Feast of Saint Ignatius of Antioch – October 17
Ignatius was one of the important theologians of the primitive Church. He died in Rome as a martyr when he was led into the Coloseum and was eaten alive by lions.
Ignatius was born in the thirties of the first century. In the 60s, he was appointed bishop of Antioch (an important center of primitive Christianity, a Syrian town that has been under Turkish rule since 1938). Ignatius wrote a series of important letters which formulated the beliefs of the early Christian communities. He died a martyr's death in Rome in 108.