Thursday, October 18, 2001 3:39 PM

St. Ignatius of Antioch

Yesterday was the feast (in the Roman Calendar) of St Ignatius of Antioch. The following item is from Fr. John Abberton who has been specifically asked by Vassula to be the TLIG spiritual guide in England.

On October 17th, Catholics celebrated the Memoria of St. Ignatius of Antioch, a bishop and martyr of the third century. He heard St. John preach when he was a boy, and knew St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna. Seven of the letters he wrote to various Christian communities have been preserved. The main theological themes we associate with the saint are, unity, charity, the nature of the Church and the Holy Eucharist.

It is clear that for St. Ignatius, the Eucharist and the unity of the Church were linked. At the centre of the Church as a sign of unity, was the Bishop. The Bishop and his clergy were to work as a team, but everyone was to defer to the Bishop who, in a special way, represented Christ himself, as Head of the local Church. It is clear that Ignatius recognised the importance of the See of Peter.

Looking at the comments of Ignatius, it is necessary to accept that “the Eucharist is the Flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, the same Flesh which suffered for our sins and which the Father, in his graciousness, raised from the dead.” (Letter to the Smyrnaeans). He speaks of there being “one Flesh of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup in the union of His Blood.” In the ‘same breath’ he says that there is “one altar, as there is one bishop with the presbytery and my fellow servants, the deacons” (Letter to the Philadelphians).

It is an ancient Christian teaching, seen in the Letters of this great martyr bishop, that the celebration of the Eucharist is a celebration in unity with one bishop. This is a fundamental belief of the Catholic Church, also upheld by the Orthodox. We cannot separate the reception of Holy Communion from our communion with the bishop. Therefore, the “sharing of Communion” by Christians of different denominations under bishops who are not in union of faith with each other is a serious error. I do not believe that the Lord Jesus wants us to behave as though we are orphans, without spiritual fathers.

There are special times and places where the sharing of Communion is right and good (because spiritually and practically acceptable in special circumstances), but the normal rule is that those who eat the “one Bread and drink the one Cup” are recognising “one Body” and “one Altar” (Ignatius’ words) and “one bishop”.

The struggle for unity is not going to be won by betraying the Truth. We must pray for our bishops and clergy to come closer together. The call for unity encouraged by Pope John Paul II was not, and is not, a call for people to simply do what they think best without reference to their own spiritual fathers. St. Ignatius would have been horrified at the sharing of Communion by people who had different bishops in the sense that one was in union with Peter and the other not. For Ignatius that would have been something akin to blasphemy.

Special permissions and special circumstances are not to be interpreted as though the general rule has been changed. We are struggling and praying and working for unity. The goal is the total sharing of the Eucharist in the sense that the Fathers understood it. We must pray for the day when Christians in a certain locality will have only one bishop, and that the denominations will end so that there is only “one altar”. Only then can we fully experience, together, the “one body, one cup” of the true Eucharistic celebration.

Let us beware of lazy thinking and rebellious projects. Nothing is served by disobedience. Obedience is a great sacrifice acceptable to God (read Ignatius). Whilst we cannot yet partake fully in the Eucharistic sacrifice, let us, nevertheless, offer sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, of charity and mercy, of peace and understanding, of brotherhood and reconciliation, until all become truly ONE.

Fr. John Abberton