Polycarp of Smyrna — Polycarp to the Philippians

Polycarp of Smyrna — Polycarp to the Philippians, in a fresh translation from the Via Patrum library (fathers.saneapps.com). 0:00 Introduction 1:40 Polycarp to the Philippians 13:35 Sign-off Polycarp of Smyrna (c. 69 – c. 155) — a disciple of the apostle John, bishop of Smyrna, and in his old age a martyr — wrote this letter to the church at Philippi not long after Ignatius of Antioch had passed through Philippi in chains, carrying the letters that would make him famous. Polycarp commends the Philippians' faith, urges them to send Ignatius's letters onward, and teaches plainly and practically: on prayer and fasting, on the duties of wives, widows, deacons, and elders, on the disgrace of the presbyter Valens, who fell through love of money, and against teachers who deny that Christ truly came in the flesh. His own words are woven through with the words of Paul, Peter, and the Lord himself. Read aloud in a fresh translation, with sentence-by-sentence read-along. Artwork: “H. Polycarpus van Smyrna, apostolisch vader, RP-P-1896-A-19368-1256” by Rijksmuseum — CC0 · Wikimedia Commons (title card and thumbnail). The complete works, text and audio, are free at the Via Patrum library: https://fathers.saneapps.com Follow Via Patrum on X: https://x.com/MrSaneApps Via Patrum — may you walk in the way of our fathers