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Polycarp
occupies an important place in the history of the Christian
Church. He is among the earliest Christians whose writings
survive. It is probable that he knew John the Apostle.
He was bishop of Smyrna. He
died a martyr. Irenaeus
remembered Polycarp from his youth.
Polycarp's
sole surviving work is his Letter to the Philippians, a mosaic of
references to the New Testament. _________________________________________________________________________
Letter to the Philippians:
Introduction:
Polycarp, and the
presbyters with him, to the Church of God sojourning at Philippi:
Mercy to you, and peace from God Almighty, and from the Lord
Jesus Christ, our Saviour,
be multiplied.
Chapter I: Praise of the
Philippians
I have greatly rejoiced with
you in our Lord Jesus Christ, because ye have followed the
example of true love (as displayed by God), and have accompanied,
as became you, those who were bound in chains, the fitting ornaments of
saints, and which are indeed the diadems of the true elect of God and
our Lord; and because the strong root of your faith, spoken of in day
long gone by, endureth even until now, and bringeth forth fruit to our Lord
Jesus Christ, who for our
sins suffered even unto death, (but) "whom God raised
froth the dead, having loosed the bands of the grave." "In
whom, though now ye see Him not, ye believe, and believing, rejoice with
joy unspeakable and full of glory; " into which joy many desire
to enter, knowing that "by grace ye are saved, not of
works," but by the will of God through Jesus Christ.
Chapter II: An Exhortation to
Virtue
"Wherefore, girding
up your loins," "serve the Lord in fear" and
truth, as those who have forsaken the vain, empty talk and error of the
multitude, and "believed in Him who raised up our Lord
Jesus Christ from the
dead, and gave Him glory," and a throne at His right
hand.
To Him all things in heaven
and on earth are subject. Him every spirit serves. He comes as the Judge
of the living and the dead. His blood will God require of those who do
not believe in Him.
But He who raised Him up from
the dead will raise up us also, if we do His will, and walk in His
commandments, and love what He loved, keeping ourselves from all
unrighteousness, covetousness, love of money, evil speaking, false
witness; "not rendering evil for evil, or railing for
railing," or blow for blow, or cursing for cursing, but being
mindful of what the Lord said in His teaching:
"Judge not, that ye
be not judged;" forgive, and it shall be forgiven unto you; be
merciful, that ye may obtain mercy; "with what measure ye mete,
it shall be measured to you again;" and once more, "Blessed
are the poor, and those that are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for
theirs is the kingdom of God."
Chapter III: Expressions or
Personal Unworthiness
These things, brethren, I
write to you concerning righteousness, not because I take anything upon
myself, but because ye have invited me to do so. For neither I, nor any
other such one, can come up to the wisdom of the blessed and glorified Paul.
He, when among you,
accurately and stedfastly taught the word of truth in the presence of
those who were then alive. And when absent from you, he wrote you a
letter, which, if you carefully study, you will find to be the means of
building you up in that faith which has been given you, and which, being
followed by hope, and preceded by love towards God, and Christ,
and our neighbour, "is the mother of us all."
For if any one be inwardly
possessed of these graces, he hath fulfilled the command of
righteousness, since he that hath love is far from all sin.
Chapter IV: Various Exhortations
"But the love of
money is the root of all evils." Knowing, therefore, that "as
we brought nothing into the world, so we can carry nothing out,"
let us arm ourselves with the armour of righteousness; and let us teach,
first of all, ourselves to walk in the commandments of the Lord.
Next, (teach) your
wives (to walk) in the faith given to them, and in love and
purity tenderly loving their own husbands in all truth, and loving all (others)
equally in all chastity; and to train up their children in the knowledge
and fear of God.
Teach the widows to be
discreet as respects the faith of the Lord, praying continually for all,
being far from all slandering, evil-speaking, false-witnessing, love of
money, and every kind of evil; knowing that they are the altar of God,
that He clearly perceives all things, and that nothing is hid from Him,
neither reasonings, nor reflections, nor any one of the secret things of
the heart.
Chapter V: The Duties of Deacons,
Youths, and Virgins
Knowing, then, that "God
is not mocked," we ought to walk worthy of His commandment and
glory. In like manner should the deacons be blameless before the face of
His righteousness, as being the servants of God and Christ,
and not of men.
They must not be slanderers,
double-tongued, or lovers of money, but temperate in all things,
compassionate, industrious, walking according to the truth of the Lord,
who was the servant of all.
If we please Him in this
present world, we shall receive also the future world, according as He
has promised to us that He will raise us again from the dead, and that
if we live worthily of Him, "we shall also reign together with
Him," provided only we believe.
In like manner, let the young
men also be blameless in all things, being especially careful to
preserve purity, and keeping themselves in, as with a bridle, from every
kind of evil.
For it is well that they
should be cut off from the lusts that are in the world, since
"every lust warreth against the spirit;" and "neither
fornicators, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
shall inherit the kingdom of God," nor those who do things
inconsistent and unbecoming.
Wherefore, it is needful to
abstain from all these things, being subject to the presbyters and
deacons, as unto God and Christ.
The virgins also must walk in a blameless and pure conscience.
Chapter VI: The Duties of
Presbyters and Others
And let the presbyters be
compassionate and merciful to all, bringing back those that wander,
visiting all the sick, and not neglecting the widow, the orphan, or the
poor, but always "providing for that which is becoming in the
sight of God and man;" abstaining from all wrath, respect of
persons, and unjust judgment; keeping far off from all covetousness, not
quickly crediting (an evil report) against any one, not severe in
judgment, as knowing that we are all under a debt of sin.
If then we entreat the Lord
to forgive us, we ought also ourselves to forgive; for we are before the
eyes of our Lord and God, and "we must all appear at the
judgment-seat of Christ, and must every one give an account of
himself."
Let us then serve Him in
fear, and with all reverence, even as He Himself has commanded us, and
as the apostles who preached the Gospel unto us, and the prophets who
proclaimed beforehand the coming of the Lord (have alike
taught us).
Let us be zealous in the
pursuit of that which is good, keeping ourselves from causes of offence,
from false brethren, and from those who in hypocrisy bear the name of
the Lord, and draw away vain men into error.
Chapter VII: Avoid the Docetae,
and Persevere in Fasting and Prayer
"For whosoever does
not confess that Jesus
Christ has come in the
flesh, is antichrist;" and whosoever does not confess the
testimony of the cross, is of the devil; and whosoever perverts the
oracles of the Lord to his own lusts, and says that there is neither a
resurrection nor a judgment, he is the first-born of Satan.
Wherefore, forsaking the
vanity of many, and their false doctrines, let us return to the word
which has been handed down to us from the beginning; "watching
unto prayer," and persevering in fasting; beseeching in
our supplications the all-seeing God "not to lead us into
temptation ," as the Lord has said: "The spirit truly
is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Chapter VIII: Persevere in Hope
and Patience
Let us then continually
persevere in our hope, and the earnest of our righteousness, which is Jesus
Christ, "who bore
our sins in His own body on the tree," "who did no sin,
neither was guile found in His mouth," but endured all things
for us, that we might live in Him.
Let us then be imitators of
His patience; and if we suffer for His name's sake, let us glorify Him.
For He has set us this example in Himself, and we have believed that
such is the case.
Chapter IX: Patience Inculcated
I exhort you all, therefore,
to yield obedience to the word of righteousness, and to exercise all
patience, such as ye have seen (set) before your eyes, not only
in the case of the blessed Ignatius, and Zosimus, and Rufus,
but also in others among yourselves, and in Paul
himself, and the rest of the apostles.
(This do) in the
assurance that all these have not run in vain, but in faith and
righteousness, and that they are [now] in their due place in the
presence of the Lord, with whom also they suffered. For they
loved not this present world, but Him who died for us, and for our sakes
was raised again by God from the dead.
Chapter X: Exhortation to the
Practice of Virtue
Stand fast, therefore, in
these things, and follow the example of the Lord, being firm and
unchangeable in the faith, loving the brotherhood, and being attached to
one another, joined together in the truth, exhibiting the meekness of
the Lord in your intercourse with one another, and despising no
one.
When you can do good, defer
it not, because "alms delivers from death." Be all of
you subject one to another having your conduct blameless among the
Gentiles,"that ye may both receive praise for your good works,
and the Lord may not be blasphemed through you."
But woe to him by whom the
name of the Lord is blasphemed! Teach, therefore, sobriety to
all, and manifest it also in your own conduct.
Chapter XI: Expression of Grief on
Account of Valens
I am greatly grieved for Valens,
who was once a presbyter among you, because he so little understands the
place that was given him (in the Church). I exhort you,
therefore, that ye abstain from covetousness, and that ye be chaste and
truthful. "Abstain from every form of evil."
For if a man cannot govern
himself in such matters, how shall he enjoin them on others? If a man
does not keep himself from covetousness, he shall be defiled by
idolatry, and shall be judged as one of the heathen.
But who of us are ignorant of
the judgment of the Lord? "Do we not know that the saints
shall judge the world? " as Paul
teaches. But I have neither seen nor heard of any such thing among you,
in the midst of whom the blessed Paul
laboured, and who are commended in the beginning of his Epistle.
For he boasts of you in all
those Churches which alone then knew the Lord; but we (of Smyrna)
had not yet known Him. I am deeply grieved, therefore, brethren, for him
(Valens) and his wife; to whom may the Lord grant true
repentance!
And be ye then moderate in
regard to this matter, and "do not count such as enemies,"
but call them back as suffering and straying members, that ye may save
your whole body. For by so acting ye shall edify yourselves.
Chapter XII: Exhortation to
Various Graces
For I trust that ye are well
versed in the Sacred Scriptures, and that nothing is hid from
you; but to me this privilege is not yet granted.
It is declared then in these
Scriptures, "Be ye angry, and sin not," and, "Let
not the sun go down upon your wrath." Happy is he who remembers
this, which I believe to be the case with you.
But may the God and Father of
our Lord
Jesus Christ, and Jesus
Christ Himself, who is the Son of God, and our everlasting High
Priest, build you up in faith and truth, and in all meekness,
gentleness, patience, long-suffering, forbearance, and purity; and may
He bestow on you a lot and portion among His saints, and on us with you,
and on all that are under heaven, who shall believe in our Lord Jesus
Christ, and in His Father, who "raised Him from the dead."
Pray for all the saints. Pray
also for kings, and potentates, and princes, and for those that
persecute and hate you, and for the enemies of the cross, that your
fruit may be manifest to all, and that ye may be perfect in Him.
Chapter XIII: Concerning the
Transmission of Epistles
Both you and Ignatius
wrote to me, that if any one went [from this] into Syria, he should
carry your letter with him; which request I will attend to if I find a
fitting opportunity, either personally, or through some other acting for
me, that your desire may be fulfilled.
The Epistles of Ignatius
written by him to us, and all the rest (of his Epistles) which we
have by us, we have sent to you, as you requested.
They are subjoined to this
Epistle, and by them ye may be greatly profited; for they treat of faith
and patience, and all things that tend to edification in our Lord.
Any more certain information
you may have obtained respecting both Ignatius himself, and those
that were with him, have the goodness to make known to us.
Chapter XIV: Conclusion
These things I have written to
you by Crescens, whom up to the present time I have recommended
unto you, and do now recommend.
For he has acted blamelessly
among us, and I believe also among you.
Moreover, ye will hold his sister in esteem
when she comes to you. Be ye safe in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Grace be with you all. Amen. ____________________________________________________________
See Also:
Text of Polycarp's
"Epistle to the Philippians" is in the Public
Domain. Photo of Skellig Michael Copyright © Irish Tourist Board.
"Comments", Photo of lone monk, and
Layout, Copyright © 2007 S.G.P. All rights reserved. ____________________________________________________________ Next Celtic
Pages FEATURES
 
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 Polycarp,
Bishop of Smyrna
(Ca. 69 - Ca. 155
A.D.)
Also: St.
Polycarp, Saint Polycarp.
Polycarp
of Smyrna (martyred in his 87th year, ca. 155–167) was a
Christian bishop of Smyrna (now İzmir in Turkey) in
the second century.
He
died a martyr when he was stabbed after an attempt to burn him at the
stake failed.
Polycarp
is recognized as a saint in both the Roman
Catholic and Eastern
Orthodox churches.
It
is recorded that "He had been a disciple of John." The
options for this John are e.g. John the son of Zebedee
traditionally viewed as the author of the Fourth Gospel, or John the
Presbyter (Lake 1912).
Traditional
advocates follow Eusebius
in insisting that the apostolic connection of Papius was with John
the Evangelist, and that the author of the Gospel of John was
the Apostle.
Irenaeus also
reports that Polycarp was converted to Christianity by apostles,
was consecrated a bishop, and communicated with many who had seen Jesus.
Irenaeus
repeatedly emphasizes the very great age of Polycarp. The Martyrdom
has Polycarp himself indicate his age on the day of his death,
with the phrase "Eighty and six years I have served him".
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Source: Wikipeda
- "Polycarp"
Comments:
In Polycarp's
Letter to the Philippines, Church organizational structure seems
to differentiate between the office of Bishop (one person, Polycarp
himself; and several presbyters/elders (see:
Church
Government: New Testament & After
The argument has
been made by some that the terms episkopos (Bishop) and presbyteros
(elder) are interchangeable terms for the office of Bishop.
This is apparently not the case at the time of the writing of this
letter (Ca. 100-150 A.D.). ____________ |
Polycarp's
Letter
to the Philippians:
