written after Ignatius had been arrested and while he was on his way to be killed in Rome.

The authenticity of his surviving letters has been challenged, at least in part because they exist in various forms, some of which are clearly not original. The letters were originally written in Greek. There are seven letters (the seven mentioned by Eusebius in his history) which exist in Greek and are generally considered to be the authentic letters. Three of those seven letters, occur in a short form that has only survived in Syriac. The seven letters, in a much longer form, along with six others claiming to be written to or written by Ignatius are almost universally considered later forgeries written centuries later to support state church ideas. These longer seven and extra six letters are usually not translated into English.

The seven, presumably authentic, letters were written to the Christian assemblies in Ephesus of Asia, Magnesia on the Meander, Tralles of Asia, Rome, Philadelphia of Asia, Smyrna of Asia, and one personally to Polycarp, an overseer of the Christian assembly in Smyrna.

Suggested first translation(s):

An easy-to-read, modern English translation that is freely available is the one by Cyril C. Richardson from 1953 listed below. A more literal translation that is also in modern English and freely available is the anonymous one from 2012 listed below.

English translations:

• William Whiston (translated ~1711)
  • Primitive Christianity Revived Vol I.: Epistles of Ignatius (published 1711) — facsimile
• William Wake (translated ~1719)
  • The Genuine Epistles of the Apostolical Fathers… (published 1719) — facsimile
  • The Genuine Epistles of the Apostolical Fathers… (published 1810) — facsimile
  • The Suppressed Gospels and Epistles of the Original New Testament of Jesus the Christ, volume. 8 — text/HTML
• W.K. Clementson (translated ~1827)
  • The Epistles of Ignatius and Polycarp (published 1827) — facsimile
• Temple Chevallier (translated ~1833)
  • A translation of the epistles of Clement of Rome, Polycarp, and Ignatius : and of the apologies of Justin Martyr and Tertullian (published 1833) — facsimile
    • second edition (published 1851) — facsimile
• Anonymous
  • The Epistles of Ignatius and Polycarp, with an Account of Their Martyrdom (published 1835) — facsimile
• William Cureton (translated ~1849)
  • Corpus Ignatianum: a complete collection of the Ignatian epistles, genuine, interpolated, and spurious (published 1849) — facsimile
• Alexander Roberts/James Donaldson (translated ~1867)
  • Ante-Nicene Fathers volume 1 (published 1885)
    • read online
• Charles H. Hoole (translated ~1872)
  • The Apostolic Fathers (published 1872) — facsimile
• George A. Jackson (translated ~1879)
  • The Apostolic Fathers and The Apologists of the Second Century (published 1879) — facsimile
• Joseph Barber Lightfoot (translated ~1885)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: Part II. Vol. I S. Ignatius. S. Polycarp. (published 1885/1889) — facsimile
  • The Apostolic Fathers: Part II. Vol. II S. Ignatius. S. Polycarp. (published 1885/1889) — facsimile
  • The Apostolic Fathers: Part II. Vol. III S. Ignatius. S. Polycarp. (published 1885/1889) — facsimile
• Joseph Barber Lightfoot/J.R. Harmer (translated ~1891)
  • The Apostolic Fathers (published 1912) — facsimile
  • The Apostolic Fathers (published 1891) — text/HTML
• James Herbert Srawley (translated ~1900)
  • The Epistles of St. Ignatius Bishop of Antioch (published 1900, 2nd edition 1910, 3rd edition 1919) — facsimile
    • alternative copy — facsimile
• Kirsopp Lake (translated ~1912)
  • The Apostolic Fathers, Volume I (published 1912) — facsimile
• James A. Kleist (translated ~1946)
  • The Epistles of St. Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch Volume 1 of Ancient Christian Writers (published 1946)
• Gerald G. Walsh (translated ~1947)
  • The Apostolic Fathers, Volume 1 of The Fathers of the Church: A New Translation, The Catholic University of America Press (published 1947)
• Edgar J. Goodspeed (translated ~1950)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: An American Translation, Harper & Brothers. (published 1950)
• Cyril C. Richardson (translated ~1953)
  • Early Christian Fathers (published 1953)
    • read online
• Robert McQueen Grant (translated ~1966)
  • Ingatius of Antioch Volume 4 of The Apostolic Fathers: A New Translation and Commentary, Thomas Nelson & Sons (published 1966)
• Maxwell Staniforth/A. Louth (translated 1968/revised 1987)
  • Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic Fathers, Penguin (published 1987)
• William R. Schoedel (translated ~1985)
  • Ignatius of Antioch: A Commentary on the Letters of Ignatius of Antioch, Fortress Press (published 1985) — facsimile
• Michael W. Holmes (translated 1989-2007)
  • The Apostolic Fathers in English, Baker Academic (various editions, published 1989-2006)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations of Their Writings, Baker Academic (various editions, published 1992-2007)
• Bart D. Ehrman (translated ~2003)
  • The Apostolic Fathers, Volume I, Harvard University Press (published 2003)
• Kenneth J. Howell (translated ~2008/2009)
  • Ignatius of Antioch & Polycarp of Smyrna: A New Translation and Theological Commentary, CHResources (published 2009)
    • originally published as Ignatius of Antioch: A New Translation and Theological Commentary
• Anonymous (translated ~2012, but updated since)
  • Letter of Ignatios to the Ephesians — text/PDF
  • Letter of Ignatios to the Magnesians — text/PDF
  • Letter of Ignatios to the Trallians — text/PDF
  • Letter of Ignatios to the Romans — text/PDF
  • Letter of Ignatios to the Philadelphians — text/PDF
  • Letter of Ignatios to the Smyrneans — text/PDF
  • Letter of Ignatios to Polykarpos — text/PDF
• Alistair Stewart (translated ~2013)
  • The Letters: Ignatius of Antioch, volume 49 in the Popular Patristics Series, St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press (published 2013)
• Rick Brannan (translated ~2017)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: A New Translation, Lexham Press (published 2017)