Ignatius of Antioch Ignatius was born in syria and converted to Christianity. He became the second Bishop of Antioch after Peter. The Emperor Trajan visited Antioch and gave the Christians the choice to apostasise or to be martyred. Ignatius refused to apostasise and was condemned to be thrown to the wild beasts. For this reason Ignatius was sent to Rome. On his journey to Rome Ignatius wrote seven letters: five of them were to the churches in Turkey, which he urged to keep faithful to God and to obey their superiors; In these letters he prepares them with solid truths against heretical doctrines. The sixth letter was to Polycarp, bish