The Son Of God Became A Little Child, And So Must We

Ignatius, according to Church tradition, is believed to be the little child whom Jesus held in His arms when He told His disciples that unless they became like little children they could not enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Mark 10:14-16). Saint Ignatius was a disciple of St. John and a successor of the Apostles, as he became the Bishop of Antioch in A.D. 67, after Evodus who had been Bishop there after St. Peter. The Church of Antioch was started by Saints Barnabas and Paul in about A.D. 38, making it the oldest Christian Church in continuous existence up to the present day (Acts 11:19-26). St. Ignatius wrote many letters to the faithful, strengthening them in their confession, and preserving for us the teachings of the Apostles. Brought to Rome under Trajan, he was surrendered to lions to be eaten, and so finished the course of martyrdom in about A.D. 107. The remnants of his bones were carefully gathered by the faithful and brought to Antioch. He is called "Theophoros" (God-bearer), as one who bore God within himself and was aflame in heart with love for Him. Therefore, in his letter to the Romans (ch. 4), imploring their love not to attempt to deliver him from his longed-for martyrdom, he said, "I am the wheat of God, and am ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found to be the pure bread of God." Thus Saint Ignatius entered the Kingdom of Heaven.