Community and Fellowship: Ignatius of Antioch on Church Unity

Ignatius of Antioch (d. c. 110), writing on his way to martyrdom in Rome, produced some of the earliest post-apostolic reflections on Christian community. He wrote to the Ephesians: "Let nothing exist among you that may divide you, but be united with your bishop and with those who preside over you, as a type and evidence of immortality." For Ignatius, church unity was not merely desirable but essential.…