St. Papias
(C. 60-130 AD)
Historical Note
What we know of St. Papias is gathered from St. Irenaeus and Eusebius. He
was bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia, east of Ephesus, and a friend of St.
Polycarp. According to St. Irenaeus, St. Papias was also a hearer of St. John
the Apostle: “Papias, the hearer of John, and a companion of Polycarp, in
his fourth book…” (Against Heresies 5, 33, 4). Others suggest that the
same Apostle may have even ordained him bishop. However, critics have
debated whether the John, whose disciple he was, was the Apostle John or
a presbyter of the same name. Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History 3, 39, 2)
points out that Papias himself states in his Explanation that he was only a
hearer of acquaintances of the Apostles, therefore placing him among the
third generation of Christians. Eusebius had little regard for St. Papias,
saying that he was “a man of very little intelligence.” Later writers state
that he was martyred in Rome.
We possess only one work composed by St. Papias, the “Explanation of the
Sayings of the Lord.” Critics assign the composition of this work anywhere
between 125-160 AD. Originally in five volumes, we now only possess a
few tiny fragments preserved by St. Irenaeus, Eusebius and Apollinaris. No
other writings of St. Papias have come to light.
The Explanation attempts to explain both the words of Christ as well as His
life. St. Papias treats sayings of Christ from the Gospel, special utterances
and parables from oral tradition, and stories that are pure fable. The latter
include graphic descriptions of the Millennium of which St. Papias was an
enthusiastic believer.
These sayings, utterances or stories were learned by St. Papias from “the
presbyters.” This name may apply to the Apostles themselves or more
probably to their immediate disciples. The presbyters lived generally
between 70 and 150 AD. Very few of them wrote anything of worth, their
accounts and teachings being regarded as oral traditions.
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