107 or 115

The martyrdom of Ignatius of Antioch and his letters

Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, was condemned to death and sent under guard to Rome to be thrown to the beasts. On the way through Asia Minor, by Smyrna and Troas, he wrote seven letters. They went to churches of Asia Minor, to Rome, and to Polycarp of Smyrna. In them he asked that nothing hinder his martyrdom.

Ignatius was the first to clearly present the threefold ministry: bishop, presbyters, deacons. He insisted that without the bishop there is neither Eucharist nor baptism. This pattern became known as the monarchical episcopate.

He argued sharply against docetism, insisting Christ was truly born, suffered and rose. He called the Eucharist "the flesh of Christ" and "the medicine of immortality." In his letter to the Romans, however, he does not mention a single bishop. In the West this system had not yet taken hold.