Die Briefe des Ignatios von Antiochia und die zweite Sophistik

The Date and Authenticity of the Ignatian Letters: An Outline of Recent Discussions

“…Lechner (2018) has recently countered the arguments of Brent (2006b) and argued that Ignatius’s letters cannot be placed so specifically within the second century on the grounds of similarities to Second Sophistic rhetoric alone. Wolfgang Wischmeyer (2014) has also studied Ignatius’s letters in the context of Second Sophistic, though with less attention to its implications for Ignatius’s date. In light of the breadth of the Second Sophistic movement and the length of time during which this movement was popular (from roughly the second half of the first century to the middle of the third century), it may prove increasingly difficult to use the Second Sophistic to date Ignatius precisely even if the arguments of Brent and Lotz prove hard to counter definitively.…”

“…However, by establishing a contrast between Rome and the communities in Asia Minor, the Ignatian corpus promotes monepiscopacy in Rome as a means by which to win the battle with Gnosticism (Schmithals 2009: 201). Zwierlein (2010;2014) has furthered the arguments for viewing Ignatius's letters as pseudepigraphic compositions dating from the time of Marcus Aurelius in a series of publications on second-century Christianity. In a monograph that explores traditions about Peter's place in Rome and offers critical editions of the Martyrdoms of Peter and Paul, Zwierlein observes that Ign.…”

The Reception of the Gospel of John in the Long Recension of Ignatius’s Letters

“…6.1-2. On the Second Sophistic environment in which Ignatius’s language can be situated, see Harland 2003; Maier 2005; Brent 2006: 41-230; Lotz 2007: 37-93; Wischmeyer 2014.…”