Polycarp to the Philippians · §8 · Polycarp of Smyrna

Christ's endurance as our example

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Polycarp is opening his letter by urging the Philippians to hold fast to Christ, who bore their sins and endured all things so that they might live in him.

So let us hold fast without ceasing to our hope and to the pledge of our righteousness, who is Christ Jesus. He carried up our sins in his own body to the tree. He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth (Isaiah 53:9). Yet for our sake, so that we might live in him, he endured everything.

Let us then become imitators of his endurance, and if we suffer for his name, let us glorify him. For he set this example before us through himself, and we have believed it.

Greek

Ἀδιαλείπτως οὖν προσκαρτερῶμεν τῇ ἐλπίδι ἡμῶν καὶ τῷ ἀρραβῶνι τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἡμῶν, ὅς ἐστι Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς, ὃς ἀνήνεγκεν ἡμῶν τὰς ἁμαρτίας τῷ ἰδίῳ σώματι ἐπὶ τὸ ξύλον, ὃς ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ ἐποίησεν, οὐδὲ εὑρέθη δόλος ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ: ἀλλὰ δἰ ἡμᾶς, ἵνα ζήσωμεν ἐν αὐτῷ, πάντα ὑπέμεινεν.

μιμηταὶ οὖν γενώμεθα τῆς ὑπομονῆς αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐὰν πάσχωμεν διὰ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, δοξάζωμεν αὐτόν. τοῦτον γὰρ ἡμῖν τὸν ὑπογραμμὸν ἔθηκε δἰ ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ ἡμεῖς τοῦτο ἐπιστεύσαμεν.

About this text

Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, writes to the church at Philippi on righteousness, on Ignatius and his companions, and on the fall of the elder Valens.

Polycarp of Smyrna (fl. c. 155), bishop of Smyrna, wrote this letter with his fellow elders to the church of God that sojourns at Philippi.

The letter opens by rejoicing that the Philippians welcomed Ignatius and his fellow prisoners and that their faith remains fruitful. Polycarp urges them to serve God in fear and truth, imitate Christ's endurance, and practice righteousness in every station of life: wives, widows, deacons, young men, virgins, and elders. He warns against love of money, false teachings, and those who deny Christ's coming in the flesh or the resurrection and judgment.

He calls the Philippians to follow the examples of Paul, Ignatius, and other martyrs, and to restore gently those who have fallen, especially Valens and his wife. The letter closes with a prayer, a promise to forward their letters to Syria, and a commendation of Crescens.

New English from the Greek base text; no published English used as wording.

Printed text used

Translated from Polycarp Kirsopp Lake The Apostolic Fathers William Heinemann Harvard University Press London Cambridge, MA 1912 1 (Greek)
Also checked Lake 1912, The Apostolic Fathers I ( scan apostolicfathers01lake, machine-read text djvu.txt excerpt: Polycarp to the Philippians 9-14) (Latin · control witness for the Latin of 10 14 (public domain))
Also checked Lake 1912/1919, The Apostolic Fathers I ( scan TheApostolicFathersV1, machine-read text djvu.txt excerpt: Polycarp to the Philippians 9-14) (Latin · control witness for the Latin of 10 14 (public domain))

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