By Regis Martin, Crisis Magazine - So, why did (Ignatius of Antioch) come to Rome in the first place? Was there imperial business to transact that couldn’t wait another day? There was. In fact, the emperor himself had gone to Antioch to transact it, there overseeing a swift and brutal persecution. In the course of that persecution, Ignatius was arrested and shipped off to Rome where, like an animal tied to a stake, wild dogs would devour him for the delectation of the mob.