Katherine Shaner: "Devote yourselves to the bishop": Episcopal Leadership and the Enslaved Faithful in Ignatius' Letter to Polycarp

In his _Letter to Polycarp_, Ignatius of Antioch repeats an argument found throughout his correspondence: faithful Christians should devote themselves to the bishop. As scholars note, Ignatius commonly appeals to his impending martyrdom to this end. In this letter, however, he also appeals to more mundane experiences in his social context. Here he uses the metaphor of a household in which slaves (the faithful) work together for the sake of good order in their master's (the bishop's) house (Ign. Polycarp 6.1). Yet earlier in the same epistle, Ignatius exhorts Polycarp to be neither arrogant toward enslaved community members nor allow them to be puffed up. Ignatius also warns against purchasing freedom for enslaved persons with communal funds (Ign. Polycarp 4.3). This paper explores the rhetorical link between Ignatius's metaphor of enslaved devotion to masters and instructions about the obedient subservience of enslaved persons in the community. I argue that the metaphor draws rhetorical power from the continuing practices of slavery within the early Christian community in Asia Minor. Ultimately, I illuminate how Ignatius's construction of the episcopate depends on the continued the subordination of enslaved persons.