Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Ignatius of Antioch and Esoteric Teachings among the early Christians

In his epistle to the Trallians, Ignatius of Antioch wrote the following:

Am I not able to write to you of heavenly things? But I fear to do so, lest I should inflict injury on you who are but babes in Christ. Pardon me in this respect, lest, as not being able to receive such doctrines, ye shall be strangled by them. For even, I though I am bound for Christ, yet am not on that account able to understand heavenly things, and the places of the angels and their gatherings under their respective princes, things visible and invisible. Without reference to such abstruse subjects, I am still but a learner in other respects, for many things are wanting to us, that we come not short of God. (5:1-2)


In this text, Ignatius speaks of "heavenly things" (ἐπουράνιος "heavenly" with the subtext being "from God"), and that such teachings are esoteric, secret teachings amongst the earliest Christians. Often, Latter-day Saints are criticised for such (e.g., some particulars of the temple endowment), but it appears that the earliest patristic writers affirmed that they too, had deeper doctrines that only more spiritually more mature individuals would receive, with the danger being that the immature would be “strangled by them.”