Polycarp to the Philippians · §Preface · Polycarp of Smyrna

Greeting to the Philippian church

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Polycarp and his fellow elders open the letter with a greeting to the church at Philippi.

Polycarp and the elders with him, to the church of God that sojourns at Philippi: may mercy and peace from God Almighty and Jesus Christ our Savior be multiplied to you.

Greek

Πολύκαρπος καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ πρεσβύτεροι τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ τῇ παροικούσῃ Φιλίππους: ἔλεος ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη παρὰ θεοῦ παντοκράτορος καὶ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν πληθυνθείη.

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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