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To the Smyrnaeans
St Ignatius of Antioch, Lake, Loeb 1912
Chapter 8
Submission to the Bishop and the Presbyters
See that you all follow the bishop, as Jesus Christ follows the Father, and the presbytery as if it were the Apostles. And reverence the deacons as the command of God. Let no one do any of the things appertaining to the Church without the bishop. Let that be considered a valid Eucharist which is celebrated by the bishop, or by one whom he appoints.
Wherever the bishop appears let the congregation be present; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful either to baptise or to hold an “agape”1 without the bishop; but whatever he approve, this is also pleasing to God, that everything which you do may be secure and valid.
Notes
- Agapé means “love”: the name was given to some kind of religious meal. The context here suggests that it is a synonym for the Eucharist, but the point is doubted by some scholars. In the A.V. of Jud. 12 it is translated “Love feasts.”