iChristian

Ignatius, 108 A.D.

Ignatius was martyred during the third persecution, under Trajan, a Roman emperor. Upon arrest, Ignatius was transported from his home in Smyrna to Rome. During his journey he instructed the church in Rome:

not to use means for his deliverance from martyrdom, lest they should deprive him of that which he most longed and hoped for

Concerning his pending trial and martyrdom, Ignatius says:

Now I begin to be a disciple. I care for nothing, of visible or invisible things, so that I may but win Christ. Let fire and the cross, let the companies of wild beasts, let breaking of bones and tearing of limbs, let the grinding of the whole body, and all the malice of the devil, come upon me; be it so, only may I win Christ Jesus!

Foxes Book of Martyrs