Ignatius of Antioch on Spiritual Warfare, Union with God, and the Desire for Martyrdom
Today’s episode is the final episode of our series on Spiritual Theology.
The first half of the pod focuses on St. Ignatius of Antioch, and his approach to the spiritual life, spiritual warfare, and living a life in imitation of Christ. The second half is taken up with a response I gave to a question that was asked of me on how we are meant to receive Ignatius’ comments on being submissive to spiritual attacks when we also want to be sensitive to people who deal with issues like domestic violence or abuse, or who happen to deal with great tragedies in their lives.
In other words, how do we deal with the tragedy and violence in the world that we might be on the receiving end of, and how do we act in imitation of Christ, without justifying it or making excuses for it. I edited out the question for the sake of that person’s anonymity, but it prompted some good discussion and I wanted to include that in the episode because I thought it was interesting. I was recovering from a cold at the time, and my voice and breathing is a bit raspy, so I hope you’ll forgive me for that.
Theology & Reality is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Much of what I speak about here today can be found in the most significant book on St. Ignatius of Antioch in the modern period, Learning Christ: Ignatius of Antioch and the Mystery of Redemption by Dr. Gregory Vall, an expert theologian and biblical scholar whose course on St. Ignatius and the Apostolic Fathers I was privileged to take while a doctoral student. I can credit Dr. Vall’s lectures and book with anything edifying I have to say about Ignatius.
The quotations of Ignatius in the lecture are taken either from Dr. Vall’s book—whose work includes original translations of Ignatius—or from the Greek/English edition of the Apostolic Fathers translated by Michael Holmes.
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free