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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: PIG-POL |
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POLYCARP (c. 6g-c. 155) , bishop of Smyrna and one of the Apostolic Fathers, derives much of his importance from the fact that he links together the apostolic age and that of nascent Catholicism. The sources from which we derive our knowledge of the life and activity of Polycarp
Polycarp
recent
1. The Statements of Irenaeus are found (a) in his Adversus haereses, iii. 3, 4, (b) in the letter to Victor, where Irenaeus gives an account of Polycarp's visit to Rome, (c) in the letter to Florinusa most important document which describes the intercourse between Irenaeus and Polycarp and Polycarp's relation with St John. No objection has been made against the genuineness of the statements in the Adversus haereses, but the authenticity of the two letters has been stoutly contested in recent
Ency. Bib. iii. 3490. The relevant statements in the letter, moreover, are supported by the references to Polycarp which we find in the body of Irenaeus's great work. 2. The Epistle of Polycarp.Though Irenaeus states that Polycarp wrote many " letters to the neighbouring churches or to certain of the brethren "4 only one has been preserved, viz. the well-known letter to the Philippians. The epistle is largely involved in the Ignatian controversy (see IGNATIUS). The testimony which it affords to the Ignatian Epistles is so striking that those scholars who regard these letters as spurious are bound to reject the Epistle of Polycarp altogether, or at any rate to look upon it as largely interpolated. The former course has been adopted by Schwegler,b Zellers and Hilgenfeld,7 the latter by Ritschl8 and Lipsius.9 The rehabilitation of the Ignatian letters in modern times has, however, practically destroyed the attack on the Epistles of Polycarp. The external evidence in its favour is of considerable weight. Irenaeus (iii. 3, 4) expressly mentions and commends a " very adequate " (licavc,rarrt) letter of Polycarp to the Philippians, and we have no reason for doubting the identity of this letter mentioned by Irenaeus with our epistle. Eusebius (iii. 36) quotes extracts from the epistle, and some of the extracts contain the very passages which the critics have marked as interpolations, and Jerome (De Vir. Ill. xvii.) testifies that in his time the epistle was publicly read in the Asiatic churches. The internal evidence is equally strong. There is absolutely no motive for a forgery in the contents of the epistle. As Harnack says, " There is no trace of any tendency beyond the immediate purpose of maintaining the true Christian life in the church and warning it against covetousness and against an unbrotherly spirit. The occasion of the letter was a case of embezzlement, the guilty individual being a presbyter at Philippi. It shows a fine combination of mildness with severity; the language is simple but powerful, and, while there is undoubtedly a lack of original
3. The Epistle of Ignatius to Polycarp.This epistle has of course been subjected to the same criticism as has been directed against the other epistles of Ignatius (see IGNATIUS). Over and above the general criticism, which may now be said to have been completely answered by the investigations of Zahn, Lightfoot and Harnack, one or two special arguments have been brought against the Epistle to Polycarp. Ussher, for instance, while accepting the other six epistles, rejected this on the ground that Jerome says that Ignatius only sent one letter to Smyrnaa mistake due to his misinterpretation of Eusebius. Some modern scholars (among whom Harnack was formerly numbered, though he has modified his views on the point) feel a difficulty about the peremptory tone which Ignatius adopts towards Polycarp. There was some force in this argument when the Ignatian Epistles were dated about 140, as in that case Polycarp would have been an old and venerable man at the time. But now that the date is put back to about 112 the difficulty vanishes, since Polycarp was not much over forty when he received the letter. We must remember, too, that Ignatius was writing under the consciousness of impending martyrdom and evidently felt that this gave him the right to criticize the bishops and churches of Asia. 4. The Letter of the Church at Smyrna to the Philomelians is a most important document, because we derive from it all our in-formation with regard to Polycarp's martyrdom. Eusebius has preserved the greater part of this epistle (iv. 15), but we possess it entire with various concluding observations in several Greek MSS., and also in a Latin translation. The epistle gives a minute description of the persecution in Smyrna, of the last days of Polycarp and of his trial and martyrdom; and as it contains many instructive details and professes to have been written not long after the events to which it refers, it has always been regarded as one of the most precious remains of the 2nd century. Certain recent critics, however, have questioned the authenticity of the narrative. 2 Geschichte der altchristlichen Litteratur, i. 593-594. 8 Early Christian Literature (Eng. trans., 1897), p. 150. 4 Letter to Florinus ap. Euseb. v. 20. 5 Nachapostolisches Zeitalter, ii. 154. e Apostolgeschichte, p. 52. 7 Apostolische Vetter, p. 272. 8 Entstehung der allkatkolischen Kirche, p. 584. 9 Ueber das Verhaltniss, es'c., p. 14. Lipsius brings' the date of the epistle down to about z6o, though he admits many of the statements as trustworthy. Keim, too,' endeavours to show that, although it was based on good information, it could not have been composed till the middle of the 3rd century. A similar position has also been taken up by Scharer,' Holtzmann,4 Gebhardt,5 Wyllie,' and van Manen? The last named regards the document " as a decorated narrative of the saint's martyrdom framed after the pattern of Jesus' martyrdom," though he thinks that it cannot be put as late as 250, but must fall within the limits of the 2nd century. It cannot be said, however, that the case against the document has been at all substantiated, and the more moderate school of modern critics (e.g. Lightfoot,' Harnack' Kruger)10 is unanimous in regarding it as an authentic document, though it recognizes that here and there a few slight interpolations have been inserted." Besides these we have no other sources for the life of Polycarp; the Vita S. Polycarpi auctore Pionio (published by Duchesne, Paris, 1881, and Lightfoot Ignatius and Polycarp, 1885, ii. 10151047) is worthless. Assuming the genuineness of the documents mentioned, we now proceed to collect the scanty information which they afford with regard to Polycarp's career. Very little is known about his early life. He must have been born not later than the year 69, for on the day of his death (c. 155) he declared that he had served the Lord for eighty-six years (Martyrium, 9). The statement seems to imply that he was of Christian parentage; he cannot have been older than eighty-six at the time of his martyrdom, since he had paid a visit to Rome almost immediately before. Irenaeus tells us that in early life Polycarp " had been taught by apostles and lived in familiar intercourse with many that had seen Christ " (iii. 3, 4). This testimony is expanded in the remarkable words which Irenaeus addresses to Florinus: " I saw thee when I was still a boy Orals in 6 v) in Lower Asia in company with Polycarp . . . I can even now point out the place where the blessed Polycarp used to sit when he discoursed, and describe his goings out and his comings in, his manner of life and his personal appearance and the discourses which he delivered to the people, how he used to speak of his intercourse with John and with the rest of those who had seen the Lord, and how he would relate their words. And everything that he had heard from them about the Lord, about His miracles and about His teaching, Polycarp used to tell us as one who had received it from those who had seen the Word of Life with their own eyes, and all this in perfect harmony with the Scriptures. To these things I used to listen at the time, through the mercy of God vouchsafed to me, noting them down, not on paper but in my heart, and constantly by the grace of God I brood over my accurate recollections." These are priceless words, for they establish a chain of tradition (John-Polycarp-Irenaeus) which is without a parallel in early church history. Polycarp thus becomes the living link between the Apostolic age and the great writers who flourished at the end of the 2nd century. Recent criticism, however, has endeavoured to destroy the force of the words of Irenaeus. Harnack, for instance, attacks this link at both ends.12 (a) The connexion of Irenaeus and Polycarp, he argues, is very weak, because Irenaeus was only a boy (ira"Is) at the time, and his recollections therefore carry very little weight. The fact too that he never shows any signs of having been influenced by Polycarp and never once quotes his writings is a further proof that the relation between them was slight. (b) The connexion which Irenaeus tries to establish between Polycarp and John the apostle is probably due to a blunder. Irenaeus has confused John the apostle and John' the presbyter. Polycarp was the disciple of the latter, not the former. In this second ' Zeitschr. f. wissensch. Theol. (1874), p. 200 seq. 2 Aus dem Urchristenth:em (1878), p. 90. 8 Zeitschr. f. hist. Theol. (1870), p. 203 seq. Zeitschr. f. wissensch. Theol. (1877). Zeitschr. f. hist. Theol. (1875). 6 De anno Polycarpi. (1881). Oud-Christ (1861), and Ency. Bib. iii. 3479. Ignatius and Polycarp, i. 589 seq. ' Gesch. d. altchrist. Lit. II. i. 341. " 0 Early Christian Lit. (Eng. trans., 1897), p. 380. " Amongst these we ought probably to Include the expression KaOoXLe, EKKXnaLa (xvi. 19); K0.00M di being here used in the sense of orthodoxa usage which is not found elsewhere at so early a date. Chronologie, i. 325-329.18 Contemp. Review, February 1897. 14 Ignatius and Polycarp, i. 432, for instance, Constantine (Euseb. V.C. ii. 51) describes himself as Kop. ji 7reIc, though he must have been over thirty at the time. 15 Chronologie, i. 325-333. " See Lightfoot, op. cit. I. 432. 17 Essays on Supernatural Religion, 264, 265. argument Harnack has the support of a considerable number of modern scholars who deny the Ephesian residence of John the apostle. But, as Gwatkin 13 has pointed out, Harnack's arguments are by no means decisive. (a) When Irenaeus describes himself as a boy (laic), he need not have meant a very young lad, under thirteen, as Harnack makes out. Lightfoot has cited many instances which prove that the word could be used of a man of thirty 1A Nor does the alternative phrase which Irenaeus uses in iii. 3, 4 (ov Kal 1)e4 iwpaKaev iv rri irpwrp i7wv ilXudit) militate against this interpretation, for elsewhere Irenaeus him-self distinctly says " triginta annorum aetas prima indoles est juvenis " (ii. 22, 5). It is true that Harnack has adduced arguments which cannot be discussed here to prove that Irenaeus was not born till about 140;15 but against this we may quote the decision of Lipsius, who puts the date of his birth at 130,16 while Lightfoot argues for s2o.17 The fact that Irenaeus never quotes Polycarp does not count for much. Polycarp wrote very little. He does not seem to have been a man of great mental capacity. " His influence was that of saintliness rather than that of intellect." (b) A discussion of Harnack's second line of argument is impossible here. His theory with regard to the confusion of names is a gratuitous assumption and cannot. be proved. The tradition of St John's residence at Ephesus is too strong to be easily set aside. In spite therefore of much modern criticism there seems to be no solid reason for rejecting the statements of Irenaeus and regarding Polycarp as the link between the Apostolic age and the first of the Catholic fathers. Though Polycarp must have been bishop of Smyrna for nearly half a century we know next to nothing about his career. We get only an occasional glimpse of his activity, and the period between 115 and 155 is practically a blank. The only points of sure information which we possess relate to (1) his relations with Ignatius, (2) his protests against heresy, (3) his visit to Rome in the time of Anicetus, (4) his martyrdom. 1. His Relations with Ignatius.Ignatius, while on his way to Rome to suffer martyrdom, halted at Smyrna and received a warm welcome from the church and its bishop. Upon reaching Troas he despatched two letters, one to the church at Smyrna, another addressed personally to Polycarp. In these letters Ignatius charged Polycarp to write to all the churches between Smyrna and Syria (since his hurried departure from Troas made it impossible for him to do so in person) urging them to send letters and delegates to the church at Antioch to congratulate it upon the cessation of the persecution and to establish it in the faith. The letters of Ignatius illustrate the commanding position which Polycarp had already attained in Asia. It was in the discharge of the task which had been laid upon him by Ignatius that Polycarp was brought into correspondence with the Philippians. The Church at Philippi wrote to Polycarp asking him to forward their letters to Antioch. Polycarp replied, promising to carry out their request and enclosing a number of the letters of Ignatius which he had in his possession. 2. Polycarp's Attack on Heresy.All through his life Polycarp appears to have been an uncompromising opponent of heresy. We find him in his epistle (ch. vii.) uttering a strong protest against certain false teachers (probably the followers of Cerinthus). For every one who shall not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is antichrist ; and whosoever shall not confess the testimony of the Cross is of the devil; and whosoever shall pervert the oracles of the Lord to his own lusts and say that there is neither resurrection nor judgment, that man is the first-born of Satan. Wherefore let us forsake their vain doing and their false teaching and turn unto the word which was delivered unto us from the beginning." Polycarp lived to see the rise of the Marcionite and Valentinian sects and vigorously opposed them. Irenaeus tells us that on one occasion Marcion endeavoured to establish relations with him and accosted him with the words, " Recognize us." But Polycarp displayed the same uncompromising attitude which his master John had shown towards Cerinthus and answered, " I recognize you as the first-born of Satan." The steady progress of the heretical movement
3. Polycarp's Visit to Rome.It is one of the most interesting and important events in the church history of the 2nd century that Polycarp, shortly before his death, when he was considerably over eighty years old, undertook a journey to Rome in order to visit the bishop Anicetus. Irenaeus, to whom we are indebted for this information (Haer. iii. 3, 4; Epist. ad victorem, ap. Euseb. v. 24), gives as the reason for the journey the fact that differences existed between Asia and Rome " with regard to certain things " and especially about the time of the Easter festival. He might easily have told us what these " certain things " were and given us fuller details of the negotiations between the two great bishops, for in all probability he was himself in Rome at the time. But unfortunately all he says is that with regard to the certain things the two bishops speedily came to an understanding, while as to the time of Easter, each adhered to his own custom, without breaking off communion with the other. We learn further that Anicetus as a mark of special honour allowed Polycarp to celebrate the Eucharist in the church, and that many Marcionites and Valentinians were converted by him during his stay in Rome. 4. Polycarp's Martyrdom.Not many months apparently after Polycarp's return from Rome a persecution broke out in Asia. A great festival was in progress at Smyrna. The pro- consul
refuge
The question as to the date of the martyrdom has evoked considerable controversy. Eusebius in his Chronicon gives A.D. 166 as the date of Polycarp's death, and until the year 1867 this statement was never questioned. In that year appeared Waddington's Memoire sur la chronologie de la vie du rheteur Aelius Aristide, in which it was shown from a most acute combination of circumstances that the Quadratus whose name is mentioned in the Martyrium was proconsul of Asia in 155-156, and that consequently Polycarp was martyred on the 23rd of February 155. Waddington's conclusion has received overwhelming support amongst recent critics. His views have been accepted by (amongst many others) Renan,l Hilgenfeld,2 Gebhardt,3 Lipsius,4 Harnack,s Zahn,6 Lightfoot,? Randell.8 Against this 1 Antichrist (1873),p. 207. 2 Zeitschr. f. wiss. Theol. (1874), P. 325. 3 Zeitschr. f. hist. Theol. (1875), p. 356. 4 Jahrb. f. rot. Theol. (1883), p. 525. s Chronologie, i. 334-356. Zeitschr. f. wiss. Theol. (1882), p. 227; (1884), p. 216. Ignatius and Polycarp, i. 6297o2. 5 Studia biblica (1885), i. 175.array of scholars only the following names of importance can be quoted in support of the traditional viewKeim,2 Wieseler10 and Uhlhorn." The problem is too complex to admit of treatment here. There seems to be little doubt that the case for the earlier date has been proved. The only point upon which there is division of opinion is as to whether Waddington's date 155, or--as is suggested by Lipsius and supported by C. H. Turner 12the following year 156 is the more probable. The balance of opinion seems to favour the latter alternative, because it leaves more room for Polycarp's visit to Anicetus, who only became bishop of Rome in 154. Harnack, however, after careful investigation,prefers 155. The significance of Polycarp in the history of the Church is out of all proportion to our knowledge of the facts of his career. The violent attack of the Smyrnaean mob is an eloquent tribute to his influence in Asia. " This is the teacher of Asia," they shouted, " this is the father of the Christians: this is the destroyer of our gods: this is the man who has taught so many no longer to sacrifice and no longer to pray to the gods."13 And after the execution they refused to deliver up his bones to the Christians for burial on the ground that " the Christians would now forsake the Crucified and worship Polycarp."14 Polycarp was indeed, as Polycrates says," " one of the great luminaries " (ey&Xa QrolXeia) of the time. It was in no small degree due to his stanch and unwavering leadership that the Church was saved from the peril of being overwhelmed by the rising tide of the pagan
leaders in any age. End of Article: POLYCARP (c. 6g-c. 155) If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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