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Catecharium

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians

Chapter 9

2 sections

Ignatius of Antioch

Transcribed from a dated scan; artifacts may remain. Edition notes

The priests likewise are noble, but the High Priest who has been entrusted with the Holy of Holies is greater, and only to him have the secret things of God been entrusted. He is the door of the Father, through which enter Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and the Prophets and the Apostles and the Church. All these things are joined in the unity of God.

But the Gospel has somewhat of preeminence, the coming of the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, his passion, and the resurrection. For the beloved prophets had a message pointing to him, but the Gospel is the perfection of incorruption. All things together are good if you hold the faith in love.

Trans. Kirsopp Lake, The Apostolic Fathers, Volume I (Loeb Classical Library), 1912. Public domain.

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