THE PREDICAMENT OF IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH

BY

STEVAN L. DAVIES

Few members of the early church are as alive to us today as Ignatius of Antioch. In his vivid letters he presents himself and his faith to his contemporaries and to us. He is in great danger and urgently strives to send last instructions to his fellow Christians in Rome and Asia Minor. Although he is terribly uncertain about what will happen when he arrives in Rome, he seems quite certain of his present predicament. But what is that predicament and when did it occur? Ignatius' situation, which he presents so matter-of-factly, seems to make little sense in terms of Roman law. He writes that he is in chains, 'con- demned', and that, although firmly desiring to be thrown to wild beasts in Rome, he is afraid that the church in Rome will intervene and prevent his martyrdom. Samuel Laeuchli, in an essay on Ignatius, remarks that perhaps "Ignatius on that trip to Rome had lost full contact with his legal reality - which is one of the reasons why it has been impossible for scholar- ship to solve from his own words the puzzle of his condemnation and his ' extradition to Rome".1 While Ignatius' legal situation may have been unusual, it can make sense within the framework of Roman law and practice. It is generally assumed that there are but two possible explanations for Ignatius' journey to Rome. He might have been a Roman citizen traveling to Rome to appeal his condemnation to the Emperor or he might have been con- demned and sent as a donation to the Roman games by the Governor of Syria. Neither explanation is consistent with the evidence. Let us assume that Ignatius was in fact a citizen and that he appealed his condemnation to the Emperor. This assumption, in light of Ignatius' loathing for worldly authority and of his great desire for bloody martyr- dom, is not easily made ... but it should be considered. Ignatius wrote that he was in chains and that he was to be executed by wild beasts. How-

1 S. Laeuchli, Searching in the Syntax of Things (Philadelphia 1972) 107. 176 ever, according to the Lex Iulia de vi publica, no holder of the Imperium could put a Roman citizen who appealed to the Emperor in bonds.2 The Roman soldiers who had chained Paul before trial released him from chains immediately upon learning of his Roman citizenship.3 Although it was not strictly illegal to condemn Roman citizens to be thrown to the beasts, execution in that fashion was reserved for particularly vicious criminals. In Lyon in 177 Christian Roman citizens were carefully set aside for decapitation, while non-citizens were enthusiastically thrown to the beasts.4 In the more tolerant Flavian age even greater care would surely have been taken to insure a Christian citizen his right to a neat execution. If a Governor did condemn a citizen to be thrown to the beasts, he would not send that citizen to Rome for the purpose. Finally, if we assume that Ignatius was a citizen and was condemned for refusing to abjure Christianity, he may not have even had the right of appeal. The correspondence of Pliny and Trajan indicates that the crime of Christian- ity could only be proven by confession, accusations being insufficient evi- dence (assuming, of course, that there was such a crime). Appeal to the Emperor was denied to confessed criminals.5 If Ignatius was only sent to Rome for trial, as Bithynian citizens were sent by Pliny, he would not be in chains and would have no reason to call himself condemned. If Ignatius was not a citizen, his situation is even more peculiar. No other examples exist from the Flavian age of any prisoners except citizens or prisoners of war being brought to Rome for execution. Must we assume that the stadia and beasts of Antioch were unavailable and that Ignatius could not be induced to wait? If Ignatius was in some way a donation by the Imperial Governor of Syria to the games at Rome, a single prisoner seems a rather miserly gift. Although Ignatius catalogs those men who visited him and mentions the ten soldiers who escorted him, he mentions no other prisoners. It would indeed be odd for an escort of ten men ac- companying numerous prisoners condemned to death by torture in Rome to permit one of those prisoners to enjoy a series of visitors, to receive their hospitality and to dictate to them letters on the subject of the Christian faith. The ten guards and Ignatius traveled slowly, stopping for several days at a time in cities off the most direct route to Rome. No case can be made that the ten Roman soldiers were journeying to

2 Paulus, Sent. 5, 26. 3 Acts 22,29. 4 Eusebius, Hist. Ecc. 5,1, 47. 5 Paulus, Sent. 5, 25.