Books Ignatius of Antioch and the Second Sophistic: A Study of an Early Christian Transformation of Pagan Culture (Studien Und Texte Zu Antike Und Christentum / Studies And Te)  by Allen Brent (Author)

"Ignatius of Antioch and the Second Sophistic: A Study of an Early Christian Transformation of Pagan Culture" by Allen Brent is a scholarly work that explores how Ignatius of Antioch, an early Christian bishop and martyr, developed his theology of church order and ministry influenced by the civic and religious cultures of the Greek city-states under the Second Sophistic period. Brent argues that Ignatius's concept of ministerial roles such as bishops, priests, and deacons has roots in the religious cults and civic institutions of pagan Asia Minor.

The book provides a new account of how an early Christian transformation of pagan cultural and political ideas took place, focusing on the ritualistic and symbolic appropriation of pagan political theology in Ignatius's writings. It highlights how Ignatius's vision of church unity and hierarchy projected images akin to the father, spirit-filled council, and Christ in his descriptions of church offices, linking Christian liturgy to the performative and ritual elements seen in pagan cults.