The one who is reputed to have been scrupulous was (i believe) St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. The St, Ignatius who ured his fellow Christians not to get him out of prison was St. Ignatius of Antioch, first century BishopI’ve read before that St. Ignatius was scrupulous. I’ve also read one of his letters where his tells his fellow Christians not to try and get him released from prison so that he could be a martyr. To me, that seems kind of contradictory to what being a martyr is. Do you think this was because of his scrupulosity?
St Ignatius of Antioch lived during the Roman persecutions. If one were to try to gain his release he would be revealed as a Christian and would then also be lion bate. So he was protecting his flock (he was a bishop). To this end, he was being a holy bishop, an excellent martyr (witness in english) to the faith.I’ve read before that St. Ignatius was scrupulous. I’ve also read one of his letters where his tells his fellow Christians not to try and get him released from prison so that he could be a martyr. To me, that seems kind of contradictory to what being a martyr is. Do you think this was because of his scrupulosity?
There weren’t widespread Roman persecutions at the time of Ignatius of Antioch. He apparently desired a martyr’s death.St Ignatius of Antioch lived during the Roman persecutions. If one were to try to gain his release he would be revealed as a Christian and would then also be lion bate. So he was protecting his flock (he was a bishop). To this end, he was being a holy bishop, an excellent martyr (witness in english) to the faith.
Epistles attributed to St. Ignatius report his arrest by the authorities and travel to Rome:
“From Syria even to Rome I fight with wild beasts, by land and sea, by night and by day, being bound amidst ten leopards, even a company of soldiers, who only grow worse when they are kindly treated. —Ignatius to the Romans, 5.”
Along the route he wrote six letters to the churches in the region and one to a fellow bishop.
He was sentenced to die in the Colosseum, to be eaten by lions
At the time of Trajan Christians were being prosecuted as ‘Secret Societies’In his Chronicle, Eusebius gives the date of his death as AA 2124 (2124 years after Adam), which would amount to the 11th year of Trajan, i.e. 108 AD…
Pliny writes in a letter to Trajan (c. 112 AD):
Being a bishop and cursing the name of Christ would not be a Witness (Martyr) for Christ. If you sued for mercy, you would probably be asked to curse the name of Christ also to show your allegiance to the Emporer over any other god."I have never been present at an examination of Christians. So, I do not know the nature or the extent of the punishments usually dealt out to them, nor the grounds for starting an investigation and how far it should be carried…For the moment this is the line I have taken with all persons brought before me on the charge of being Christians. I have asked them in person if they are Christians; if they admit it, I repeat the question a second and a third time, with a warning of the punishment awaiting them.** If they persist, I order them to be led away for punishment; for whatever the nature of their admission, I am convinced that their stubbornness and unshakeable obstinacy ought to be punished**. There have been others similarly fanatical who are Roman citizens; I have entered them on the list of persons to be sent to Rome for punishment… I considered that I should dismiss any who denied that they were or ever had been Christians, once they had repeated after me a formula of invocation to the gods and had made offerings of wine and incense to your statue (which I had ordered to be brought into court for this purpose along with images of the gods), and furthermore had cursed the name of Christ. Real Christians (I understand) can never be induced to do these things. .