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Ignatius of Antioch and the Imperial Cult

Article in Vigiliae Christianae · February 1998

DOI: 10.2307/1584583

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Ignatius of Antioch and the Imperial Cult
Author(s): Allen Brent
Source: Vigiliae Christianae, Vol. 52, No. 1 (Feb., 1998), pp. 30-58
Published by: Brill
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 IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH AND THE IMPERIAL CULT*

BY

ALLEN BRENT

Schoedel described clearly the "staged" character of the jou

Ignatius from his native Antioch in Syria to prospective marty
Rome. The martyrdom is proclaimed beforehand to the Roman Chr by Crocus the deacon and others
from Ephesus, "who preceded me Syria to Rome to the glory of God." (Rom. 10,1-2). Furthermore, I

collects individuals who join his procession as representatives of the

of the various cities (Ephesus, Magnesia, and Tralles), who come
in Smyrna since the route selected by his guards has allowed him p ously only to visit Philadelphia.

Not only did some of these representatives stay with his entoura precede him to Rome (Rom.
10,2), but some were elected to congra the Church of Antioch on its peace (Philad. 10,1; Smym.
11,2-3; Pol The representative character of those who come from their Churc

join his procession is emphasised in Tral. 12,1 where he can say:

you from Smyrna, together with the Churches of God who are
with me (a&gia TaiS o)a[Tcpoioatg goto ?KKir1(niai ToD 0?eoi)." Thus Churches are considered very
much to be present in those sent to pany him. Through their representatives,' Churches "which did no
my way (ai [til ipoornKouo(ai giot) according to the flesh (tr 6bo T

* I would like to express my grateful thanks to Prof. H.W. Pleket for his i help and advice on early drafts of this
paper.
1 Ignatius claims to see the corporate personality of the Churches which he h visited as mysteriously
represented in clerical persons. With bishop Onesim "converse of mind (aovi90eta)" so that he was able to see their
corporate per their t7oXkukcX0eia (Ephes. 1,3 and 5,1), as also in the case of bishop Polybius (Tr bishop Damas (Mag. 6,1:
'6oare Le TO6 C&v niXfOoq ?v aUt(4 Oeopi4oaa). See further

The Relations between Ignatius of Antioch and the Didascalia Apostolorum, in Second
8,3 (1991), pp. 151-153; A. Brent, Cultural Episcopacy and Ecumenism, in S Christian Mission 6 (Leiden: EJ.
Brill 1992), pp. 85-88.

? Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 1998 Vigiliae Christianae 52, 30-58

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 IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH AND THE IMPERIAL CULT 31

oaplca) lead the way before me city by city (Kara tO n6Xv gie np
9,3; Philad. 10,2).
But how did both Ignatius himself, and the Churches which in this "stage management" of the
martyr's procession, view of the journey? In what social context are we to place the "th staged? We
need to go beyond Schoedel's individualistic and ps

interpretation expressed in such words as "gaining recognition

and "to bring to expression their deepest hopes and fears a
them effectively."2
Ignatius describes his appearance in Rome in language that c plies that his act confronts Roman
power with a superior, spi tive. Ignatius claims (Rom. 2,2) that: "God judged the bishop o

found at the (sun's) setting (eis; 8otv) having sent him fro
rising (&176 vaTxokiq)." Schoedel comments that: "there is a sens
in the bishop's mental geography strikingly different from th Roman power who speak simply of
Rome ruling from the risin
ting sun."3 Certainly Rom. 6,1 represents a self-conscious rev rial values on the part of a bishop who
is contrasting his indi with that of the Roman Emperor.4 But Schoedel resists any in

of Ignatius' act as part of a contrived martyrological cult. The s

bishop from the east is apparently simply a heroic figure pro triumph of Christian grace over the
Emperor's natural power
In what follows I will argue that Ignatius' procession to
reflects the Christian counterpart in the arena to the pagan,
His Christian entourage are the counterparts of the pagan
priests. I will interpret the images with which he expresses his
ing of what is taking place in the light of the social and relig in the city states of Asia Minor, in
particular their adherence opment of the Imperial Cult. We do well to ask whether Ignat

martyrdom are not set over against that cult, in the way

2 W. Schoedel, Ignatius of Antioch: A Commentary (Philadelphia: Fortr

p. 12.
3 Schoedel (1985), pp. 170-171.
4 Rom. 6,1: "The furthest ends of the world profit me nothing (o6SEv ge tpeXi'?ct xra
ntEpaxa xoi Ko6o'so) nor do the kingdoms of this age (ou06 ai paotleiat xob aidovoq
Txoi'Uo): it is better for me to die (Kak6v Rot &alcoOaveiv) for the sake of Jesus Christ (8t&
'Irooiv Xptox6v) than to reign over earth's furthest ends (i paoitclEtv riv Tv eparov
tij yTi)."

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32 ALLEN BRENT

regards his journey to Rome as a procession securing those d of Victoria and Pax.5 I will argue:

1. Ignatius sees his personal sacrifice (his &(VT'UXov on th -0rotiov) at Rome as centred in a
cultic procession, and son between his highway to victory and that of Rome's po tic comparison
with the developing Imperial Cult.

2. The cult is a mystery cult that parallels the imperial myste those who participate in the
martyrological drama are ougsgiozTat. His picture of the X6poS gathered for the Euch language
about its members and their actions (Xpotao(ppot, ayio(p6poi) mirrors what epigraphical evidence
will inform the mysteries associated with the imperial cult (iepa(p6pot, p

3. Ignatius' particular tite, "Theophorus (0eop06po;)" and ther of God" is to be understood in

comparison with the bearer rial image (eiKibv) in the ritual of the imperial cult (oepacTo
opaoaCtroXyo;, Oeo-ao?paacxoq(pdvTr). Certainly 7t0no; is use to eiKcbv as a "statue" or as a
"relief" in several inscription also see. We shall argue that related with this title is the u in the
description of the bishop's office as ncpocKa0rlevo; ?i; T This description also mirrors the theology
implied by Domit in the ritual dress of the Emperor as Pontifex Maximus.

4. His use of ambassadorial titles (ipeaopFia, 9?0EoCpeapDTTr an and the language of their
appointment (XEtporovoalt, outpoo6u to describe the function of clerics assigned to his martyrolo
sion reflects the background of ambassadors with similar tite 1Tpoatpe;, /ligpo6p6gio;) and roles (r6
ouyxapivat) in connect inscriptions of the Imperial Cult.

1. The Foundations of Ignatius' Martyr Cult

As they greet Ignatius in chains at Smyrna through On

bishop and representative who meets him there, the Ephesians

5 Certainly Schoedel (1985), Introduction, pp. 11-12, and p. 213 sa

of his martyrdom in such terms ("All this makes sense if we recall how Ignatius' whole journey appears to have been
for calling out support fr on his route and how intimately such support figures in the bishop's r significance of his
mission as a man set on unity"). Schoedel however left

particular social and religious context which would give meaning to I

tualization of the various roles of those involved in his procession.

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 IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH AND THE IMPERIAL CULT 33

as "being imitators of God, inflamed by the blood of

But these words cannot in this context be interpreted sim cation of their general piety.6 He claims that
their piety his coming martyrdom. They are "inflamed by the blood piaotavTe; ?v aiariax 0eo)"
because they were praying that his goal of fighting with the wild beasts.

The spectacle of "the blood of God" reflected in the

martyr-bishop is thus the cause of their anxious haste to (iaoopfioat i CToo&Sdoaa:e). It is therefore
the martyr bis EiKcbv or xt)to of the suffering God to which they are d which they will re-enact or
"imitate (,tgjrlna[i 6OVT?; TO

event.7 It is to be emphasised therefore that such gIinGrlo

In the arrival of the bishop from the East at the arena of
the West we have the climax of the cultic procession
Antioch and gathered its members from the churches
whom Ignatius wrote. As Perler pointed out, Ignatius used avxix)tXov as equivalent to the Pauline
iXaoaTijptov or ato
was this that he claimed to be as he claimed members
Church for his cultic procession. "I am your atoning sacri
iU(oV &Y?o), and of those whom you sent to Smyrna for t
(Kcai )v ?:s?\RVaxe ei; Oeo c TIlV Ei5; Egpvav)," (Ephes. 21, Pol. 2,3).

In this way Ignatius' sufferings become a kind of exten

as bishop in the Eucharist, as his words "I am God's w
indicate.9 The &otuacrui ptov of the arena is an extension of

6 Cf. Schoedel (1985), pp. 41-42.

7 This point was established at length by H.W. Bartsch, Gnostisch
detradition bei Ignatius von Antiochien, in Sammlung wissenschaftlich
(Gutersloh: Evangelischer Verlag 1940), pp. 78-98, and only par
K. Bommes, Weizen Gottes, Untersuchungen zur Theologie des Mar
von Antiochien, in Theophaneia 27 (Koln und Bonn: Hanstein 1976
8 0. Perler, Das vierte Makkabaerbuch, Ignatius von Antiochie
Martyrberichte, in RivAC 9 (1949), pp. 47 ff. cf. W.H.C. Frend, Marty
in the Early Church (Oxford: Blackwells 1965), pp. 199 ff.
9 For a discussion on the relationship between Eucharist and ma
Wetter, Altchristliche Liturgien: Das christliche Mysterium: Studie Abendmahles, in FRLANT 13 (1921), pp. 117-119,
136-137; Bartsch (
cf. Bommes (1976), pp. 61-63, 89-93. See also H. Schlier, Religionsg suchungen zu den Ignatiusbriefen, in BZNVW
8 (1929) (Giessen: T
152-169.

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34 ALLEN BRENT

that prefigures in Ignatius' liturgical scenes (Ephes. 5,2; Mag. 7

Indeed, Ignatius anticipates his experience in the arena as a kind
in which instead of the pagan crowds there will be the Roman as participants in a cult on which he
himself is sacrificed on a
is ready (9uwtaorpitov 'T1oitgov). (Rom. 2,2) His words are "to b as a libation to God (ToD caovS&t
ofvat O?c)," which may reflec
in Eph. 5,1-2.10 But Ignatius is not simply commenting on Scr
social vacuum. The 0voitaoirptov e,rotgov has clear associati
Imperial Cult and its offerings of thus et vinum, as a sacrific which aoovt&aGo vai is also
appropriate."
In place of the church gathered for the Eucharist, as (i
orim'ptov ei; ivoatnv To) a"i'aTo; a&ro. '?v o taoTrpov . .. (Phila is therefore the martyr pouring out his
blood and giving his
he prays may be found pure bread, as God's wheat (Rom.
Rom. 8,3 he asks the Roman Christians to behave like the
tors who express their wish for death rather than life to the a
for a person for whom the moment to be selected or otherwis
"If I should suffer (dav n70io), you had expressed your wish [for it
if I should be rejected (eav dao5oKtItcaao6), you had expressed
(lgtOilToaTE). 12
The church's prayer in the arena is not therefore that bread become Christ's body and blood, but
that in Ignatius' body tho may be displayed. He exhorts them regarding the wild beasts

"Intercede to the Lord for me (txtaveoaar xTOv icUptov i)7ip e`go))

these instruments ('iva 6ta tov 6pyadvcov Tzorov) I might be f
sacrifice (EOcD Ovata e'ipe0)." (Rom. 4,2) His vision of the Roma

10 Cf. Schoedel (1985), pp. 29-31 and p. 42.

1 For the use of incense on Trajan's altar at Pergamon, see SEG XI 922-93
V. Ehrenberg and A.H.M. Jones, Documents Illustrating the Reigns of Augus
(Oxford: Clarendon 1955) no. 102 (a); IGRR 4, 353 b 20. See also S.R.F.
and Power. The Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor, (Cambridge: U.P. 1984), Hellenistic ruler cult in ptolemaic Egypt
the burning of incense and liba to animal sacrifices was already common before its adaptation to emper

D. Fishwick, The Imperial Cult in the Latin West: Studies in the Rul
Western Province of the Roman Empire, in Etudes Preliminaires aux Religions
L'Empire Romain 108 (Leiden: Brill 1991), 2,1 p. 513.
12 The force of the two aorists (ih0eOaroe, ?itoltoaatc) is best brough for all expression (by the crowds in the
arena) of the action of the verb
accordingly.

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 IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH AND THE IMPERIAL CULT 35

has no bishop, priest, or deacon at this point, as has h

communities to which he addresses his other letters,'3 bu officials and their functions in the
amphitheatre. What t
tians can do is to "coax" the wild beasts to devour him
try to keep them away (Rom. 4,2).
Given therefore that the victorious journey of the bish the East confronting the emperor of the
West is a confr rival cults, can we now in the light of the inscriptions of delineate further the character
of Ignatius reverse image ing to Ignatius, are the features of the Christian liturgic mirror those of
pagan emperor worship?

2. The Xopoq and the ayo)v xtuaCtc6K

The Roman community is regarded as a Xop6; gathered ouataoTi'ptov 'xotogov. The mystery-
drama in which the is now an arena scene in which he is a Igtglni; of the suf

naBOous; xo Oeob gou). (Rom. 6,3): Ignatius invites the Rom

ered in his imagination in the arena that:

... in love becoming a choir ('iva ev ayad,rn o?P? yev6Oevot)

the Father in Jesus Christ (aonlxe T( napi ev 'Irioob Xpt
deemed the bishop of Syria worthy to be found at the sun despatched him from the sun's rising."

Rom. 2,2

They are to sing as a choir at the sacrifice (Xop?6; yevOLEvot), as he envis-

aged the Ephesians (4,1-2) formed like a choir at Eucharist:

for your worthily esteemed presbytery, worthy of God, is attuned to the bishop
(oixso; ouvTiplooXrat aT? ecaK6i1cp), like strings to a harp (); Xop8oAi KicOap);
therefore in your concord and harmonious love (i&a Txoxo ?v TJ boovoia ibg)v
icKi (sTug(PCOv ayar'), Jesus Christ is sung ('Irooi; Xptarox; a6erat). And each
of you should become part of that choir (oi icax' av6pa 6? Xop6; Yiveo0e), that
being in harmonious concord ('va onpqxpovot OVxCe; v 6iovoia), receiving God's
variation in unity (xp4o)a 0eoo XaP6ovreq, ?v iv6oxmxt), you may sing with one voice
through Jesus Christ to the father (adi&STe v (povf itLa ?ia 'Irooi Xptoxoi
Tro Tcapi)...

13 For the visionary character of his description of communities that he has not
visited at the Eucharistic worship see A. Brent, The Ignatian Epistles and the Threefold
Ecclesiastical Order, in JRH 17,1 (1992), pp. 18-32.

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36 ALLEN BRENT

We shall now review some epigraphical evidence which will lin

mystery rites in connection with the imperial cult. Our pur illuminate here the reversal of imagery that
portrays Ignati martyrdom as a procession of victory.

2.1. The Imperial Mysteries at Pergamon

IGRR 4, 353, from the temple of Roma and Augustus in an altar inscribed on four sides and
dedicated (lines a. 4-5
"saviour and founder (aoxript KXa [icTi]aoM)." But those who m cation are an existing choir of the
imperial cult, the "hymn-si
of divine Augustus (Oeo0 Zepaooi)) and of the goddess Ro 'Pori);)." (a. 1. 5b) Thirty-five
names stood there originall have been lost (a. 1. 17-18).

One of his family whose name survives in the mutilated li Capito whose office is that of 0eoX6yo;.
This was a title that
dition was to award to the Seer of the Apocalypse. But origina
title of a functionary in the imperial cult and associated wit u,voxTpia in which he pronounced the
eulogy upon the empe haps took part in choreography in which he played the empe

the drama of the cult.'4

Provision for the celebration of the dead Augustus' birthday (b. 1. 5:
gtqvo; KaioapoS; eepaorxf, yeveaip Zefpatroo ) in the context of the imperial mysteries now
follows in the inscription on the right hand side of the altar:

The conductor is to provide (ntapeFt 65 6 eSicooCuto) both for Augustus' birth-

day (tri Tob ZFepaoTaxo) evilvv yev7eoiF ) and for the rest of the birthdays of the
dead and deified emperors (Kcal( xai Xoutai; yeveaiot; TrCV acuxoKpar6opov) and
garlands for the hymn-singers (oTeqpdvoui roS; Ti gv(poi;) and crowning for the
mysteries (icai toiS; tuonpiot; oTe(pdvoatv) in the choir hall (?v TX ibLVCo) i )...
b. 1. 12-19

Ignatius thus also saw his communities gathered for the Sunday Eucharist or his own
martyrological Eucharist as singing the victory in martyrdom of the Christian bishop rising from
the East and triumphing in the arena
over the Emperor. In this respect they paralleled the way in which the
choir at Pergamon sung the emperor's praises. Like the imperial OeoXo7ot
or uOvcoio of Pergamon or of Hypaepa (Kca&uCvoivTe; v To e[cvCo`bv oea ov v)

14 H.W. Picket, An aspect of the imperial cult: imperial mysteries, in HThR 58,4
(1965), pp. 337-338.

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 IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH AND THE IMPERIAL CULT 37

in the imperial cult,'" there is the Xopo; of the Christian cult. That X extols that divinized quality of
imperial unity that is 'oiovoia (Ephes.
and which was also a feature of the doxology of Clement Cor. 6
Ignatius' martyrological cult was also to celebrate the peace exper
by the Church of Antioch in Syria. Thus 6jiovoia, like the pax deorum a particular objective of the
Imperial Cult which was achieved by Igna Christian Cult. The hymn singers were moreover garlanded
(IGRR 4,
b. 1. 18-19: aTcqxipvo0; Toit; ugvc60oi; Ka' roi; gsixrrizqpiot; creqxavoxn
as Ignatius' presbyterate are described as a "spiritual crown." (Magn. 1
&4to,tX6icov xEve_-JaTtuoi aTe(paivou).
When we turn to the inscriptions on the back of the altar we find th
priest (6 itp'spo) appointed for the year has, in addition to bread and and "sacrificial cake (1L6iavov),
incense (Xil3avov) and lamps (Kati Xhi for Augustus (T ji F_aaTF9)," to provide a cushioned bed
(atpCxnv) fo
images of the Augusti (ci; eiK6cva; tdiv l4pauTz6v)." (c. 1. 4-7) The canto
make similar provision of wine and a blanket. We then learn that
who are co-opted as hymn-singers from other cities shall give 50 den
(&&Touatv 6e oi 1o'tcTtaJ.Lcvot 4(o)ttKOi loigv(p8olt ... &,qvaipta v') for the
of the Augusti (ci; ciic6vo'v a;iv epacxatv)." (c. 1. 10-1 1) But we are pro
with no further information about the role that these played in the of the Imperial Cult in this
inscription.

2.2. Eic6VEc; in the Imperial Mysteries

Pleket concluded that, as part of the mysteries at Pergamon, a

toqxavT%; exposing "the imperial image under glaring lamplight,"16 w
have been accompanied at least on occasions by tjsvqSoti and oX
singing the divine emperor's praises. Though there is no referenc
aF_caaToqzvtia-1; in IGRR 4, 353, we find allusions to such a cultic role
where (IGRR 4, 522 (_ OGIS 479); 643).'" There are also other all

15 IGRR 4, 1608. c. 1. 10-20: [... oi naf]air; 'Acdcc; bgvc&oti rjj i'ppo[,r&Tfi toi IIEP
TtPEpiou Kaiaapoq [yEvsOXipT ilhi6p~ anwcpEXgCVOt Ei; [t&, ikp& scEyaJ.o1LpFcSch '
tiiv [nj; auv6o0O I6J]c0v VinttEX6oiv KCa04u[Ivoivbe; Vt6v CEPJk]or0v oilov ...
16 Pleket (1965), pp. 345-346.
'" Pleket (1965), p. 337 mentions the Bithynian inscription (Att. Mitt. 24 (189
which TrOv A,nxmpicov iepocp6'vnT% and aejcatoqxTPvdivT are used as equivalents. A
Asian example, from Dorylaeum in Phrygia (IGRR 4, 522 (= OGIS 479)), woul
Hadrianic inscription errected by Asklepiades son of Stratonikos o't; 1ePa(TT
Oeai; IeF3aMait; ICai. 'Og?ovoi' epaxcTii Kad 10e xPdCq1. His tide is (aXfZTa'oqiVT%I; & Kat tEPEI);.

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38 ALLEN BRENT

to ituvqp5oi of the imperial cult at Pergamon, for example As

Clearly the X%Xvot, the aTpiat;, the olvo;, the apTxo, the ki
nonavov together with the iSOvot of the i)pvqioi all have referen
rites involving the eiKCve?; of the dead and deified emperors In order to locate the function of these
Eilicve; in the ritual
need to refer to SEG 6,59 (= IGRR 3, 209), which is the "
international association of the craftsmen of Dionysus (fi(pta
T5f; oiKbco)?ViT; cepi TOV Atov)oov TEXvetixrv)" (1. 1-5) from An
sion is the incorporation of the cult of the emperor Hadrian
Dionysus and Hadrian's name is added to the association'
"new Dionysus" (cca AroKpacpxopa Tpaiavbv 'ASptavov ?cp
veov AtOvuaov). Here we find that it is the honoured benefa
Aelius Pompeianus to "exhibit the mystery-spectacle (da0yvo0exfi
TOV )mTIKOVv)."
Pompeianus summoned (tob; &ayovtox&a aveicaXkoaxo) the "already on their highway with
anxious speed (xrp re rtXEt
b6&oovxXa;)," and "he provided (&ntIpKECaev) for every part o (niroavi ltpet IOV wAvuo'TipioU)."
Ignatius too found the Ephes
the spectacle of his martyrdom (1,5: ioxopfioat ano,iou&a
regards all of them through their representatives as "compani
(oavo6ot ntavxe)." His martyr-cult, in which he shares with
tery cult in which the Ephesians participate as fellow initiates
who are on an highway (acipoo;). (Ephes. 12,2) The word gitilr
Rom. 6,3 has a parallel in the mystery cults of Isis'9 whic
lated to those of Dionysius which were, as Hadrian's exa assimilated in turn to the
Imperial Cult (ve6; AIOIoo0; =
(= OGIS 479)). Here tnCTrl';l is used, with its cognates, wgtgI
and |t!lauxtca xCiv Xr6Xe 7a9caxt6 ov, in the sense of actor in th

18 IGRR 4, 1608 (Claudius): a. I. 10: oi iubvcool a&v9rKIcav KaT'a TO' YevO

EV niEpyap) ion' TZi; iepa& [Cav6]68o ?yyp6pav'VT? oa iKcata [cKai (pltv]0
6e6ok?[va itc' at'rxo], and b. 1. 5 ... [cf ikp]a ibvo6S&v [oavov6cp Xape 19 Plutarch, De Is. et Os. 27 where Isis is
described as "having inter
most holy rites (calc; ai&to)xdcxa; &vaitaoaa TaeXeXacci;), images and sugg resentations of her sufferings at that
time (ebiKvaS; icKai ovoiaS Kical g
crlaidtov).. ." Cf. The mysteries of Attis in Lucian, De Dea Syria 15
tai icai "AzTea !it~Eovxat, and the Eleusinian Mysteries, El. Lysias c
Hierophant says: 6t58; Tilv cxokoiv gipLOuorevo; i x iepa ?7iteciKV1)e TOit a&D
xc (pov f a a&ic6pplrca (cf. Hippolytus El. V, 8,39). For the equation of Isi mysteries, see Plutarch, De Is. et Os. 35:
o't 0-tv o 'v 6 aoxo; ?'C ot Atoviu
i oC ytyvooKceiv, c) KcXa.

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 IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH AND THE IMPERIAL CULT 39

acting out their role in the divine drama become mystically id absorbed into the realities which they
act.20
Certainly Ignatius sees his role as bishop at one point as a m
In Tral. 5,2 he claims: "I am able to know (S6vaLaw voeiv)
things ('x eiou)pavta), both the angelic locations (Kai xTs; txonoeo
kuIKc) and the ranks of the archons (Kai i xa cuoxatdct; &povz Ephes. 19,1 he speaks of Mary's
virginity, and Christ's concep
sion as Tpia tLoxnlpta. In Philad. 7,2 he speaks of the Spirit tha
as "he exposes hidden things (&a Kpncpra& EkXeY )." Like the
the Imperial Cult, he is "entrusted (nentaoeu)LV vo;) with the h
(t& &ya Txxv ayov)... with the secrets of God (r& Kpucpxr xoi 0Oeo)
We can now ask what was the character of the ritual pe
those to whom were assigned the various parts in the adyov a how they were paralleled in Ignatius'
description of his marty

2.3. Image bearers in the Imperial Mysteries

We have already noted the use of eiKc6ve? of the emper

exposure in the drama by the 0eoq<pdavT' of Dionysus. The lat the oe,paaxoo(padvm when the two
cults began to be assimilate
taking place with Hadrian. But other symbolic objects wer
the ritual and persons assigned to carry them. The general ter is used of those who carry sacred
objects in a pagan cultus,21 this term particularly applied in the context of the mystery

ing the Isis mysteries Plutarch informs us that: "Isis ... is discloses the divine mysteries
(6etKvbo)oav rx Oeia) to tho and justly have the name of "bearers of the sacred vessels"

of the sacred robes" (Toi; d&Xr0OS; Kcai StKaito) iepa(ppot; KX

7poaayop?e)oI,Vvo t;)." (De Iside et Osiride 3 (352 B))
But there were also more particular roles assigned in the rit

20 For the Platonic justification for this see S. Calderone, Teologia, Politi Dinastica e Consecratio in Eta
Constantiniana, in Fondation Hardt pour l'etu
classique, Entretiens 19: Culte des Souverains dans l'Empire Romain Geneve 1972), pp. 236-237 and
footnotes; A. Heitmann, Imitatio Dei Nachahmung Gottes nach der Vaterlehre der zwei ersten Jahrhunde

Anselmiana 10 (1940). See also Wetter (1921), pp. 66-67, pp. 124-125; Sch
135-136, 163-164 ff.; S. Angus, The Mystery Religions: A study in the Religiou
Early Christianity (New York: Dover 1975), pp. 109-112, pp. 132-133, p
307-308.
21 IG XII, 5, 291.

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40 ALLEN BRENT

mysteries, some of which Robert lists as po1ow6poq, Ktox XtKva(p6po;, Kavrl(ppo;o, 0aXXo0p6poS,
qpaXo(p6opo;, and e
the latter term becoming oep3aoaTopopoS when for exam mysteries are assimilated with Hadrian's
Imperial Cult.23
in Syll.3 2,736 (Messenia 92 B.C.) where the law for celebra
mysteries is inscribed. Here "the sacred virgins (ai iapOev
are selected (Kai0ox av Xicovxat) draw the chariots (iyo3oaa
with chests containing the objects for the sacred myster KicTao; exoGoaS ilpa uazotaKd.)." (VI, 1.
30-31)
Among the objects carried in the ritual of the sacred m
tion to the eiK(cV of the emperor exposed by the ce3eaaToo
models or pictures of an altar. Apollonius, son of Apollon
title pcogoc`ppop in Pergamon.24 We find an explanati
Apuleius' description of the Isis mysteries:

The foremost high priests (antistites sacrorum proceres) ... carri

distinctive attributes of the most powerful gods (potentissimorum
insignes exuvias)... the second... (secundus) carried with bo
(manibus ambabus gerebat altaria), that is, "a source of help," (
special name was derived from the helping providence of
dess (quibus nomen dedit proprium deae summatis auxiliaris providen
Apuleius, Metamorphoses, 11,1

As Apuleius makes clear, the foremost priests take prece

insignes exuviae of the gods themselves. Furthermore, what
are not merely the portable accompaniments of ritua
clothing or attributes (exuviae) of the gods themselves. T distinguished from the second group who
carry the altar
the second group in the Isis mystery procession may
iepo9po6po,25 the first group may be described as Oeo(p6po occurs generally in the mystery cults.

In the inscription of Agrippinilla found in Torre Nova we have a list of functionaries of the
Dionysiac cult c. 15

22 L. Robert, Recherches Epigraphiques, VI Inscription d'Athenes

des Anciennes, 62 (1960), p. 323 note 6 (= Opera Minora Selecta, t Hakkert 1969), p. 839 note 6).

23 L. Robert, Hellenica, II, Inscription ephebique, in Revue de Philo d'Histoire Anciennes, 13 (1939), pp. 124-
125 (= Opera Minora Selecta,
Hakkert 1969), pp. 1277-1278).
24 M.P. Nilsson, Zwei Altare aus Pergamon, in Eranos 54 (1956),
25 Robert (1939), pp. 124-125.

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 IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH AND THE IMPERIAL CULT 41

heads the list as priestess and head of the association, but tw

tionaries, Gallicanus and Dionysius, are called 0co(p6pot.2
inevitably, following the assimilation of such mysteries wit
Cult, comes to be renamed oepaoaxo96po;, as in the Ephe
from Athens.27 These carried the imperial images in the mys
divine images were cared for by the sacristan or t&Kopog; Txv Oe
provisions for which we have already seen to have been mad
cussion of IGRR 4, 353 c. 1. 10-11. We have already met
official, the oefaoaxo(pavxTq, by whom imperial mysteries we
We shall now see how in Ignatius' Martyr Cult, in direc
the imperial mysteries, those who join the procession either
through clerical representatives are assigned roles analogous to
and the bishop at the centre of the cult is described as the O
bears a spiritual image, the tC5o; of their Father God.
As their fellow-citizens in the city states of Asia Minor
centres of the Imperial Cult such as Ephesus, Smyrna, or Tr to the supplicatio by joining the
sacrificial procession, so fig Christian Ephesians join Ignatius' martyr-procession. As Igna

You are all therefore (Eot oSv) companions on the way (aio God-bearers (eo(p6pot) and temple-
bearers (icai vaoop6pot),
(Xptoorop6pot), bearers of holy things (&yto(6pot), in every way the commandments of Jesus Christ (cKaTx&
dvvta evcxa ooTKOR
'ITIoo) XptaCoo).
Ephesians 9,2

Those who come at the summons of the martyr-bishop to join his pro-
cession carry, not the eiKccv of the emperor, but, in their conducting of
Ignatius, the t6nos or itgnrTl;i of the suffering Father-God. They are analo-gously
the equivalents of the e6(popot, iepacppot (&ytoc6pot), and (oOA6popot
(vao(p6pot) of the traditional cults paralleled by the imperial Sacristan of
the divine images (d&cKapo;q Tv Oeiov eiKc6vov). Instead of being clothed ?v
Xagcpait; ?cfioiv for the martyr's sacrifice,30 they instead are iKaa isvxta

26 M.P. Nilsson, The Dionysiac Mysteries of the Hellenistic and Roman Age, in Acta
Instituti Athiensis Regni Sueciae, 8,5 (Lund: Gleerup 1957), pp. 46 and 56-57.
27 Ath. Mitt. 59 (1935), pp. 77-88; Robert (1939), pp. 123-125. See also Price (1984),
p. 189.
28 Pleket (1965), p. 345; cf. Robert, art. cit. (cf. footnote 22), pp. 316-319.
29 See also footnote 17.
30 We have from Smyrna a marble tablet from the Museum and Library for the ruler cult of Attalus
III in OGIS 332, 38: ev oe0[fi]otv k[alxppaia teoecavo0evoiS ...].

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42 ALLEN BRENT

KEKOico,rlgnVOot ev VToaigS 'Iqaoo XptIaxo. The letter to the Chu

moreover is also addressed: ecKKXrlc a 0eoo ... &yto(opq).
But what of the office of the martyr-bishop at the centre whose representation of the suffering
God the Ephesians are
(Ephes. 1,1) Ignatius continually emphasises his other name o eo0p6po;) at the beginning of each of
the seven letters. Just
his thought a continuity between the liturgy of the Eucharis
and the prospective scene in the arena where he is destin
01oataoTpltov 'erotIov (Rom. 2,2), so too I would suggest ther nuity between Ignatius as 0oo(p6po;
of the suffering God an
as TWCOg Tov 7rcaXp6o;.

3. 0eo0p6po; and rTzno; in pagan cultic imagery

The bishop and presbytery, and, by implication or assi

deacons, are described in the Ignatian letters as ipoicaNigotv
This new concept in Ignatius of Antioch, we shall now
grown out of the pagan symbolism of Syria and Asia Minor, as the example of Hadrian as vFo;
At6vVoog has shown, in p
gration with that of the Imperial cult.31
Each Txuno; in the threefold Order makes concrete or inca Eucharistic action what it represents,
namely the Father (bis (deacons) and the spirit-filled apostolic council (the presbyte 13,1: "The
bishop is pre-eminent (TpocKaOriivovu To EIrTKO

drama "as a representation of God (eiS T6Crov 0eoo) and the p

TCv npeopvrTpcov) as a representation of the council of the
xtnlov aove6pio TCov XToroo6ToXov) and the deacons (icai zTrv
entrusted with the ministry of Jesus Christ (nenxtoxevT-rcvov
XptoToi)."33 But these realities are not static but dynamic. Thus each of the three Orders are indeed
as xtuot the coun
those in the imperial mysteries who carry (aopaoaTo(ppo
(oEparxToapidvTrg) imperial divine images as part of the ay&ov Pu

31 A. Brent, History and Eschatological Mysticism in Ignatius of A

64,4 (1989), pp. 309-329; Brent (1992), Cultural Episcopacy, pp. 80-81,
32 A. Brent, Ecumenical Relations and Cultural Episcopates, in A
pp. 262-266, A. Brent, The Relations between Ignatius of Antioch a
Apostolorum, in Second Century, 8,3 (1991), Brent (1992) Cultural Episco and pp. 80-92.

33 x'tnog is not used expressly of the deacons but is here implied.

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 IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH AND THE IMPERIAL CULT 43

in the Isis mysteries that Plutarch found indistinguishabl

Dionysus (in which Hadrian appeared as viog At6voooq) gR[l[aTa were provided by the
goddess as "teaching an
piety (eo[aepeia; biouo 5iSaya Ka 7t napar[t0tov) for men an
by the same sufferings (&vSpati Kcai yuvait.v rnob ougopopov
In the same way in Magn. 6,1 we read Ignatius' comm
with the bishop (~vc0rlxe T( tarcGKOc61G) and those who ar Toi; 7rpocKarlCivot;) as the type and
teaching of incorrupti
tiaXTiv a(p9ap<iaSa)."
Thus Ignatius' Christian &yov LuoxttKo; can proceed. Th each portray in their particular acts the
particular role t their Eucharistic re-enactment of the drama of redempti Room, according to Jn.
20,19-22, there is the Spirit-filled

apostles, and so too these are found represented by the the seated Father sends the Son, so
too the bishops se
give the people their communion or to receive from them
the bishop to consecrate, or to give them liturgical direct
There is a liturgical procession or X(proat between t
like the procession within the godhead. Mag. 7,1-2 goes on
ecclesiastical typology with that of the godhead. The d
byters proceed from the bishop and return to him just lik proceeds from the Father (TpoeX0ovxa) and
returns to him
thermore the presbyterate represents the ouve6ptov TCv &an
who in the Johannine Tradition (Jn. 20, 22), receive t the Spirit and who reveal the Son who
came forth fr
to the Father. The focus therefore in Ignatius of the theolo
cal representation (xrisot) is in the clerical functions i
liturgy.35

34 Plutarch, De Is. et Os. 27, see also footnote 18.

35 It should be noted that Tral. 3,1-3 and related passages (Ephes. 5,1 and Mag. 13,1)
require an understanding of typology in the sense of clerical persons standing eiS 6irtov,
without the related passages using the term rTnto; as such. It is for this reason that I would
reject the amendment Tx6ro; for ru>tog in Magn. 6,1-2 and accept the latter as the original
reading following Syriac, Arabic and Armenian texts. Certainly Tral. 3,1
has this reading uncontestably in ms. supported by Ap. Const. 2,26. I have demonstrated
elsewhere the failure of the Didascalia Apostolorum, the predecessor of the latter text, to
understand Ignatian typology. (Brent (1991), pp. 134-145). This lack of understanding
itself would, I submit, explain corrupted readings, often leading to an omission of the
term, in some Greek mss. (Lightfoot (1885), pp. 156-157 and pp. 118-120, cf. Schoedel
(1985), pp. 112-115 and pp. 141-142). At all events, a reading for Mag. 6,1-2 in terms

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44 ALLEN BRENT

Let us therefore now turn in greater detail to the specific e

evidence for the meaning both of T6nos and IpoKa1Rmevo
pagan religious background, in order that we may establish co
dential links between these terms and what we have described a episcopal ei6veS and gtg#lRgaxa of
his Christian aydov guoxlKuS

3.1. TC'no as statue and as eiKcOV

It must be emphasized that the word xtnoS usually me

statue" or a "relief." At Ephesus we have this word used of
figure (tzrov opOiov) of Antoninus set into the recess of a wa also the statue at Rome of Marcian,
proconsul of Achaia, descr inscription that it bears as a roS;.37 We have further epigraph which
reveals some interesting cognate terms. Whereas regula used to describe, in the sixth century,
statues commemoratin in the Hippodrome,38 the term eiKCOV is also used as its syno case of one
Constantine.39 We see therefore that there is a cle

tic connection between the ideas of xrtnoS and eiKlcV, which b

son with the sense in which Ignatius uses both terms.
In the Judaeo-Christian tradition at this time, unlike the la ment of picture-icons in the later
Eastern Church that hailed

of a bishop being described as 7pocKa9giEvo; ?i; TO6nov TO 09eo would

as it would seem to imply a physical "place" for God in the architecture of
Assembly.
36 CIG 2967: TOTVov oiv eioopdag;, wtnov O6p0ov 'AVTrcvEvou Acop6Oeo; Hrel, 9icKarTO
KpOTO6Evov ...
37 IGUR 1, 67: MapKiavov C oaxipLet xro; 'EXXaioS &vOumatoto.
38 R. Aubreton and F. Buffiere, Anthologie Grecque: Deuxieme Partie: Anthologie de Planude,
Tom. XIII, (Collection des Universites de France: Association Guillaume Bude: Paris
1980) no. 350, 8: obv &I TrUnov TXVqn ?4eae, Hop(9ppte. ("and, Porphyry, an artist's skill
has polished your statue."); 361, 1-2: oSxoS, ?yepot0l ETpe, S EO, Tiev Tx , O TOI eipetl oab6;,
KaXot6ca, oaeqxadvv. ("You who excited the spectators, this is your statue, which your
host of distinguished crowns raised, 0 Kalliopas.")
39 Ibid., 367,5: 'eioTt gev rciOVtI ICRZO TRIOTx KovoCavxivq
eicKva XaXKCEilv patbv iKptve yepaS? ...
cO 8e Ovev, ioOeovuaa (piov v T &OV avOeTo To6ve,
o&ppa Kal eCao7ogvoti; gvoTIv Eiioi Kaadxcov.

("Whilst Constantine was yet living, the city once judged Constantine worthy of the mean
honour of a bronze statue.... But when he died, she dedicated this effigy in her
grief for her dear one, in order that future generations might possess a memorial of his
labours.") See also 351, 5-6.

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 IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH AND THE IMPERIAL CULT 45

one of the founding fathers of its tradition, actual inanimate an images were prohibited. It was
therefore human figures in the li
were called upon to be the counterparts (txnot) of divine bein
parallels in the Christian cult of the eiic6veS T6(v ?epatrCov in IG c. 1. 4-7. As we have seen from
Apuleius, priests in the pagan cul
ried before them" or "displayed" (proferebant) the divine images (deu
exuvias). (Metam. 11,10) Their counterparts in Ignatius' mystery pl physical objects that they could hold
in front of them in this way.
spiritual iconic representatives, they could nevertheless be de "seated forward as an effigy of"
or "prominent as an effigy
phrase tpocKaorlcvoS; ei; Ticov implies here.
Let us now consider the epigraphical use of nrpoKa% etLvoS th clearly associated with oxnoq; in
Ignatius, and its connection with
beings.

3.2. 0eot ZepLaoxol tpoica%Ogpvot, as ExicrKoiot and gdiprupe;

I find the tendency to translate npoKa01gevo; as "preside" mistaken,

partly on the grounds that a xu6no is displayed and does not preside,
whereas it is the person who bears the xznog that presides.40 But the trans-
lation of this term as "preside" is mainly wrong, I believe, because it makes
7poKica0io (= tpoKdc&a gat) and its variants the equivalent of Ipodloxtgt and
its variants. The latter is the normal term for "preside" found in the inscrip- tions.41
The rarity of npoKa9rgevoS can be illustrated by the one sole entry
in SEG, where this term is used of cities rather than individuals. Here
npoKa%rtevil can either refer to the presidency of a city such as Tarsus
over-or, as I would prefer, its pre-eminence in-Cilicia Isauria.42 Indeed

40 For a more detailed analysis with further primary textual exemplifications see Brent
(1991) p. 151 and note 40, and Brent (1992) Cultural Episcopacy, pp. 84-85 and note 31.
41 See e.g. SEG XXXV, 826,9-10 which is a dedication to a priestess (ycv6secva e?
ta& A&auaxpo;g cai K6ppa; i;peta eiiv it epdv ica[Xox Kal] boiox; poEoxa); likewise 113,4
(7p]oio7Tav(vxtav) describes those who preside over the Eleusinian rites of Demeter and
Kore. 'Ihis therefore is the usual term for presidency over the rites of a cult, Pagan
or Christian (see Justin Martyr, Apol. 1,67,4 (cpoeocxrx); cf. Brent (1991), pp. 129-156).
7pocKaOrleovoS is used in a somewhat different sense, as cited in footnote 42. For gen-
eral uses of tpoiaTorlt and its derivatives see e.g. SEG XXVII, 758,3; XXXIII, 694,4;
and XXXIV, 94.
42 SEG XXIX, 1527 (Severus Alexander) (= OGIS 578): Tap(oos.... n icpdr Ic[ali
ircyioT(] cKa Ka.Xioarl C grlp6oSoX1t] e&v Y' er~apxcitV Rporia0eoe'VlC KIXtKiat;. An inscrip-
tion in honour of Septimius Severus reads (IGUR 1, 33): icataipta il [lnxp6]toXt; K[tktida;

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46 ALLEN BRENT

Ignatius reveals his knowledge of the normal use of this term tion with a city when he too uses it of
the Church of Rome eminent (Tiix c ai irpoica60rat) in the place of the district of

(?v T06t) ZXopio) 'PToPaiov) ... pre-eminent in Christian charity

T^< ayan%ltTI)." (Rom. insc.)
But the other subject of itpoica&jlEvoS is not a city but a g dess, who can be called kniacKoog;.

We have an inscription from Pergamon A.D. 129 (Syll.3 2, 6

which refers to "presenting the best sacrifice (7capaoaa[Of]vai d;[S Ka]ctkiorlv) to Demeter and Kore (fi
Te[Ai]jrlpt pcatl xr, K
desses who are pre-eminent over our city (rai; n]poKa9Cli?vat oTXeCo; 'ik[6v), as well as to Roma
and to all the other gods a
(b60o]ico 6i Kai i ['Pt]L Ki Id Toi; a&XXot[; Oeoi]; n&oa Kaci niaa pagan context, I would suggest that
the description of Ignatius as one who is described as 7pocKa0r1 vog; eci xtitov OV9eo, can

as a quite precise and intended parallel. The bishop "is pr the Church, just as Roma and
the other gods and goddess
city-states of Asia; but in his case he is not pre-eminent as a
but rather as a ZtToT; eoo.
In this connection too it is not without relevance that we ha
tion from Acmonia in Domitian's reign (A.D. 85). It conta Titus Praxias providing honours for his
memory. Here he
seers and witnesses (?7tC[o]cK6[7ot0]; cKati dppTpa;) [of his intent
Augusti (0eob; [?EP]acototo;) and the ancestral gods (Kai 0e[oig);
(IGRR 4, 661 1. 22-23). Ignatius is an overseer (citaKotno;) wh self divine but a t:nro; of the Father
who is, and moreover a
Tx);) in the Christian sense of one who is to lay down his life,
of divine suffering.
The three Orders are xtrtot or EiKoveq that represent a co
process of redemption, and the saving acts of Father, Son
work in such a community. We shall now examine how their the Christian cult explicitly mirrors the
religious objective o
Cult in securing the pax deorum.

'Iaaupi]oa; AcKa]o[viag; tp]ocKac0e[ogLiv .... Cf. IGUR 1, 78 and 80. Not

that the normal word for "preside" is used when this sense is required
1106: ... fl rc]poea?ctaa Ti 7Ct0X co; iJLV Oe6; "Aptre[gt...

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 IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH AND THE IMPERIAL CULT 47

3.3. boiovoia, discors natura, ius augurium and the pax

The saving acts, experienced by the community and

Eucharistic liturgy and in the clerical roles played, displa to the demonic powers who are thereby
shaken. "For whe
ble frequently (oxav yap nKcv&X; tli xO axob yiveo0e), the p destroyed (caOatpoivvzt ai a uvdvag?t;
ToiD )aav&), and his
solved (cKai Xea?TaI 6oX epo; a'6Toi) by the harmony of y
6iovoia v>iCv T; 7iCoTTcq)."43 We shall now see how s
restored bojovoia effected through the representation of
paralleled in the Imperial Cult.
Augustus's cult had, according to the Decree of the Koin
tiating the Imperial Cult there in 9 B.C.,44 set right
political order if not a disturbed natural order:

If not [the beginning of all things] in nature at least in the ful (ei i Ti (p'v6oa, To 6& Xpoioi(p) for even if
there is nothin dition and restored to a fortunate condition that he has set r otXI 8ta7cEciTVo Kai e?i; &)Xg;
xjETaPePi[KOS oXl; a d&vp0O the whole world a different appearance (ilcpav re iOKicev 7tav

which would [as a world] have gladly welcomed its destr E&alievwp (popav) had not for the
common good fortune
(ei JLti\ T6 KotvOv IVOV tov ?'xi)TXr a ?7ceyvvie6 Kaioap).
lines 1-9

Certainly what Lucan described in his de-mythologised Stoic account of

the Civil War as discors natura (8tateitciov icKa eit; &XiT)Xr'; eTapePq1CbK6; oxfiga)
needed an act of augury to set right (d&vbp0eoaev).
According to Lucan (Figulus), a political solution would go hand in hand
with a religious and cultic solution. The political chaos of the civil war
some seventy years before Octavian was but a reflection of the mysterious
cosmic chaos which was the result of the ira deorum. In Pharsalia 1, 589-590 we read of the
monsters "which nature at variance with herself, had brought
forth (discors protulerat natura)." But discors natura needed to be set right, even
if the imagery of the gods requiring pax to be re-established was absent
from his demythologized scheme. That pax will only come with a dominus

43 Ephes. 13,1 cf. Smyr. 6,1.

44 Ehrenberg and Jones no. 98, cf. also OGIS 458; SEG IV, 490. R.K. Sherk (ed.
and trans.), Rome and the Greek East to the Death of Augustus, in Translated Documents
of Greece and Rome, 4, E. Badian and R. Sherk (eds.) (Cambridge: U.P. 1984), no. 101
pp. 124-127.

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48 ALLEN BRENT

(cum domino pax ista venit). (670) Rome's freedom (civili tantum
(672) is but a reflection of cosmic disorder: it is but the
reflection of constellations straying from their courses (cur signa m suos mundoque obscura feruntur?). (664)

Furthermore, two sources indicate that Augustus saw the f

the Imperial Cult as inaugurating a golden age specificall
augury that would set right the straying constellations and al
of discors natura. According to Suetonius Augustus 7, the divine t
adopted by Octavian was closely connected with his augu Rather than call himself
Romulus as founder of the city name Augustus. The reason that Suetonius gives connects

the ius augurium.45 Thus Suetonius regarded Augustus as syn

augur and augurium.
Dio Cassius, in a way that reflects the underlying theolo
Pharsalia, records the successful performance of the auguriu
sacred ritual for securing salvation or safety, unsuccessful du
of the First Triumvirate in 63 B.C. He claims: "... they eve
called augurium salutis, after a very long interval. For this of of augury."46 We therefore find in the
imperial cult a religio
that accompanied Augustus's political revolution, in which th
tal act securing the pax deorum, so unsuccessful under Republic
was achieved by Augustus.47
As both the decree of the Koinon of Asia, and the iconogra

45 Suetonius Augustus 7: "... because religious places which are co

'augur's' ritual (quod loca quoque religiosa et in quibus augurato quid conse 'august' (augusta dicantur)..."

46 Dio Cassius, XXXVII, 24,1: 6ore Icati To oicovtola rx Tfi; byteia4 o

iTavt 7Ico:oi tcoiftoat. To)To 86 6i1 wxav?eiaS T1t 6pO6rog oafi, cf. (Epitom
Temple of Janus is opened because wars have ceased and he auguriu
successfully celebrated.
47 The iconography of the Gemma Augusti is a particularly cogent
significance of the ius augurium for Augustus, see J.R. Fears, The The at Rome, in AJNRW 2,17,2 (1981), p. 810:
"The iconography of the Gem proclaims this intimate connection of Capricorn and triumph, marking

virtus of Augustus, which have brought about the restoration of the

mankind.... Flanked by Roma and crowned by Fortuna, the emper
right hand the lituus, the medium through which the will of the gods is
person and the emblem of those auspices by which Tiberius has trium Augustus, Res Gest. c. 7,2: "pontifex
maximus, augur, XV virum sacr
virum epulonum, frater arvalis, sodalis Titius, fetialis fui."

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 IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH AND THE IMPERIAL CULT 49

Ara Pacis erected at the same time make clear, the pax thus of quite superhuman and even
millennial proportions, with the earth depicted in miraculously large abundance.48 The a quest for the
pax deorum with dreams of a golden age of pl with a single bringer of that age, after a century of
destru How, in the imperial mysteries, was the supernatural and m once achieved by Augustus, to be
continued sacramentally?

In the pax Augusti, we may say, in parody of Ignatius, "d

dissolved (Xietait b OX0Epoq) ... in concord (?v bojovoia)."49 'Oj
was one of the idealized personified Virtues celebrated in a d
tus, but associated early with Augustus' own divinity as Conc
Imperial society, with the collective memory of several genera
tive civil war, in greeting pax et princeps, would have concurr
is better than peace (o6&8fv o'xtv &atvov eipitv1r;), in which a
and heavenly things is abolished (Ev t& n; r6TXeoq KlaTapye
Kai 6T7xyeicov)." (Ephes. 13,2) As we have seen, civil discord of
(eiTyeicov)" went hand in hand with a discors natura supern
stood (tcoopaviov).
Thus Ignatius' version of the Christian cult, through its cul
to an end the oXe0pos of the cosmic powers and their de cultic act exhibited through its human
icons or T01ot, an
ayto(p6pot who attended them, Christ's victory and peace to
powers. Thus the Christian Cult parallels in its acts and
Augustus, whose augural act secured the pax deorum. Ignatius' use of human persons to be TxotI of
divine being
a radical development of the typology of Church Order, but

48 E. Bianchi, Ara Pacis Augustae, (Rome: Fratelli Palombi 1994)

G. Koeppel, Die historischen Reliefs der romischen Kaiserzeit, V, Ar
in Bonner ahrbucher, 187 (1987), p. 102. Fishwick (1987), 1,1 p. 98 dis
dating of the completion after its original "constitution" on 4.7.13 B
pp. 203-206.
49 Ephes. 13,2 cf. 4, 1-2; Magn. 15: ?ppoAoe ev 'oovoia 0eoV, KEKicTC evot itlaKptrOV
Icve){ia, 0iS Eoatv 'Ijoovi; Xptox6;. In Magn. 6,2 6boie0itav Oeoi is achieved by being
united with the bishop in the threefold Order (EV(*xte Tx ?tioKlc6 Kail T oi; cpoKaOx-
glEvot;...). See also Tral. 12,2; Philad. inscr. and 11.
50 J.R. Fears, The Cult of Virtues and Roman Imperial Ideology, in ANRW 2,17,2
(1981), p. 886: "The cult epithet Augusta, attached to Pax, Justitia, Concordia, and
Providentia, expressed the quintessence of the personalization of the cult of Virtues at
Rome." See also idem, pp. 889-892.

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50 ALLEN BRENT

theless a kind of reverse reflection of the typology of the Im Let us consider a further, literary
example.

3.4. Domitian's corona aurea and Ignatian xT6iot

Suetonius' account of the corona aurea, introduced by Domi a pagan iconographic theology. He
wore a specially designed c
in connection with his alterations in the cult ofJupiter Capito
to adapt this to the imperial cult. The corona aurea that h
institution of quinquennial contests for this cult was impress
image of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva (coronam auream cum effigie
Minervaeque)." However, the priest of Jupiter and the college assisting him in the ceremonial also
wore (panr habitu) crown of these three deities, but included, in addition, Domitian's o

quod illorum coronis inerat et ipsius imago).51

We see in the effigies or imago on the corona aurea, worn b Maximus of the imperial cult, a
sacramental representation of J
and Minerva. These deities are made sacramentally present
acts of Domitian as Pontifex Maximus, just as in Magn. 13,1 th
and spirit-filled "circle" or "crown" of the apostles are made
present by the r67iot (imago, effies) of bishops, presbyters, an
To d&ltor7pE?aeoTdroT0 ETrtaKOOcu i)OvV Kail &dtotcXKOV) TVE?UaTlKOo

xpeaop-epio) V Kg T&v ic Ka 9erv art& Obv 8toa6v(ov). The bishop

the Father, with whom the spirit-filled apostles are united in
and the Son in the deacons. Likewise Domitian, dominus et de
sacramentally present in all priests of the imperial cult, who w
on their crowns, and unite their individual acts into his one We have already referred to the uTKtZco:;
adycv at the tem
and Augustus at Pergamon in which the o?paToxopdavTr;S displ of the Emperor as the climax to the
mystery play. Here the iiK
or tiXno; (efigies) on a crown can be said to make the imperi 6xrli sacramentally present. Likewise in
Ignatius' picture of t assembly, the saving figures of Father, Spirit filled Apostles

made sacramentally present by the liturgical drama enact

presbyters and deacons, of which they are the Tz6rot. We ha
in Herodian V, 5,6-7 an account of the acclamation of the
their act of sacrifice before Heliogabalus (A.D. 218), in which
EicLov is associated with the Tiroo;S ro EJrtX:copiox 0oi5:

51 Suetonius. Domit. 4.

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 IGNATIUS OV ANTIOCH AND THE IMPERIAL CULT 51

... having had painted a great, full-sized representation

gey?i{oav ypavasa; iTavxg; eavtxo), in which he appeared re performing sacrifice (oloS; poiwbv e? ica
iepoupytv c{paivero
in the picture the form of the god of the country (icapaxrni
TOv Tznov xo eiXopopio) OeoV) with whom of course he was ing good omens (( 5i1 lKcaXXepOv
EyEyparCxo), and having s
ordered the image to be hung up in the exact centre of t
in the highest spot (`lcXeVCoev v T geoarrdat, f;iS oauyKvXfxro) x6
Tc Triv eiKcva avacteivat), over the head of the statue of Vic
rTO d&ydaXiaxo; Tn; Niicr;), so that when they assembled in c
i; Tb p3o)UTi'pitov) they each would burn incense (Xtpav EKaoxo;) and pour libations of wine (Kai
oi'voix; oaiv8ouot)

Here clearly the eiKcov of the emperor is associated with 0e6q; ? tCxopio0 which it mediates from
the centre of t for its business as the centre of its unity, just as Ignatiu the centre of the Eucharistic
assembly as the Tx6nos nax But as we have noted, Ignatius is an iniaKono; who is n

but a rc'nos of the suffering Father God and whose r

Christian &ytov RVUrIKOu;. He was in his cultic procession
in the Christian sense of one who is to lay down his life divine suffering, to which spectacle of bloody
sacrifice react with the enflamed passions of arena spectators (Ep

At this point the iconography of ecclesial Order merge

iconography of martyrdom and of a cultic procession.
ine the particular ambassadorial titles given to various cl pany Ignatius's procession in order to
establish their equ officials appointed by the city states of Asia in order to

tion and celebration of a new Imperial Cult.

4. The role of the nipeopetia in the martyr-procession

It is important for us to begin by noting the conne

carrying of sacred xr6not and embassies from various citie
role as the martyr bishop is linked in his consciousness, (section 3), with the pagan concept of a
0eo(p6po; in a pa cess. Likewise his role as npoKcaOFl'ivo;q eiS; Tiov naxp6o

prominent or pre-eminent statuary of pagan runot of the

(3.2). But such runot played a role not only in pagan my of which came to be associated with the
Imperial Cult, b sadorial processions.

Robert points out the way in which small statues (iepo

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52 ALLEN BRENT

zta) were carried by individuals and groups such as merchants in their

clothing.52 Furthermore, he notes that these small idols were described by
Josephus, with reference to Rachel's idols in Gen. 31,31-35, as zuxot.53
Furthermore, the purpose of such ornaments were not simply general indi-
vidual devotion or &norpoiri. There were "elements d'un laraire portatif" in
groups that carried images of their common protecting gods. The Alexandrine Acts of the
Pagan Martyrs describe two embassies, Alexandrian and Jewish,
the former of which has as their spokesman Hermaiscus, who argued their
respective cases before the tribunal of Trajan.54 Regarding the Alexandrians,
it is recorded that they were: Eicaoxot pacTa&covres Teoi; i8ioo; Oeor; (1. 17-18).
Furthermore paardeitv is a technical term meaning "to carry in a proces-
sion." "The bust of Sarapis (Xapaintbo; npoxoil) which the ambassadors
were carrying (iiv pdoiaxaov oi npEopet;) suddenly began sweating (aipviStov
'ipcoaev)," and the miracle caused consternation (1. 51-55).
We have furthermore the epigraphical remains of a letter of Caracalla
to Ephesus (A.D. 200-205). In one part of the inscription separate from the main
body of the letter we have Caracalla's comments on the mem-
bers of the embassy who have presented their city's congratulations to the
emperor on his victory over the Parthians. When he says: [a &6 n]poetnp?oPEUev
~i &itptoS Vi.ov 0e6; "ApeqtS;, he means that "your ancestral goddess Artemis
heads the embassy" because her image is literally carried at the embassy's
head. To parallel Ignatian usage, we may say that, in the ambassadorial
procession, the x'noG; TS; 'bicov Oeoi 'Ap?R'tIboS is "pre-eminent (tpocKaOwltvo;),"
just as in Ignatius' martyr procession, as in his Christian cult, the bishop
is ncpoKaOrqgivoq eti; Trnov Ocoi t)i6v. Just as in the Acts of the Pagan Martyrs
the xznoS of Serapis caused wonder at Rome by the miracle that it pro-
duced, so too Ignatius, who bears the rliCo; of the suffering God, will in the arena confront
Rome's power as the bishop from the East confronts the Emperor from the West (section
1).
But the concept of nppeaseia is related to Ignatius' imperial background
in other and more general ways than the bearing of images alone. The election of
deacons as ambassadors in Philadelphians and Smyraeans was

52 L. Robert, Le Serpent Glycon d'Ab6nouteichos a Athenes et Art6mis d'Ephese a

Rome, in Opera Minora Selecta: Epigraphie et Antiquites Grecques, tome V (Amsterdam: Hakkert
1989), pp. 747-769 (= CRAI (1981)), pp. 519-535.
53 Josephus, Antiquitates, 1,9,10 (= 322): 'PaxiXa I)uveavoev1 KicaTmxricot xob; rulno ei; 'ilv oa&yv Ai;
(pepoxSri; aTrxilv Ka ljXouv, see Robert (1981), p. 519 (= (1989), p. 753).
54 Robert (1981), pp. 530-531 (= (1989), pp. 764-765); H.A. Musurillo, The Acts of
the Pagan Martyrs, Acta Alexandrinorum (New York: Arno Press 1979), 8, pp. 44-48.

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 IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH AND THE IMPERIAL CULT 53

related to the situation in Ignatius' Church of Antioch in Sy

and at very least, such elections of delegations from the
munities was a general feature of the formal relations states in Asia Minor and can be
understood by analogy
relations.55 But what was the purpose of this embassy an
be made of it against such a contemporary background
I believe Schoedel to be correct in identifying a divided
munity at Antioch which has found peace, rather than
cuted externally.56 We may note from the example of Cl such an external threat may follow, not in
terms of a ge but from the civil consequences from internal divisions f

divided by internal strife and the need for the authorities

there is still a problem regarding the purpose and meanin and sending of these clerical ambassadors
even on the vie given way to peace within a divided Christian community

Why should Ignatius have considered it necessary to

tives whose office he conceived in terms of ambassadors i with them in the gathered Eucharistic
assembly? Ambassa
sent to confer some benefit or mark of regard, in pa
emperor in connection with his cult. Ignatius considers the
of boovoia and eipilvr as essential features of any Chr
that by its very nature will be marked by the threefold h
were also the divine qualities associated with Augustus' act continued sacramentally in his cult, as
we have shown.
I propose, therefore, that we should understand referen
ppeo,etia in the Ignatian letters in the light of the speaope
the inscriptions of the Imperial Cult.
We have the decree of the People (86go;) and Counc
Sardis honouring Menogenes son of Isidorus. He was to Roma and Augustus shortly after his
selection as an a
embassy to Augustus, to seek approval for the consecratio memorating his grandson Gaius'
assumption of the toga p the usual provisions for an imperial cultic celebration are

55 Thus Schoedel (1985), p. 213.

56 Schoedel (1985), pp. 10-12, 248-251.
57 e)Traia for the possession of which Onesimus, bishop of Ephes
gregation (Ephes. 6,5); cf. Clement Cor. 37,2; 40,1.

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54~ ALLEN BRENT

... all in resplendent clothes shall wear crowns ('v kagitpai;

Taxvrqpopeiv iarcivTa;), and the annual strategoi shall present sac
gods (8[u]aia; te iraptpativai to; oYoi; tColi ; icat' FVtacrut6v aT
make prayers through the sacred heralds for his safety (Kai Kacd
1&& ,t6v ieFpoirpuiicv uinEp tiS; aotipia; aiutoTb), and they shall s secrate his statue in the shrine of his
father (auvKtaelepCxaa te i
4ic toi ibxtp6,; EvtSp1iovta; vaCo) ... and an embassy be sent on
to go to Rome (nipea3iojciv E te tkp to&&wv cteiXxat tijv &n(Pt4oj'Vi
and to greet him and Augustus (Kai uVXiPTlaCOgEV7lV acii5T T
acatC)... and there were chosen as ambassadors (Kad jjp 8pja lollus son of Metrodorus and
Menogenes son of Isidorus...
IGRR 4, 1756 I, 1. 10-23

Following the cultic provisions, irpt'apEt; are therefore duly ap

function is to take the provisions for the extension of the I
to Rome for the approval of those whom the cult honou
Caesar son of God, Augustus, high priest.. ." replies in appro
1756 II).
The npE'apet; function therefore as proclaimers of the cult, who convey
its benefits to their fellow-citizens. A similar idea surrounds Ignatius' cultic
procession which proclaims as a counter-culture arising from the East the
reverse image of the imperial cult of the West as it arrives at the latter's
arena of sacrifice. This is why he will also change the names of civic
officials to give them a Christian meaning, as when he calls a ntpeFaprtj;
a OconpE(POurii;, or a iigepo8p6ito; a Oeo6p6oto;.
Furthermore there is epigraphical evidence of nIpeapEt; who accompa-
nied the emperor. These OEeopnea43pu'rt should therefore return and accom-
pany the martyr-bishop from the East, as the counterpart to the emperor and
his cult in the West. H1pe ecz'i clearly accompany the emperor julius
Caesar in Syll.3 761 where Callistus of Knidos (48/47 B.C.) is described
as "coming to Greece (yev6otevo; E'i t'ij; 'EXXa6'o;) in the company of the
emperor (j4[Et& ro aJoi cKp]6tVopo;) and in the company of his ambassadors
(iccl gtetk 'x&iv EicEiVOt 7rTPEoI3cv)T6CV)."
We can see how the communities who support Ignatius' procession
enlarge it by sending their own irpeoj3eia to join it. To the Philadelphians he
says:

... since according to your prayer (C'nE_i5i icara ti1v RPOoaE'UiV gcov) ... it
has been announced (airriyyF'Xi giot) to me that the Church in Antioch in
Syria is at peace (EiprIvEFEtv d1v KKICX11avCIV tiiV v'Avo ttoX_ij S; Dopia;), it is
fitting for you (nrpe'nov aT'iv i4itv) as a church of God (60; eKkXTautiq eoo) to
elect a deacon to conduct God's embassy there (Xetpotoviiact 8tiiovov Ei; tb

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 IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH AND THE IMPERIAL CULT 55

npeapWikaat ElcE iOti5 7tpeoel3iav), in order to rejoice with them when assem-
bled (ci;, r avyyXapiivcu acx&oi; eiba t6 a?Ut6cb ycvogegvoi;) and to glorifj the name
(Icac 180aoaai 'co ovogia) ...
Philad. 10,1

Though Ignatius mentions that it is a deacon who acts as a npeaj3i3rii;

(npea4ebaat) here, he goes on to assert that such an office can be also
exercised by bishops and presbyters.58
Thus the iicKXnlaixa 0coi in Philadelphia sent an elected deacon as an
ambassador and no doubt welcomed him on his return and received his

report (&7LonpFCapefra). Similarly Menogenes, on his return to the civic

FwicrO7uix in Sardis, made his aino7Lpeopteia or ambassador's report to a ful session of the gathered
community.59 Like the embassy (Epe43etiav) of Men
genes, that would travel to Rome and rejoice with Gaius and Augustu
(tiiv a&pt4og_vi9v ci; 'PCtr'0v KicXlt 0 apiYoo CvJGR v cl?&V fj tc icc t41 IXF-aurco), so
too this deacon as ambassador is to rejoice with the gathered Church i
Antioch (ci; tb a-yXapivxlt ax&oi; gerni tb cirb yevoj.Evoi;). This deacon how ever will not proclaim the
cult of Augustus and sacrifices for Gaius' birthda but rather the progress of the martyr's procession. They
are "to glorify th name (iai to~&6;ati - 6`voga)" of Christ which is associated with both Ignatiu

martyrdom and the peace of Christ's sacrifice of which that martyrdom

an image or ru'no;
Ignatius informs those who are "inflamed by the blood of God (&varomu-
pljavte; Ev a4ixrat Oeo4)." That it is "for the common name (ito toio icotv 6v6oaxo1;)" that he goes
bound (&8ebEpvov) to the arena (NptogaX~aat). "To suffer reproach for the name (6vet&S ea0xt)" is
a common martyrological sentiment (1 Pet. 4,14). But here it is qualified by the adjective Kotvo; and

indicates that what he does is shared in common with all those churches

through which his procession passes and which respond to his appellatio.
Kotv6v was, after all, the name of the "Commonwealth of Asia" (Kotvbov Ti; 'Aatia;) that organised
a provincial Imperial Cult and elected an archiereus
asiarch. Menogenes is approved because he "acted also as an ambassador
(RP_GP_-0Ga;tc Ica!) to Caesar Augustus (ntp'; xbv Yepaucatv Kaicoapa) on behalf of the Koinon of Asia
(i)?%8p cc -ro Kotvoi -jv 'EXXiWvov)."60 Just as the objec

58 Philad. 10,2: 60; icai ati eyytaca &x iwicial Fi,nCcjgVv tcalcT1c67; aot cci 68 pEOpuT'po
iCKci 5taiCcvolu;.
59 IGRR 4, 1756 III 1. 35-36: irCcpaycv6icFv6; cc ; V ji rn awvaX660ia" Biliioci iKKciai
TIjv (czoitcpnapcicc Fiaotciro.
60 IGRR 4, 1756, X L. 104.

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56 ALLEN BRENT

of that cult was the pax deorum, so too Ignatius' cultic processi
with securing the pax Christi, and its ambassadors are concer end. What "has been announced (&in-
lyyAX1 gsot) to me," jus
tidings were announced (EUIayyEXia6nf) at Sardis of Gaius' cele that the Church in Antioch in Syria
is at peace (siPrpvEi,Etv ti
ti1v iv AvttoXci-z tii; 2upia;). Furthermore, that peace was in
with the congregation's prayer (irta t ijv npoaeuiiv 1.WqClv), just
(Icozrel)x6;) through the sacred heralds (8ta &-v iepoicp{iDcov) a
for Gaius' safety (Ui)ld-p Tif; c(o)7Tipia; awioU).
Smyr. 11,2, contains similar sentiments regarding the appoin
ambassador to Philad. 10,1. The person that "your church
for the honour of God (di; -rtgiv Oeoi xetpo'ovfiaati. tiav lKKX
here called "God's ambassador (OFe-opEaP-kflv)," a combine
indicative of some office in view. "To rejoice with (auyXapfivat
of Antioch at peace (6zt eipiiveiooxtv) is also the purpose of t eoirope,ap?tri; as it had been of the
Philadelphian diaconal inp this passage adds two features important for our discussion.

The first is that the character of that peace is defined. I

peace between members of a body politic. "Being at peace (Eipi1
means that "they have recovered their proper size (aine' Xapov t6 'i and their proper corporateness (t6 i' iov
aojiaz-reov) has been resto
EcTZaTa' acckoi;)." These lines emphasize once again how impor community is what brings peace.

The second is that it is his martyr's bonds that produce the the Christian cult that achieves this
restoration of corporaten
martyr in chains (6Uaga) whose O&vzunXV1)Xov (Smyr. 10,2; Poi
prepared for the ready altar at Rome, and who is the vict
the central place in the procession that mediates through thei
peace of the Antiochene community. The prayer realising be accompanied by the appointment
of a godly ambassador
it by an embassy that will go there to proclaim it:

Your prayer went out ('l npoGFw,ii Ui4W Giv &ifjiX0v) to the chur in Syria (Eid t qicv icXrjaotiav TylV F-v
'Avrtoxid 'tSi; lupia;), from
with divinely glorious chains I salute all (OWEv &&p'VO; &0eo
8E&goi; nir6vToX; (XoWIO'oogat) ... so then, that your work may b both on earth and in heaven ( lva o 'XFv
t~ov 'g&)v y'v 71Tra r6 Tp
Y~ic KWt ,v oupavi) ... appoint a godly ambassador... etc.

61 Ehrenberg and Jones no. 99 = I. Sardis 7,1,8, 1. 12-14; Price (19 p. 259 cat. no. 56.

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 IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH AND THE IMPERIAL CULT 57

The reference here to iTCi 1 K cai ev ovpavi reinforces th

tic context of Ignatius' martyr-procession.
In his letter to Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, Ignatius re
tion (letpoTovifoat) "of someone (iva) ... who can be ca ner (S; 5uv'ioasat OeoSp6orgo;
Kcaksoat)." In order to ap Polycarp is instructed "to summon a god-pleasing coun

yayaeiv 0eo7lpeicrra{oov)."62 (Pol. 7,2) It seems that Ignat ing in the function of 0eo5p6jio;, a
Christian version of t This term refers to a very fast runner or courier, who b

business was allowed to use the cursus publicus (5p60o;S 657

companions were allowed to use the cursus publicus in his accompanying an official party with a
prisoner in chains
further corroboration of Ignatius' triumphalism that he r
accompany him in the role of a condemned criminal's fri
the official entourage of the bishop from the East rising l
the Emperor from the West.
In Philad. 2,2 this term appears again, with reference t
who have tried to take the OeoSpopot captives (tois; Oeo8p6
rouotv), no doubt in a figurative sense, and so impede th
martyr-procession. They are "many plausible wolves (nokoo
7rta<ot)," guided "by evil pleasure (ibov Kaicaj)." Clearl
no place in your unity (&XX' ?v Tn kv6tilt bt)v oVX iouaot

62 In IGRR 4, 1756 II . 32-33 Menogenes "completed (erXLeaE)

ing embassy (div ncpeoicav eUTnpecoxaxcaa) worthily of the city (&it 63 Zahn's view (Ignatius p. 286 note 3),
contradicted in Schoedel ( seem to be correct in view of the civic background in the city-states I have sketched here for
both Ignatius and the Apocalypse. I canno

0o06p6ogoi in Philad. 2,2 should deny that view since here the
Schoedel says, "to Christians in general," but to members of the
cession which the particular churches to which he writes have under and through representatives to join.

64 For itepobp6Ogo; see SEG XLII 1745 = Syll.3 303 cf. Pausanias of Elis.... igCaepoSp6ogo of Alexander son
of Philip. See also Livy
mos vocant Graeci ingens die uno cursu emetientes spatium. For t the cursus publicus in imperial times, see H.
Stephan, Das Verkehr
in Historisches Taschenbuch (Ed. F. von Raumer) 9,4 (Leipzig: Br
"Der cursus publicus war nicht fur jedermann benutzbar; es bestan
fortlaufender Postengang mit vorher festgesetzten Abgangs-, Ankunf
zeiten; vielmehr fand die Beforderung nur statt, wenn gerade Depe
vorkamen..."

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 58 ALLEN BRENT

the unity of nascent episcopal Order being reinforced by

the martyr-bishop of Antioch and effecting peace in Indeed they are like highway robbers
attacking the bi
macy is vindicated in his martyr sacrifice as TxIxos of the

5. In conclusion

Commentators such as Schoedel (1985) have drawn paralle gious and political ideas in the city
states of Asia Minor a
correspondence. General allusions to the language of the m been to a lesser or greater degree
drawn by others, as wel
clature for civic office-holders. Pleket's work (1965), a
Price (1984) and Fishwick (1987), on the specific relations tery rites and the Imperial Cult have
enabled us to specif
the origins of the parallel Ignatian concepts. The identific
allelism has, moreover, been considerably strengthened b of Ignatius's self-conscious comparison
between his cultic that of the Roman Empire. What has finally clearly eme

cultural pattern in the development of early Christian Ch

has formed itself as a kind of reverse mirror image of I

University College of St. Mark and St. John, Plymouth,

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