If you’ve read the writings known as “The Apostolic Fathers”, you know that the seven letters of Ignatius are a large part of that corpus, and that we can (responsibly) pull a good deal of information from them about the formation and thinking of the early church.
One of the best blogs you’re probably not reading is Mike Aquilina’s The Way of the Fathers. In one post today, he talks about two new books (one released, one to be released) on Ignatius. Please note, I’ve not read either of them yet so I can’t offer personal recommendations.
The first is Kenneth Howell’s Ignatius of Antioch: A New Translation and Theological Commentary (amazon.com). Here’s the Amazon.com blurb:
One cannot understand the early Church or Catholicism today without understanding St. Ignatius of Antioch. The man who succeeded St. Peter as bishop of Antioch and was the spiritual son of St. John the Apostle is the key to truly knowing the Christians of the first two centuries and what they believed. Ignatius' seven letters give us snapshots of the faith and life of the churches of Asia Minor in a way equaled only by the Acts of the Apostles and the Book of Revelation. Now renowned convert and former Presbyterian minister Dr. Kenneth Howell highlights and emphasizes for you the similarities between this Church Father's writings and the New Testament. He does the same with how later Christians used the writings of Ignatius. This great saint may seem like a man from a distant world, but Howell shows he is as real and pertinent in our own time as he was in his own. As a result, readers will find he helps them love Jesus Christ and His Church with the same all-consuming love that Ignatius had.
The second is Thomas A. Robinson’s Ignatius of Antioch and the Parting of the Ways: Early Jewish-Christian Relations (amazon.com). This one sounds much more up my alley. Hendrickson (who are always publishing fine titles) is the publisher. Here’s the Amazon.com blurb, which is a couple of back-cover blurbs and not a description:
"A vigorous, impressively researched and incisive study of Ignatius, firmly rooting him in historical context. Robinson challenges effectively some fashionable ideas about Ignatius and early Christianity, e.g., multiple `Christianities' and `Judaisms,' and the supposedly late differentiation of Christianity from its Jewish matrix. This is an important work whose arguments must be reckoned with hereafter." —Larry Hurtado, Head of the School of Divinity and Professor of New Testament Language, Literature & Theology, New College, University of Edinburgh
"Thomas Robinson succeeds in introducing readers to the multiple issues involved in interpreting Ignatius' comments about Judaism with an accessible style alongside evident mastery of a wide range of recent discussion. Its detailed analysis of the social and historical setting of Jews and Christians in Antioch is a model of what is needed in exploring particular situations and writings, and will ensure that the book becomes a standard contribution to the `the Parting of the Ways debate' as well as to the study of Ignatius himself." —Judith Lieu, Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity, Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge
If I do happen to obtain either, I’ll certainly blog about them.