The Odd Future Participle at Pol. Phil. XIII: Reassessing the Authenticity and Unity of Polycarp’s Letter to the Philippians

Otto Linderborg,Viktor Johansson

doi:10.1163/15700720-12341485

Abstract

Abstract The Letter to the Philippians is the sole surviving work of the early Christian bishop and martyr, Polycarp of Smyrna. Ever since the 17th century scholars have contested the authenticity and unity of the letter without reaching a settlement. However, new linguistic evidence allows for a reassessment of the controversy. The future participle πρεσβεύσοντα at Pol. Phil. XIII.1 is one of a mere four occurrences of FPs in the entire corpus of the Apostolic Fathers, and the use of the FP is exceedingly rare among low-register Judeo-Christian texts in general. The statistical analysis over a wide range of Ancient Greek literary texts conducted in this paper lends support to the conclusion that Pol. Phil. is a uniform text with a spurious interpolation in the form of the bulk of chapter XIII.

Highlights

Polycarp and His LetterDuring his lifetime, Polycarp held a position as bishop in the Christian congregation of Smyrna in the Roman province of Asia, and it was here that he – around 160 CE – met his death as a martyr
According to the ancient testimony of his martyrdom, Polycarp was first publicly denounced as ‘the teacher of impiety’ (ὁ τῆς ἀσεβείας διδάσκαλος), ‘the father of the Christians’ (ὁ πατὴρ τῶν Χριστιανῶν) and ‘the destroyer of our Gods’ (ὁ τῶν ἡμετέρων θεῶν καθαιρέτης) – after which he was executed on the spot by a mob in Smyrna’s stadium.[1]
The extant epistle ascribed to Polycarp forms – alongside the seven letters of Ignatius of Antioch and the two of Clement of Rome – the kernel of those early Christian texts, which ever since the 17th century have been known under the name of ‘the Apostolic Fathers’

Summary

Introduction

Polycarp and His LetterDuring his lifetime, Polycarp held a position as bishop in the Christian congregation of Smyrna in the Roman province of Asia, and it was here that he – around 160 CE – met his death as a martyr. According to the ancient testimony of his martyrdom, Polycarp was first publicly denounced as ‘the teacher of impiety’ (ὁ τῆς ἀσεβείας διδάσκαλος), ‘the father of the Christians’ (ὁ πατὴρ τῶν Χριστιανῶν) and ‘the destroyer of our Gods’ (ὁ τῶν ἡμετέρων θεῶν καθαιρέτης) – after which he was executed on the spot by a mob in Smyrna’s stadium.[1] The extant epistle ascribed to Polycarp forms – alongside the seven letters of Ignatius of Antioch and the two of Clement of Rome – the kernel of those early Christian texts, which ever since the 17th century have been known under the name of ‘the Apostolic Fathers’.2. The text ends with an enquiry as to what exactly may have happened to Ignatius, alongside references to a collection of letters written by him Pol. XIII can even be read as if the author would still be unaware of Polycarp’s death.[3]

Methods

Conclusion