Difference between revisions of "Papias" - New World Encyclopedia
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Eusebius of Caesaria held Papias in low esteem, calling him "a man of small mental capacity" (''Hist. Eccl.'' 3.39.13), who took literally the figurative language of apostolic traditions. However, many believe that Papias's millennialism may have represented an authentic trend in the to actual Christianity of the sub-apostolic age, especially in western Anatolia. | Eusebius of Caesaria held Papias in low esteem, calling him "a man of small mental capacity" (''Hist. Eccl.'' 3.39.13), who took literally the figurative language of apostolic traditions. However, many believe that Papias's millennialism may have represented an authentic trend in the to actual Christianity of the sub-apostolic age, especially in western Anatolia. | ||
| − | + | About the origins of the Gospels Papias explained that Mark wrote the first Gospel, apparently in Greek, after having listened to Peter relate accounts of Jesus' life and teachings during their travels together. However, Papias admits that Mark, while writing nothing "fictitious" did not write of events in their exact order. Matthew, says Papias, wrote in Hebrew, offering a different, though still sincere, interpretation of Jesus' life and teachings. The fragment preserved by Eusebius relative to this is as follows: | |
| − | About the origins of the Gospels | ||
| − | |||
| − | It | + | <blockquote>Mark having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately whatsoever he remembered. It was not, however, in exact order that he related the sayings or deeds of [[Christ]]. For he neither heard the Lord nor accompanied Him. But afterward, as I said, he accompanied Peter, who accommodated his instructions to the necessities [of his hearers], but with no intention of giving a regular narrative of the Lord's sayings. Wherefore Mark made no mistake in thus writing some things as he remembered them. For of one thing he took especial care: not to omit anything he had heard, and not to put anything fictitious into the statements. Matthew put together the oracles [of the Lord] in the Hebrew language, and each one interpreted them as best he could.</blockquote> |
| − | Papias | + | Some question, however, whether the documents which Papias knew as the Gospels of Matthew and Mark are the same ones that we have today. |
| − | Eusebius | + | Papias also related a number of traditions that Eusebius had characterized as "some strange parables and teachings of the savior, and some other more mythical accounts."<ref>However, G.A. Williamson's translation for Penguin Classics (New York, 1965, pp. 151f) puts this passage in these words: "some otherwise unknown parables and teachings of the Saviour, and other things of a more allegorical character."</ref> For example, Eusebius indicated that Papias heard stories about Justus, surnamed "Barsabas," who drank poison but suffered no harm, and another story via a daughter of [[Philip the Evangelist]] concerning the [[resurrection]] of a corpse (''Hist. Eccl.'' 3.39). |
| − | + | Eusebius also states that Papias "reproduces a story about a woman falsely accused before the Lord of many sins." [[Joseph Barber Lightfoot|J. B. Lightfoot]] identified this story with the ''[[Pericope Adulterae]]''—the story of the woman taken in adultery—and included it in his collection of fragments of Papias' work. However, critic Michael W. Holmes has pointed out that it is not certain "that Papias knew the story in precisely this form, inasmuch as it now appears that at least two independent stories about Jesus and a sinful woman circulated among Christians in the first two centuries of the church, so that the traditional form found in many New Testament manuscripts may well represent a conflation of two independent shorter, earlier versions of the incident."<ref>Holmes, ''The Apostolic Fathers'', p. 304.</ref> | |
| + | |||
| + | According to a tradition attributed to [[Apollinaris (bishop)|Apollinaris of Laodicea]], Papias also related a unique version of the death of [[Judas Iscariot]], in which Judas became so swollen he was crushe between a wall and a passing chariot, so that his bowels gushed out.<ref>Funk, Fragment 3; translated by Holmes, ''Apostolic Fathers'', p. 316.</ref> | ||
It receives neutral approval in [[Irenaeus]]'s ''[[On the Detection and Overthrow of the So-Called Gnosis|Against Heresies]]'' and was greeted with scorn by Eusebius in his ''[[Church History (Eusebius)|Ecclesiastical History]]'', the earliest surviving history of the early Church. | It receives neutral approval in [[Irenaeus]]'s ''[[On the Detection and Overthrow of the So-Called Gnosis|Against Heresies]]'' and was greeted with scorn by Eusebius in his ''[[Church History (Eusebius)|Ecclesiastical History]]'', the earliest surviving history of the early Church. | ||
Revision as of 21:33, 3 December 2008
| Saint Papias | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Hierapolis, Martyr, Apostolic Father | |
| Born | Before AD 70, |
| Died | c. AD 155 in Smyrna |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Churches |
| Feast | 22 February |
Papias (d. mid-second century) was one of the early literary figures of the Christian church canonized as a saint, his Explanation of the Sayings of the Lord, in five books, is thought to have been a prime early authority in the exegesis of the sayings of Jesus, although today it is known only through fragments quoted by later writers.
The bishop of Hierapolis, Phrygia (modern Turkey), Papias extant writings provide an important early account of the history of earliest Christianity, include the origins of the Gospels. According tot he second century Bishop Irenaeus of Lyons, Papias was a hearer of John the Apostle. Christian writers cited Papias’ interpretation of the Gospels though at least the early fourth century. The influence church historian Eusebius of Caesarea, howevever, wrote that Papias had been affected by a false apocalyptic teaching, and it is probably for this reason that most of Papias' writings were not preserved.
As one of the earliest known Christian authors, Papias is considered one of the Apostolic Fathers writers believed to have known the Apostles personally.
Main article
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History | |
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Traditions | |
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Liturgy and Worship | |
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Theology | |
Eusebius of Caesarea calls Papias the "bishop of Hierapolis" (modern Pamukkale, Turkey) which is 22 km from Laodicea, also near Colossae, in the Lycus river valley in Phrygia, Asia Minor. This location should not be confused with the Hierapolis of Syria.
Papias himself describes how he gathered his information:
I will not hesitate to add also for you to my interpretations what I formerly learned with care from the presbyters (elders) and have carefully stored in memory, giving assurance of its truth. For I did not take pleasure as the many do in those who speak much, but in those who teach what is true, nor in those who relate foreign precepts, but in those who relate the precepts which were given by the Lord to the faith and came down from the Truth itself. And also if any follower of the presbyters happened to come, I would inquire for the sayings of the presbyters, what Andrew said, or what Peter said, or what Philip or what Thomas or James or what John or Matthew or any other of the Lord's disciples, and for the things which other of the Lord's disciples, and for the things which Aristion and the Presbyter John, the disciples of the Lord, were saying. For I considered that I should not get so much advantage from matter in books as from the voice which yet lives and remains.
Papias thus reports he heard things that came from an unwritten, oral tradition of the presbyters, here meaning elders. He seems to refer to a "sayings" or logia tradition that had been passed from Jesus to such of the apostles and disciples. Contemporary scholars such as Helmut Koester consider him to be the earliest surviving written witness of this tradition.[1]
Eusebius of Caesaria held Papias in low esteem, calling him "a man of small mental capacity" (Hist. Eccl. 3.39.13), who took literally the figurative language of apostolic traditions. However, many believe that Papias's millennialism may have represented an authentic trend in the to actual Christianity of the sub-apostolic age, especially in western Anatolia.
About the origins of the Gospels Papias explained that Mark wrote the first Gospel, apparently in Greek, after having listened to Peter relate accounts of Jesus' life and teachings during their travels together. However, Papias admits that Mark, while writing nothing "fictitious" did not write of events in their exact order. Matthew, says Papias, wrote in Hebrew, offering a different, though still sincere, interpretation of Jesus' life and teachings. The fragment preserved by Eusebius relative to this is as follows:
Mark having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately whatsoever he remembered. It was not, however, in exact order that he related the sayings or deeds of Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor accompanied Him. But afterward, as I said, he accompanied Peter, who accommodated his instructions to the necessities [of his hearers], but with no intention of giving a regular narrative of the Lord's sayings. Wherefore Mark made no mistake in thus writing some things as he remembered them. For of one thing he took especial care: not to omit anything he had heard, and not to put anything fictitious into the statements. Matthew put together the oracles [of the Lord] in the Hebrew language, and each one interpreted them as best he could.
Some question, however, whether the documents which Papias knew as the Gospels of Matthew and Mark are the same ones that we have today.
Papias also related a number of traditions that Eusebius had characterized as "some strange parables and teachings of the savior, and some other more mythical accounts."[2] For example, Eusebius indicated that Papias heard stories about Justus, surnamed "Barsabas," who drank poison but suffered no harm, and another story via a daughter of Philip the Evangelist concerning the resurrection of a corpse (Hist. Eccl. 3.39).
Eusebius also states that Papias "reproduces a story about a woman falsely accused before the Lord of many sins." J. B. Lightfoot identified this story with the Pericope Adulterae—the story of the woman taken in adultery—and included it in his collection of fragments of Papias' work. However, critic Michael W. Holmes has pointed out that it is not certain "that Papias knew the story in precisely this form, inasmuch as it now appears that at least two independent stories about Jesus and a sinful woman circulated among Christians in the first two centuries of the church, so that the traditional form found in many New Testament manuscripts may well represent a conflation of two independent shorter, earlier versions of the incident."[3]
According to a tradition attributed to Apollinaris of Laodicea, Papias also related a unique version of the death of Judas Iscariot, in which Judas became so swollen he was crushe between a wall and a passing chariot, so that his bowels gushed out.[4]
It receives neutral approval in Irenaeus's Against Heresies and was greeted with scorn by Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History, the earliest surviving history of the early Church.
Papias' dates
About his date, which is important in connection with his credibility, there is Irenaeus' statement, later in the 2nd century, that Papias was "a hearer of John, and companion of Polycarp, a man of old time." If Polycarp was in fact born not later than AD 69, then there may be no reason to depend on a further, but disputed tradition, that Papias shared in the martyrdom of Polycarp (ca AD 155). In sum, the fact that Irenaeus thought of Papias as Polycarp's contemporary and "a man of the old time," together with the affinity between the religious tendencies described in the fragment from Papias's Preface quoted by Eusebius and those reflected in the Epistles of Ignatius and of Polycarp, all point to his having flourished in the first quarter of the 2nd century.
Indeed, Eusebius, who deals with him along with Clement and Ignatius (rather than Polycarp) under the reign of Trajan, and before referring at all to Hadrian's reign, suggests that he wrote "as early as 110 and probably no later than the early 130s, with several scholars opting for the earlier end of the spectrum"[5]. No known fact is inconsistent with c. 60-135 as the period of Papias's life. Eusebius (3.36) calls him "bishop" of Hierapolis, but whether with good ground is uncertain. In this putative capacity as bishop, Papias was supposedly succeeded by Abercius of Hieropolis.
English translations of the surviving fragments of his writings can be found in links at the Ante-Nicene Fathers.
Notes
- ↑ Ancient Christian Gospels (Harrisburg: Trinity Press, 1990), pp. 32f
- ↑ However, G.A. Williamson's translation for Penguin Classics (New York, 1965, pp. 151f) puts this passage in these words: "some otherwise unknown parables and teachings of the Saviour, and other things of a more allegorical character."
- ↑ Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers, p. 304.
- ↑ Funk, Fragment 3; translated by Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, p. 316.
- ↑ C.E. Hill (2006), p.309
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Eusebius of Caesarea, 1959. The Ecclesiastical History translated by Kirsopp Lake, (Harvard: Loeb Classical Library)
- (James A. Kleis), 1948. The Didache: The Epistle of Barnabas, The Epistles and the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp, The Fragments of Papias, The Epistle to Diognetus (in series "Ancient Christian Writers"; reprinted)
- Bart D. Ehrman, The Apostolic Fathers : Volume II. Epistle of Barnabas. Papias and Quadratus. Epistle to Diognetus. The Shepherd of Hermas (Loeb Classical Library, reprinted)
- Hill, CE, (2006), Papias of Hierapolis, The Expository Times; Vol. 117, No. 8; p.309-315 DOI:10.1177/0014524606065065
External links
- Early Christian Writings: Fragments of Papias
- Patristics In English Project: Fragments of Papias
- Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Papias, including an explanation of why logia is not to be rendered "sayings" that might not stand today.
- Hieropolis/Pamukkale
- Paul N. Tobin, "The Apostolic Succession: Polycarp and Clement": A skeptical assessment finds inconsistencies in Irenaeus' interpretation of Papias' apostolic connection, as reported in this article.
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