Ignatius of Antioch
Letter to the Philadelphians
Make certain, therefore, that you all observe one common Eucharist; for there is but one Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and but one cup of union with His Blood, and one single altar of sacrifice-even as there is but one bishop, with his clergy and my own fellow-servitors the deacons. This will insure that all your doings are in full accord with the will of God.
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Letter to the Smyrnaeans
But look at those men who have those perverted notions about the grace of Jesus Christ which has come down to us, and see how contrary to the mind of God they are...They even abstain from the Eucharistand from the public [liturgical] prayer, because they will not admit that the Eucharist is the self-same body of our Savior Jesus Christ, which [flesh] suffered for our sins, and which, the Father in His goodness raised up again. Consequently, since they reject God's gifts, they are doomed in their disputatiousness. They should have done better to learn charity, if they were ever to know any resurrection...Abjure all factions, for they are the beginning of evils.
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Letter to the Ephesians
Obey your bishop and clergy with undivided minds...Share in one common breaking of bread-the medicine of immorality, and the sovereign rememdy by which we escape death and live in Jesus Christ for evermore.
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Background
Saint Ignatius suceeded Peter as bishop of Antioch. He was brought to Rome by the Romans and martyred for the faith in 110 A.D. He is famous for imploring those who would free him not to take any action so that as the lions ground his flesh, he would be ground as fine flour as an offering for the Lord in imitation of the Eucharist.
Letter quotations from: Crossing the Tiber by Stephen K. Ray, 1997.
