Byzantine Saints: Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer, Bishop of Antioch (20 December)

About this sermon

St Ignatius the God-Bearer, also known as Ignatius Theophoros, was the second Bishop of Antioch and a direct disciple of St John the Theologian, alongside St Polycarp of Smyrna. According to sacred tradition, Ignatius was the child whom Christ Himself embraced, saying: “Unless you turn and become as little children, you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” Because he bore Christ both in his heart and in his arms, the Church calls him The God-Bearer. As Bishop of Antioch, St Ignatius strengthened the faithful during persecution, introduced antiphonal chanting inspired by a vision of angels, and boldly preached Christ without fear of death. In the reign of Emperor Trajan (AD 106–107), he voluntarily confessed Christ, refusing to sacrifice to idols. Condemned to death, St Ignatius was sent to Rome to be thrown to the wild beasts. Along the way, he wrote seven inspired epistles to the Churches of Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, Rome, Philadelphia, Smyrna, and to St Polycarp, which remain foundational texts of early Christianity. In his famous words to the Romans, he declared: “I am God’s wheat, and I shall be ground by the teeth of wild beasts, that I may become the pure bread of Christ.” On December 20, during a pagan festival, St Ignatius was torn apart by lions in the Roman arena. Tradition tells us that his heart remained untouched, and when it was opened, the words “Jesus Christ” were found written in gold. After his martyrdom, he appeared to many of the faithful, comforting them and praying for the Church. His relics were later transferred to Antioch and finally to Rome, where they rest in the Church of San Clemente. ☦️ Holy Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer, pray to God for us. 00:00 – Introduction: St Ignatius the God-Bearer 00:22 – Disciple of St John the Theologian 00:35 – Bishop of Antioch & Early Church Leadership 01:17 – Vision of Angels & Antiphonal Chanting 01:36 – Persecution under Emperor Trajan 02:05 – Voluntary Confession Before the Emperor 02:19 – Sent to Rome for Martyrdom 02:34 – Journey & Meeting with St Polycarp 02:49 – Epistle to the Romans (Famous Quotes) 03:11 – Writing the Seven Epistles 03:51 – Arrival in Rome 04:09 – Martyrdom in the Arena 04:36 – The Name of Jesus Written on His Heart 05:03 – Posthumous Appearances & Relics https://www.oca.org/saints/lives 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 Support Catholic Businesses here - https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ Sensus Fidelium Press - https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ Sensus Fidelium Apps - https://sensusfidelium.tv/ Support Sensus Fidelium - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 🙏🏻PLEASE HELP OUR CHANNEL GROW 🙏🏻 ▶️ 1. Become a Channel Patron: https://www.patreon.com/SensusFidelium ▶️ 2. Visit the website https://www.sensusfidelium.com for Gueranger, Saint of the Day, Apologetics, Meditation by the Saints, Scripture Study and more. ▶️ 3. Subscribe to Other Video Platforms 🔴 SensusFidelium.TV - https://sensusfidelium.tv/@SensusFidelium 🔴 BitChute --- https://www.bitchute.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium/ 🔴 Rumble --- https://rumble.com/c/c-298311 🔴 My Catholic Tube - https://mycatholictube.com/videos/sensus-fidelium-channel/ 🔴 LBRY.tv --- https://lbry.tv/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 ODYSEE - https://odysee.com/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 UGETube - https://videos.utahgunexchange.com/@Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 BrandNewTube - https://brandnewtube.com/@SensusFidelium 🔴 GabTV - https://tv.gab.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 GloriaTV - https://gloria.tv/Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 Brighteon - https://www.brighteon.com/channels/sensusfidelium ▶️ 4. Paypal, Bitcoin, Anedot, Stripe, Square & PO Box donations - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ ▶️ 5. YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 Please "Like" our videos so that Youtube shares it to others by clicking the "Like" thumbs-up under the video = 👍🏻 ▶️ 6. Please share this video 📲, and help others find Christ inside the Catholic Church! Please share this video on Facebook and Twitter using the share button. ▶️ 7. Follow on Social Media: 🔴 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SensusFidelium/ 🔴 Twitter: https://https://twitter.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 🔴 Parler: https://parler.com/profile/Sensusfidelium/posts 🔴 SP3RN: https://www.sp3rn.com/community/pages/14-sensus-fidelium 🔴 GAB: https://gab.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 Bastyon: https://bastyon.com/sensusfidelium 🔴 GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/sensus_fidelium 🔴 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/sensusfidelium/ 🔴 Telegram: https//t.me/RealSensusFidelium 🔴 Truth Social - @SensusFidelium ▶️ 8. Follow on iTunes: 🔴 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sensus-fidelium-catholic-podcast/id1477010758 #StIgnatiusTheGodBearer #IgnatiusOfAntioch #OrthodoxSaints #ChristianMartyr #EarlyChurch #ChurchFathers #LivesOfTheSaints #OrthodoxChristianity #Apostoli