Polycarp of Smyrna.

The letter of Polycarp to the Philippians is an immediate sequel to the letters of Ignatius. Ignatius had been taken by his guards from Troas to Neapolis and thence, it appears, to Philippi, where the Philippian Christian leaders had visited him (Pol. Phil. 9:I). After his departure they had written to Polycarp, asking him to send their letter with his to Antioch, for Ignatius had requested them to write to the Christians of his diocese. They had also asked Polycarp to send them whatever letters of Ignatius he could, and this he did writing them on his own account a kind of covering letter. He urged them to be harmonious, steadfast, and faithful but said nothing about the threefold ministry of which Ignatius made so much; in writing he simply grouped himself with his presbyters: “Polycarp and the elders with him.” He evidently wrote his letter within a few weeks of Ignatius' departure for Rome, for he had no news of his fate and asked the Philippians if they had any.

Not only in polity but in doctrine and in his use of Christian literature does Polycarp stand apart from Ignatius. Ignatius is the first writer to show acquaintance with Matthew, and he knows the Pauline letters, but Polycarp also knows the Pauline letters, including the Pastorals, the Acts, Hebrews, and I Peter, and uses Christian literature much more frequently than Ignatius does. His style, however, lacks the rugged vigor and the very unconventional metaphors that make Ignatius interesting and sometimes perplexing.

A striking difficulty arises when we try to reconcile two passages in Polycarp's letter. In the first (chap. 9), he clearly regards Ignatius as dead, a martyr with other martyrs; in the second (chap.13), he asks for further information about him, evidently writing soon after Ignatius' departure for Rome. Chiefly because of this discrepancy, P. N. Harrison has argued that the letter really consists of two letters, one (chaps. 13-14). written in the year when Ignatius was martyred, the other (chaps. 1-12) written at a time of crisis in the Philippian church, perhaps just before Marcion left Asia Minor for Rome, about A.D. 135. It is possible, however, that Polycarp treats Ignatius' zeal for martyrdom as certain to achieve its goal, and that the one letter was written early rather than late. It is by no means certain that Pdlycarp has Marcion in view at this time.