Theophoros

Today is the feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Martyr. He is said to have been a student of St. John the Apostle; he certainly at least knew St. Polycarp, who was. He became bishop of Antioch; he succeeded St. Evodius, who succeeded St. Peter himself. According to at least one early legend, St. Peter himself had instructed that he was to follow Evodius in the see. He was nicknamed Theophoros, God-bearer, for reasons we do not really know. He was arrested and sent to Rome. It's very unclear exactly why; while not unheard of, it was not normal practice, and there's reason to think that he was sent in chains, which was very much not normal practice. In any case, he wrote a number of short letters to various Christian communities on his way to Rome. Tradition says he was martyred in the reign of Trajan, somewhere around 115, but people have recently been making the case for his martyrdom being instead in the 130s or 140s, which would put it in the reign of Hadrian or Antoninus Pius. Tradition also says he was martyred in the Colosseum; certainly Ignatius seems to have thought that something like this was likely, since he mentions that he will be thrown to the beasts, and we have no reason to think he was wrong, but it's not a point on which we have a lot of additional evidence.

From his letter to the Ephesians (18:1-19:3), a passage which provides a good summary of what a major figure saw as the content of the Christian faith in the second century:

My spirit is made an offscouring for the Cross, which is a stumbling-block to them that are unbelievers, but to us salvation and life eternal. Where is the wise? Where is the disputer? Where is the boasting of them that are called prudent? For our God, Jesus the Christ, was conceived in the womb by Mary according to a dispensation, of the seed of David but also of the Holy Ghost; and He was born and was baptized that by His passion He might cleanse water. And hidden from the prince of this world were the virginity of Mary and her child-bearing and likewise also the death of the Lord -- three mysteries to be cried aloud -- the which were wrought in the silence of God. How then were they made manifest to the ages? A star shone forth in the heaven above all the stars; and its light was unutterable, and its strangeness caused amazement; and all the rest of the constellations with the sun and moon formed themselves into a chorus about the star; but the star itself far outshone them all; and there was perplexity to know whence came this strange appearance which was so unlike them. From that time forward every sorcery and every spell was dissolved, the ignorance of wickedness vanished away, the ancient kingdom was pulled down, when God appeared in the likeness of man unto newness of everlasting life; and that which had been perfected in the counsels of God began to take effect. Thence all things were perturbed, because the abolishing of death was taken in hand.