Saint Polycarp of Smyrna

Let the priests be tender and compassionate towards all; let them bring back those who have gone astray, let them visit the sick and neglect neither the widow, nor the orphan, nor the poor; let them distance themselves from anger, preoccupation, injustice in judgments, and avarice. Let them not be too severe, knowing that we are all sinners.

He then gives the Philippians instructions on the reality of the incarnation and death of the Savior, and says, with Saint John, that whoever does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is an antichrist. He adds that he who denies the truth of the cross belongs to the devil, and that he who perverts the word of God according to his own desires, and says that there is neither resurrection nor judgment, is the firstborn of Satan. After this, he sets before their eyes what Jesus Christ suffered to give us life, and exhorts them to imitate the examples of patience they had seen not only in the blessed Ignatius, Zosimus, and Rufus, but in many among them, in Saint Paul and in the other apo saint Paul Apostle cited by Saint Jerome to illustrate divine decrees. stles, who have, he says, arrived at the place they deserved to occupy with the Lord with whom they suffered.

Saint Polycarp Saint Polycarpe Bishop of Smyrna and author of the Epistle to the Philippians. then turns to the case of Valens, a priest of Philippi, who had rendered himself unworthy of his rank through a sin into which he had fallen with his wife. "I am," he says, "deeply grieved for Valens and for his wife, and I pray to God to grant them true repentance. However, use moderation yourselves toward them, and do not treat them as enemies, but as sick members; recall them, in order to save your whole body." Then, after praising the Philippians for their understanding of the Holy Scriptures, he exhorts them to pray for all the Saints, for kings, princes, and powers, for their persecutors and the enemies of the cross, "so that," he tells them, "the fruit of your faith may be manifest to everyone." He ends his letter by informing them that he was sending them all the letters of Ignatius that he had been able to recover, adding that they could deriv Ignace Saint whose translation of relics serves as a calendar reference in Antioch. e great utility from them; "for they are full," he says, "of faith, of patience, and of every kind of edification."

Saint Irenae Saint Irénée Bishop of Lyon and Doctor of the Church, mentor to two saints. us calls the letter of Saint Polycarp a most powerful defense of the truth, and says that those who care for their salvation can learn therein what the evangelical doctrine is, by reading what the faith and belief of this Saint were. Sa int Jerome a Saint Jérôme Father of the Church and author of the original biography of Saint Asella. lso says that it is very useful. Others consider it an admirable piece, filled with very beautiful instructions, written in the manner most suitable to ecclesiastical authors, that is to say, with much simplicity and clarity. Eusebius notes that on e find Eusèbe Church historian and primary source. s in it various passages drawn from the first Epistle of Saint Peter. Indeed, Saint Polycarp cites it very often, as well as those of Saint Paul. He also cites the first of Saint John and the book of Tobit. One may also note, in this letter, that the Saint was convinced that the martyrs enjoyed supreme happiness immediately after their death; that the incarnation of the Son of God, his passion, his death, and his resurrection were very real and not apparent; that in matters of doctrine we must hold to what has been taught to us from the beginning; that heretics explained the Scriptures according to their own fancy; that the means to obtain from God the strength to resist temptation is to fast and pray; that one must not be too severe toward sinners, but rather correct them with much moderation, that one must not regard them as our enemies, but receive them as members whom one brings back to their duty; that priests must not easily believe evil; that deacons are the ministers of God and of Jesus Christ, and not of men; that we are not saved by our good works, but by the grace and merits of Jesus Christ; that the love of riches is the principle and source of all evils; but that the love of God and neighbor, which must accompany all our actions, is the foundation of our hope.