Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians

Not to be confused with the Epistle to the Philippians, a biblical text attributed to Paul the Apostle.

The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians (commonly abbreviated Pol. Phil.) is an epistle attributed to Polycarp, an early bishop of Smyrna, and addressed to the early Christian church in Philippi. It is widely believed to be a composite of material written at two different times (see § Unity), in the first half of the second century. The epistle is described by Irenaeus as follows:

There is also a forceful epistle written by Polycarp to the Philippians, from which those who wish to do so, and are anxious about their salvation, can learn the character of his faith, and the preaching of the truth.

The epistle is one of a number believed to have been written by Polycarp, but is the only extant document. It was composed in Greek, but the Greek text has not been preserved in its entirety; there is also a Latin translation of the epistle. Moreover, a few quotations of it are preserved in Syriac.

Authorship and unity

Scholars generally agree that Pol. Phil. is an authentic epistle of Polycarp. One potential objection to the authenticity of the epistle, however, is the apparent chronological inconsistency between Chapters 9 and 13. In Chapter 9, Polycarp shows that he is fully aware that his friend Ignatius has suffered martyrdom, perhaps some time ago:

I exhort you all, therefore, to yield obedience to the word of righteousness, and to exercise all patience, such as you have seen [set] before your eyes, not only in the case of the blessed Ignatius, and Zosimus, and Rufus... 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. (emphasis added)

— Polycarp's Epistle to the Philippians, Chapter 9

But in Chapter 13, Polycarp references a letter sent to him by Ignatius quite recently (see the Epistle of Ignatius to Polycarp), and seems to be unaware of Ignatius' ultimate fate:

Both you and Ignatius wrote to me, that if any one went 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... 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.

— Pol. Phil. Chapter 13

Various efforts have been made to explain this seeming discrepancy. The most widely accepted proposal was put forward by Pearcy Neale Harrison in 1936: writing in the Journal of Biblical Literature, Harrison argued that the Epistle is actually a merger of two authentic letters of Polycarp.

The first letter, written just before Ignatius' death, would consist of Chapter 13 and possibly also Chapter 14. It would have served as a short Cover Letter for the epistles of Ignatius, to which it refers explicitly:

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 you may be greatly profited; for they treat of faith and patience, and all things that tend to edification in our Lord.

— Pol. Phil. he argued that the epistle is actually a composite of two authentic letters of Polycarp written at different times. Chapter 13

The second letter, written many years later, would constitute the bulk of the epistle (Chapters 1-12). Harrison named this letter the Crisis Letter, because it seems to have been written in response to a crisis in the Philippian church, in which its presbyter Valens was removed from his post for "covetousness" (Chapter 11).

These two letters would have been compiled together, either accidentally or intentionally, by a later editor. This view, or some variation of it, continues to enjoy widespread support among scholars, although some continue to argue for the unity of the epistle, while a few others argue that the Cover Letter is a late forgery and only the Crisis Letter is authentic.

Date

Scholars' estimates for the Cover Letter (Pol. Phil. 13) are largely dependent on the dating of the epistles of Ignatius, to which they explicitly refer. Traditionally, the Ignatian epistles are dated to around the year 108 CE during the reign of the Roman emperor Trajan, based on the writings of the 4th century church historian Eusebius of Caesarea. However, some modern scholars have questioned this view, arguing for a date in the 130s or 140s CE (see Ignatius of Antioch). In that case, the Cover Letter would be dated correspondingly later.

The Crisis Letter (Pol. Phil. 1-12) would date some time after Ignatius' death, but it is unclear precisely how much later it might have been written. Polycarp's death, which occurred around 155-167 CE, sets an upper limit. P. N. Harrison, who accepted the traditional Trajanic date of the epistles of Ignatius, dated the Crisis Letter to around 135-137 CE

If one accepts the minority view that Pol. Phil. is a unified letter, then the epistle as a whole would date to around the same time as the epistles of Ignatius of Antioch.

Content

The epistle warns against a number of disorders in the church and against apostasy, and encourages the Christians to persevere in good works. It also acted as a covering letter for a collection of writings by Ignatius of Antioch, whose works were being collected by the church at Philippi after Ignatius' visit there.

Here is one quotation from the epistle:

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.

— Pol. Phil. Chapter 10

One of the epistle's more important features is its use and citation of other early Christian writings, many of which later came to be part of the New Testament. The epistle has even been described as "pastiche-like" due to its heavy use of allusions and citations to other writings, which make up a large portion of the text.

Identity of the "heretics"

In Chapter 7, Polycarp exhorts the Philippians to reject various heretical doctrines, but never mentions any particular heretics by name. For example, he attacks docetism, the belief that Jesus did not appear on Earth in the flesh, by citing the First Epistle of John: ("For whosoever does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, is an antichrist").1 John 4:3 He also attacks unnamed individuals who claim that "there is neither a resurrection nor a judgment," calling them "the first-born of Satan" (Pol. Phil. 7.1). Importantly, the Christian apologist Irenaeus of Lyon claimed in his book Against Heresies that Polycarp had called the unorthodox Christian thinker Marcion of Sinope "the first-born of Satan." This led P. N. Harrison to conclude that Polycarp was in fact referring to Marcion in this epistle, albeit at an early stage in Marcion's ideological development. Many other scholars, however, have found Harrison's argument to be unconvincing.

Bibliography

• Richardson, C. C. ed. Early Christian Fathers. Philadelphia. Westminster. 1953. reprinted Macmillan 1970.

External links

• Greek text of the Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians
• Early Christian Writings on Polycarp
• A new relatively literal translation of Kirsopp Lake's Greek text of Polycarp's epistle to the Philippians. [1]
• Letter to the Philippians: 2012 Translation & Audio Version
• The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians public domain audiobook at LibriVox