As is commonly recognized, three recurring themes stand out in the letters of Ignatius of Antioch: the call for unity within the Christian community, christologically-oriented polemic against opponents, and Ignatius’ embracing of his impending death. This paper explores these three themes in light of insights drawn from studies of narrative identity, social identity theory, and (to a lesser extent) social memory. Narratives are powerful in their potential to shape human lives, both at the individual and the group levels. To the extent that a person adopts a narrative to provide meaning to their past, present and future, it can become central to that person’s identity, so that one may speak of such a person having a “narrative identity.” Similarly, if a narrative is essential to a group’s understanding of its own existence, one may speak of such a group having a “narrative social identity.” This paper argues that Ignatius adopted the narrative of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus as the master narrative for his own personal identity. In addition, through his letters Ignatius sought by the same narrative to shape the social identity of the communities to which he wrote. The narrative of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus has the power to explain the origins of the communities to which Ignatius writes, to articulate their destiny, and to explain the current circumstances they face, including the present spectacle of the bishop of their sister churches in Asia being led in chains to Rome. Viewing the above-mentioned three themes (call for unity, christologically-oriented polemic, Ignatius’ embracing of his death) in light of these considerations, this paper shows that they can be understood as interrelated building blocks in the formation and maintenance of individual and social identity.