Ignatius an Important Witness to the Canon

The letters of St. Ignatius of Antioch certainly are very close to the writings of the New Testament in unction, in tone, in themes and in antiquity. Even so, they have never been regarded as part of canonical Scripture. Rather, these letters are helpful, quasi-contemporary witnesses to the formation of the canon of the New Testament, both as regards the four Gospels (of which St. Ignatius uses Matthew, Luke, and John), when quoting which he uses for the first time the telling expression that implies inspired status, “It is written . . .” and as regards the letters of St. Paul, which he clearly understands as inspired. So rather than being in the canon of the Bible, St. Ignatius is an important external witness to the canon.