St. Polycarp - Letter to the Philippians

11/08/19 • 14 min

"The letter of Ignatius sent to us by himself and all the others we have here we send you... and from them you will greatly profit."

St. Polycarp was the 2nd-century Bishop of Smyrna. Though he is known to have composed numerous letters, his Letter to the Philippians is the only one that has survived.

In this letter, Polycarp insists on the value of closely studying the letters of St. Paul and of St. Ignatius of Antioch, whose letters Polycarp had sent to the Philippians along with this letter.

Mike Aquilina on St. Polycarp: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-5-st-polycarp-and-social-network/

Translation courtesy of Catholic University of America Press: https://www.hfsbooks.com/books/the-apostolic-fathers-walsh-grimm-marique/

Alternate Translation at CatholicCulture.org: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1626

"The letter of Ignatius sent to us by himself and all the others we have here we send you... and from them you will greatly profit."

St. Polycarp was the 2nd-century Bishop of Smyrna. Though he is known to have composed numerous letters, his Letter to the Philippians is the only one that has survived.

In this letter, Polycarp insists on the value of closely studying the letters of St. Paul and of St. Ignatius of Antioch, whose letters Polycarp had sent to the Philippians along with this letter.

Mike Aquilina on St. Polycarp: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-5-st-polycarp-and-social-network/

Translation courtesy of Catholic University of America Press: https://www.hfsbooks.com/books/the-apostolic-fathers-walsh-grimm-marique/

Alternate Translation at CatholicCulture.org: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1626

Previous Episode

St. Ignatius of Antioch - Letter to Polycarp

"Copy the ways of God in speaking to each as an individual person... Not every wound is healed by the same salve."

This episode features a letter written from one to saint to another: St. Ignatius’ letter to St. Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna. Alongside Ignatius of Antioch and Clement of Rome, Polycarp is regarded as one of the chief figures among the Apostolic Fathers.

Unlike other letters written by St. Ignatius and addressed to an entire Church community, this letter represents a personal correspondence from one early bishop to another. Polycarp so valued this letter, in fact, that he later had it copied in its entirety and sent to the Philippians.

Translation courtesy of Catholic University of America Press: https://www.hfsbooks.com/books/the-apostolic-fathers-walsh-grimm-marique/

Alternate Translation at CatholicCulture.org: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1634

Next Episode

The Martyrdom of St. Polycarp

"The uproar in the stadium was such that nobody could be heard at all."

An authentic, firsthand account of St. Polycarp’s martyrdom on February 22, 156.

Among other things, the account attests to the veneration of saintly relics by early Christians. The letter puts forth a clear defense of the veneration of saints as distinct from the worship rendered solely to God.

The account is as moving now as it was when the Christians at Smyrna first wrote it.

Translation courtesy of Catholic University of America Press: https://www.hfsbooks.com/books/the-apostolic-fathers-walsh-grimm-marique/

Alternate Translation at CatholicCulture.org: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1627