St. Ignatius of Antioch “Theophorus”
“We have not only to be called Christians, but to be Christians.”
-St. Ignatius of Antioch-
Commemorated on December 20 and January 29 (Translation of Relics)
Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer
Saint Nikolai Velimirovič
This holy man is called “the God-bearer” because he constantly bore the name of the Living God in his heart and on his lips.
According to tradition, he was thus named because he was held in the
arms of God Incarnate, Jesus Christ. On a day when the Lord was teaching
His disciples humility, He took a child and placed him among them,
saying: Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:4). This child was Ignatius. Later, Ignatius was a disciple of St. John the Theologian, together with Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna.
As Bishop of Antioch, Ignatius governed the Church of God as a good
shepherd and was the first to introduce antiphonal chanting in the
Church, in which two choirs alternate the chanting. This manner of
chanting was revealed to St. Ignatius by the angels in heaven.
When Emperor Trajan was passing through Antioch on his way to do battle
with the Persians, he heard of Ignatius, summoned him and counseled him
to offer sacrifice to the idols.
