Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-v2bm5 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-17T19:55:54.947Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

12 - Polycarp’s Epistle to the Philippians and the Martyrdom of Polycarp

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 May 2021

By
Paul A. Hartog
Edited by
Michael F. Bird  and
Scott Harrower
Michael F. Bird
Affiliation:
Ridley College, Melbourne
Scott Harrower
Affiliation:
Ridley College, Melbourne
Get access

Summary

Polycarp was an important Christian leader of the first half of the second century. Although he wrote many letters, only one has survived – his Epistle to the Philippians (Pol. Phil.). A narrative of his death is also extant, the Martyrdom of Polycarp (Mart. Pol.). Collections of the Apostolic Fathers have consistently included both works. Hill and Beatrice have argued that Polycarp stands behind various traditions from “the elder” cited by Irenaeus. A canon list ascribes a Didaskalia to Polycarp.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to the Apostolic Fathers , pp. 226 - 247
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Further Reading

Berding, Kenneth. Polycarp and Paul: An Analysis of their Literary and Theological Relationship in Light of Polycarp’s Use of Biblical and Extra-Biblical Literature. Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae 62. Leiden: Brill, 2002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buschmann, Gerd. “The Martyrdom of Polycarp,” in The Apostolic Fathers, ed. Pratscher, Wilhelm. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2010, 135–57.Google Scholar
Dehandschutter, Boudewijn. “The Epistle of Polycarp,” in The Apostolic Fathers, ed. Pratscher, Wilhelm. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2010, 117–33.Google Scholar
Dehandschutter, Boudewijn. Polycarpiana: Studies on Martyrdom and Persecution in Early Christianity. Leuven: Leuven University Press, 2007.Google Scholar
Hartog, Paul. Polycarp and the New Testament: The Occasion, Rhetoric, Theme, and Unity of the Epistle to the Philippians and Its Allusions to New Testament Literature. WUNT 2.134. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2002.Google Scholar
Hartog, Paul. Polycarp’s Epistle to the Philippians and the Martyrdom of Polycarp: Introduction, Text, and Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.Google Scholar
Holmes, Michael. “Polycarp of Smyrna, Epistle to the Philippians,” in The Writings of the Apostolic Fathers, ed. Foster, Paul. London: T&T Clark, 2007, 108–25.Google Scholar
Parvis, Sara. “The Martyrdom of Polycarp,” in The Writings of the Apostolic Fathers, ed. Foster, Paul. London: T&T Clark, 2007, 126–46.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×