Apocrypha
Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans
Apostolic Father
13 chapters · read and listen
Reading note
An apocryphal or pseudepigraphal text — outside the canon of the Western churches, yet widely circulated among ancient Jews and Christians. Published here from a public-domain translation, edited for continuous reading.
Chapters
Dossier
The letter to Polycarp's church, in which Ignatius insists that Christ ate and drank after rising — and where the phrase catholic church appears for the first time in history.
Where this text comes from
Greek, around AD 107-110.
Why it is not in the Bible
Patristic literature, outside any canon.
What you will find
- The first known occurrence of the phrase catholic church, in the sense of universal.
- The insistence on the physical reality of the risen Christ, with the scene in which the disciples touch him.
- The criticism of those who stay away from the eucharist because they do not believe it is the flesh of the Saviour.
Frequently asked questions
- Does the phrase catholic church first appear here?
- Yes, as far as the documents allow us to say. Ignatius uses the term to mean universal — where Christ is, there is the catholic church — and not as the name of an institution.