Papias
| 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 few passages of Papias that have been preserved include sayings of Jesus that are not known from the Gospels, as well as a bizarre account concerning the fate of Judas Iscariot.
The bishop of Hierapolis, Phrygia (modern Turkey), Papias was highly regarded by many of the early Church Fathers. According to the second century Bishop Irenaeus of Lyons, Papias was a hearer of John the Apostle. He was also said to be the companion of Polycarp of Smyrna, with whom he may have been martyred. Christian writers cited Papias’ interpretation of the Gospels though the early fourth century and beyond. However, the influential fourth century church historian Eusebius of Caesarea, wrote that Papias had been affected by a false millenarian teaching and denigrated him as simple minded. It may be for this reason of Papias' writings were not preserved, although Jerome, Maximus the Confessor, and Photius continued to speak of him favorably.
As one of the earliest known Christian authors, Papias is considered one of the Apostolic Fathers, writers believed to have known the Apostles personally. Even his few extant writings provide an important early account of the history of earliest Christianity, including the origins of the Gospels.
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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.
Accoring to Irenaeus' statement, Papias was "a hearer of John, and companion of Polycarp, a man of old time." Tradition holds that Papias was martyred at the same time as Polycarpca 155 C.E. Although this is unconfirmed, it seems likely that Papias must have flourished during the first quarter of the second century.
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.
Quotes
a grain of wheat shall produce ten thousand heads, and every head shall have ten thousand grains, and every grain ten pounds of fine flour, bright and clean, and the other fruits, seeds and the grass shall produce in similar proportions, and all the animals, using these fruits which are products of the soil, shall become in their turn peaceable and harmonious, obedient to man in all subjection." (Preserved in Irenaeus’ Against All Heresies, 5:33:3-4)
"Judas walked about in this world a terrible example of impiety; his flesh swollen to such an extent that, where a waggon can pass with ease, he was not able to pass, no, not even the mass of his head merely. They say that his eyelids swelled to such an extent that he could not see the light at all, while as for his eyes they were not visible even by a physician looking through an instrument, so far had they sunk from the surface. His genital was larger and presented a more repugnant sight than has ever been seen; and through it there seeped from every part of the body a procession of pus and worms to his shame, even as he relieved himself."' )Apollinarius of Laodicea.)
Papias in the fourth book of his Dominical Expositions mentioned viands among the sources of delights in the resurrection. 2 And Irenaeus of Lyons says the same thing in his fifth book against heresies, and produces in support of his statement the aforesaid Papias. (preserved by Maximus the Confessor) Papias, the bishop and martyr of Hierapolis, nor Irenaeus, the holy bishop of Lyons, when they say that the kingdom of heaven will consist in enjoyment of certain material foods. (Photius)
Preserved in Codex Vaticanus Alexandrinus 14) 1 Here beginneth the argument to the Gospel according to John. The Gospel of John was made known and given to the Churches by John, while he yet remained in the body; as (one) Papias by name, of Hierapolis, a beloved disciple of John, has related in his five exoteric (exegetical?) books; 2 but he wrote down the Gospel at the dictation of John, correctly.
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.
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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