Through the province of Asia, under guard, they hastily led the bishop of Antioch, Ignatius, sentenced by Emperor Trajan for confessing the Christian faith to martyrdom—being torn apart by wild beasts in Rome. Chained to a soldier, he still had the opportunity to visit some church communities-parishes along the way. The numerous heretics who appeared in all church assemblies struck Ignatius. And he wrote seven epistles to various churches during his journey.
“They wanted to deceive me, but the Spirit is not deceived, for He is from God. He knows where He comes from and where He goes, and reveals all secrets. I cried out loudly: hold fast to the bishop, presbyters, and deacons! The Spirit speaks and teaches: do nothing without the bishop, love unity, avoid divisions” (Epistle to the Philadelphians). Hold fast to the bishop, presbyters, deacons!—the martyr’s final call, like the voice of God, resounded throughout the Christian world, which was being torn apart by fierce wolves. This is the main meaning of the epistles of St. Ignatius the God-bearer.
The Holy Spirit undoubtedly knew how and when to reveal Christ’s will. Throughout the martyr’s epistles, this revelation of God’s will for the need to organize the church in a hierarchical order is present. When in our time catechisms, manuals of canonical law, and other similar publications discuss the hierarchical structure of the church, quoting from the epistles of St. Ignatius the God-bearer about the significance of the bishop, it becomes somewhat awkward (from such misunderstanding and deception): is the bishop such an infinitely significant person in the church?! But this, somewhat strange for a later time, elevation of the bishop’s rank had great meaning then.
At that time, the attitude toward bishops-presbyters was the opposite of the current high prestige of ruling hierarchs. They revered those through whom the grace of the Holy Spirit and the word of God clearly shone. The bishop was chosen, so to speak, their brother, who managed the household and police order (to ensure everything was done properly), in the high spiritual community—a vessel for common use (if we use the terminology of the apostle Paul about different ministries in the church). We read in the “Teaching of the Twelve Apostles”: “Appoint for yourselves bishops and deacons… do not despise them (hinting at the tendency of the church people to treat them so), for they should be honored together with the prophets and teachers (because, undoubtedly, any ministry in the church is a good deed and equal in Christ).” From the call: “do not despise them” and “they should be honored” it is still very far to that central place that was destined to be taken by the hierarchical authorities in the Christian community.”
“Now let us clarify the task that faced St. Ignatius in proclaiming God’s will regarding the appointment of bishops to a prominent (central) place in the church. It was necessary to convince the church people that their chosen ones should, with God’s blessing, become their leaders and should be accordingly respected and obeyed. Thus, the stronger the tendency among the people to neglect their elected leaders as those who had nothing in common with the esteemed apostolic men, prophets, and teachers, the more strictly and unambiguously their new significance had to be pointed out. This is why the epistles of St. Ignatius are filled with extraordinary designations of the new ministers in the church. This is a special language for those people and for that era, as the Lord always speaks in a language understandable and necessary for the given places, times, and peoples (the church always addresses people in the language of the culture in which they (these people) are and which they understand (in the language of the addressee); Christians are always all things to all people, so that they might save some).
‘Honor the deacons as you would Jesus Christ, the bishops as the image of the Father, and the presbyters as the assembly of God, as the council of the apostles. Without them, there is no church’ (Trall. 3). ‘The bishop should be regarded as the Lord Himself.’ ‘All follow the bishop as Jesus Christ follows the Father, and the presbyters as the apostles. Respect the deacons as you would God’s commandment’ (Smyrn. 8). It is neither timely nor reasonable to use these designations in the present time!
Madness (lack of reason) to look at those whose title has so often concealed and still conceals vile wicked people who distort the Spirit of God; who replace love with malice… This is why alongside the decisive emphasis on the significance of the bishop and presbyters, there is a hint of some despair in St. Ignatius’ epistles. Because the Angel of the church, who receives the command from God about appointing those chosen by the people as the leaders of the church, cannot help but grieve, foreseeing the severe consequences for the flock of Christ. The people elect anyone they wish, and random people come to the prominent (central) place in the church—its management seems to be handed over into unreliable hands. And if at one time the apostle Paul said, ‘Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God,’ now these tribulations seem endless—tribulations and darkness. (Why did the Spirit-bearers (St. Ignatius and others) grieve, seeing the church enter the period of hierarchical structuring (the organization of the ecclesia)? To better understand the behavior of the saints and their reaction, we can draw an analogy from the Old Testament: when the people began to be led not by prophets and teachers (judges), but by rulers (often ungodly, idolaters: not many kings in Israel were God’s anointed). In the First Book of Samuel, chapter eight, this turning point is described when the Old Testament church began to be led by kings (rulers = bishops, presbyters), and not by prophets and judges (teachers), that is, by the Holy Spirit. When the Jewish people wanted a king like other nations: they rejected God so that He would not reign over them. Then a prophetic description follows of the future difficult state of the Old Testament church, which will be led by rulers (kings; in the New Testament—bishops, presbyters). We can see the history of these reigns both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament Church—analogy-identity. Thus, the Lord does not abandon His people and sends His messengers-prophets in all times and epochs to remind the church people of God’s will. Although the fate of the prophets in both the Old and New Testaments is the same. The prophets were mainly killed (initiating persecution and killings) by rulers (kings, high priests, Pharisees, scribes, bishops, presbyters—all those who had earthly power)—whoever has ears to see, let them understand! That is why the Spirit-bearers looked with sadness into the future of the church at the dawn of the hierarchical order in the church. This is not grace, but concession, as in the case of the desire to be under a king, that is, a forced operation to save the Body, and not a cosmetic massage for pleasure! But just as before the coming of Christ, the voice of the prophets was not heard for four hundred years (this is terrible!), so in the last days the prophetic voice will hardly be heard (we are living in the last days now!)…