Early Christian writings · 11 chapters
Ignatius to the Philadelphians
An appeal to the church at Philadelphia to avoid division, gather in unity and understand the Gospel in relation to the prophets.
Place in the traditions
One of the seven Ignatian letters in this edition, offering evidence of disputes over scriptural interpretation and church authority.
Lightfoot's Apostolic Fathers: source collectionThe edition you are reading
J. B. Lightfoot's historic English translation, transcribed by the Christian Classics Ethereal Library from a 1956 reprint and identified there as public domain. Source chapter divisions are retained. The reader numbers successive source paragraphs within each chapter; these locators may differ from section numbers in other editions. Opening greetings appear separately and do not change chapter numbering. Editorial footnotes are omitted; the source remains available for comparison.
Lightfoot's text at CCELBookmarks, highlights, notes and offline saving work in this collection. Verse comparisons appear when more than one edition is available. The existing cross-reference and Strong's datasets cover the original 66-book collection.
Opening greeting
Ignatius, who is also Theophorus, to the church of God the Father and of Jesus Christ, which is in Philadelphia of Asia which hath found mercy and is firmly established in the concord of God and rejoiceth in the passion of our Lord and in His resurrection without wavering, being fully assured in all mercy; which church I salute in the blood of Jesus Christ, that is eternal and abiding joy more especially if they be at one with the bishop and the presbyters who are with him, and with the deacons that have been appointed according to the mind of Jesus Christ, whom after His own will He confirmed and established by His Holy Spirit.