Letter of Polycarp to the Philippians

E478502

The Letter of Polycarp to the Philippians is an early Christian epistle, traditionally attributed to the 2nd-century bishop Polycarp of Smyrna, offering pastoral exhortation and moral instruction to the church in Philippi.

All labels observed (2)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf New Testament apocryphal writing
early Christian epistle
pastoral letter
addressee Christian community in Philippi
church in Philippi
approximateDate between 110 and 140 CE
associatedPerson Ignatius of Antioch
author Polycarp of Smyrna
canonicalStatus non-canonical for most Christian traditions
valued as Apostolic Father writing
collection writings of the Apostolic Fathers
contains allusions to 1 Peter
allusions to Pauline epistles
allusions to the Gospels
quotations from New Testament writings
dateOfComposition 2nd century
emphasizes Christ’s death and resurrection
Christ’s incarnation
endurance under persecution
obedience to church leaders
righteous conduct
genre epistle
pastoral exhortation
influencedBy 1 Clement
Pauline theology
language Koine Greek
mainTheme church discipline
good works and charity
imitation of Christ
moral instruction
perseverance in faith
warnings against false teaching
mentions Ignatius of Antioch
letters of Ignatius
moralTeaching call to prayer and fasting
instructions to presbyters and deacons
warnings against love of money
placeOfComposition Smyrna
purpose to commend the Philippians for receiving Ignatius’s companions
to encourage faithfulness and good works
to respond to news from Philippi
religiousTradition Christianity
early Christianity
scholarlyDebate exact dating of composition
possible composite nature of the text
textualTradition partly preserved in Latin translation
preserved in Greek manuscripts
theologicalOrientation proto-orthodox Christianity
traditionalAuthor Polycarp of Smyrna

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Apostolic Fathers corpusIncludes Letter of Polycarp to the Philippians
Polycarp to care for all members of the church relatedTo Letter to the Philippians by Polycarp
linked to: Letter of Polycarp to the Philippians