Ignatius of Antioch was an early church father, and not much is known about him. What we do know is primarily drawn from his own writings. Ignatius was the bishop of the church in Antioch, Syria, and was martyred under Emperor Trajan around AD 110. He was apparently a disciple of John, the beloved apostle, along with Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna. Polycarp, Irenaeus, and Origen all refer to him or his epistles in their writings, confirming what we know of his life.