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Polycarp, Greek bishop of Smyrna (modern Izmir, Turkey) was the leading 2nd-century figure in Roman Asia by virtue of his intermediary position between the apostolic and patristic ages and his work during the initial appearance of the fundamental theological literature of Christianity. A Catholic Encyclopedia article is online at St. Polycarp.
His major writing, The Letter to the Philippians, is intimately connected with the epistles and martyrdom of Ignatius. About 110 CE, while en route to Rome where he suffered martyrdom, Ignatius passed through Smyrna and was warmly greeted by the church and its bishop. Subsequently he was taken by his guards to Philippi, where local Christian leaders visited him. After his departure they wrote to Polycarp requesting him to send them copies of the epistles that Ignatius had written to him and to several churches in Asia Minor. This he did, adding a covering letter of his own. In it Polycarp urges the reader to stand fast in the faith, to avoid heretical teachings, to look to the examples of martyrdom suffered by Ignatius and others, and to persevere in philanthropy and good works. He concludes by saying that he is sending them copies of the epistles of Ignatius as they requested, and asks them to send him the latest news about Ignatius and his companions.
By his letter, and by his widespread moral authority, Polycarp combated the Marcionites (from Rome) and frustrated their attempts to establish Churches in Roman Asia. That sect advocated a rejection of the Hebraic Old Testament deity for the New Testament God. He also struggled against the Valentinian communities, esoteric Gnostic groups that claimed religious salvation exclusively through their arcane spiritual knowledge. Polycarp's anti-Gnostic thesis, an exemplary statement of post-apostolic theology, refuted the sectarian argument that God's incarnation in Christ, his death, and Resurrection were all imaginary phenomena of purely moral or mythological significance.
Despite the proximity in time between Ignatius and Polycarp, as well as the obvious affinity of their spirits in Christian fortitude, one recognizes in Polycarp a temperament much less oriented to ecclesiastical polity and possessing a much wider acquaintance with the New Testament. Proportionate to the length of what they wrote, Polycarp has two or three times more quotations and reminiscences from the New Testament that does Ignatius. Of 112 Biblical reminiscences, about 100 are from the New Testament with only a dozen from the Old Testament. Polycarp does not refer to older Christian writings by name, but The Letter to the Philippians has quotations (of approval) from these writings:
In fact, The Letter to the Philippians is a mosaic of quotations from both Old Testament and Christian writings. The letter is important for its early testimony to the existence of various other New Testament texts. English translations of the letter are in the books [LHH] and [Richardson] , and online at Noncanonical Homepage and Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The quotations below follow [Richardson]. For a summary of this evidence see the Cross Reference Table.
Polycarp | Matthew | |
---|---|---|
2:3 |
"Judge not, that you be not judged; forgive and you will be forgiven; be merciful, that you may be shown mercy; the measure you give will be the measure you get".... |
7:1,2 |
7:2 |
..."to lead us not into temptation"... |
6:13 |
7:2 |
..."The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak". |
26:14 |
12:3 |
..."for those who persecute and hate you" |
5:44 |
Polycarp | Mark | |
---|---|---|
5:2 |
...."a servant of all".... |
9:35 |
Polycarp | Luke | |
---|---|---|
2:3 |
...."blessed are the poor and those persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of God". |
6:20 |
Polycarp | Acts | |
---|---|---|
1:2 |
... "whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of Hades". |
2:24 |
2:1 |
...."judge of the living and the dead",... |
10:42 |
Polycarp | Romans | |
---|---|---|
6:2 |
... "everyone shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ and each of us shall give an account of himself". |
14:10,12 |
Polycarp | I Corinthians | |
---|---|---|
4:3 |
... "the secrets of the heart". |
14:25 |
5:3 |
... "neither fornicators nor the effeminate nor homosexuals will inherit the Kingdom of God", ... |
6:9,10 |
10:1 |
... "steadfast and immovable" ... |
15:58 |
11:3 |
... "do we not know that the saints will judge the world", as Paul teaches? |
6:2 |
Polycarp | II Corinthians | |
---|---|---|
2:2 |
For "he who raised him from the dead will raise us also", ... |
4:14 |
4:1 |
... let us arm ourselves "with the weapons of righteousness", ... |
6:7 |
6:1 |
...but "always taking thought for what is honorable in the sight of God and men" ... |
8:21 |
10:1 |
...in "the gentleness of the Lord preferring one another", and despising no one. |
10:1 |
Polycarp | Galatians | |
---|---|---|
3:3 |
... -- "which is a mother of us all", ... |
4:26 |
5:1 |
... "God is not mocked", ... |
6:7 |
12:3 |
...and in "his Father who raised him from the dead". |
1:1 |
Polycarp | Ephesians | |
---|---|---|
1:3 |
... "you are saved by grace, not because of works", ... |
2:5,8,9 |
3:1 |
... "the word of truth". |
1:13 |
12:1 |
... as it is said in these Scriptures "be angry but sin not" and "let not the sun go down on your anger". |
4:26 |
12:3 |
"Pray for all the saints". |
6:18 |
Polycarp | Philippians | |
---|---|---|
2:1 |
... "to whom he subjected all things, whether in heaven or on earth", ... |
3:21 |
9:1 |
... "did not run in vain",.. |
2:16 |
12:3 |
..."the enemies of the cross",.. |
3:18 |
Polycarp | I Thessalonians | |
---|---|---|
11:2 |
"Shun evil of every kind". |
5:22 |
Polycarp | II Thessalonians | |
---|---|---|
11:4 |
..."do not consider such persons as enemies",... |
3:15 |
Polycarp | I Timothy | |
---|---|---|
4:1 |
But "the love of money is the beginning of all evils". |
6:10 |
4:1 |
... "we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out", ... |
6:7 |
12:3 |
"Pray also for emperors and magistrates and rulers", ... |
2:1 |
Polycarp | II Timothy | |
---|---|---|
5:2 |
..."we shall also reign with him"... |
2:12 |
9:2 |
For they "loved not this present world", ... |
4:10 |
11:4 |
"May the Lord grant them true repentance". |
2:25 |
Polycarp | Hebrews | |
---|---|---|
6:3 |
So then let us "serve him with fear and all reverence", ... |
12:28 |
12:2 |
May God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and "the eternal High Priest" himself, the Son of God Jesus Christ, build you up in faith and truth and in all gentleness ... |
6:20, 7:3 |
Polycarp | I Peter | |
---|---|---|
1:3 |
In him, "though you have not seen him, you believe with inexpressible and exalted joy", -- ... |
1:8,12 |
2:1 |
"Therefore, girding your loins, serve God in fear" ... |
1:13 |
2:1 |
... "believing on him who raised our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and gave him glory" ... |
1:21 |
2:2 |
... "not returning evil for evil or abuse for abuse", ... |
3:9 |
5:3 |
... "every passion of the flesh wages war against the Spirit", ... |
2:11 |
7:2 |
... "watching unto prayer" ... |
4:7 |
8:1 |
..."who bore our sins in his own body on the tree, who committed no sin, neither was guile found on his lips".... |
2:24 |
10:1 |
..."loving the brotherhood".... |
2:17 |
10:1 |
..."cherishing one another".... |
3:8 |
Polycarp | I John | |
---|---|---|
7:1 |
For "whosoever does not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is antichrist", and whosoever does not confess the testimony of the cross "is of the devil"; ... |
4:2,3 |
Polycarp | III John | |
---|---|---|
10:1 |
... "fellow companions in the truth"; ... |
1:8 |
What does it mean when they say Jesus decended from David?
Can somebody explain?