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Letters to the Churchs

The early church possessed a collection of the letters written by Ignatius of Antioch, about 115AD. He wrote them during the last seven weeks of his life when he was being taken to Rome, where he would be martyred for his faith. It was a time when there were problems with false teaching, and Ignatius was concerned about the need for unity. He was expecting to die. As he was escorted towards Rome, Ignatius was visited by many church representatives, and he was constantly both sending and receiving letters, and passing on news. To such places as Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, Troas, Philadelphia, Philippi, Smyrna and Antioch. He quoted texts from parts of what has become our Bible, such as Matthew, Corinthians, Ephesians and Timothy. Once a letter reached a congregation it would be read out, copied, and passed on to the next church.