Smyrnaeans is one of seven epistles attributed to Ignatius that are generally accepted as authentic.
Tradition places the martyrdom of Ignatius in the reign of Trajan, who was emperor of Rome from 98 to 117 AD.
[3] The epistle mentions the resurrection of Jesus: "Now, he suffered all these things for our sake, that we might be saved.
The primary purpose of the letter to the Smyrnaeans is to counter those who make the claims of docetism.
To counter the teaching of the docetists, who claimed that Jesus did not come in the flesh, Ignatius wrote the first 7 sections demonstrating the real incarnation of Jesus, thus saying about the Eucharist: "They [the docetists] abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of His goodness, raised up again.