Papias
Wrote c100-
Expositions of the sayings of the Lord
Papias is commonly classed as an Apostolic Father, meaning that he knew the Apostles themselves, or at least lived in the generation following their deaths. He wrote five books and in them recounted unknown teachings of Jesus, miraculous stories about the Apostles, discussed the authorship of some of the Gospels, and also quoted from other parts of the New Testament. Unfortunately his writings have been lost except for the fragments given below.
In the print world, Michael Holmes has published a popular English translation of
Papias in The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations, but it needs
some updating and a few corrections, all of which I have attempted to do on this
page. While assembling these fragments, I have used the translations of Lightfoot
and the Nicene and Post-
I indicate which translation I have used in the side column with an abbeviation or a short note on what translation I used. The name of the author is given in red and is placed before their quotation(s) which are laid in beige boxes for clarity. I have attempted to document and check my sources in the side column, all while providing links to as many references as possible. All other notes I give are merely to help the reader identify sources and, on occasion, provide a context for the quotation.
Some references I have not been able to fully check and have indicated in the side column.
I have also included fragments which Holmes does not give from Jerome, George Syncellos,
and two false fragments which I added as an Appendix from the Chronicon Paschale
and Papias the Lexicographer. I have also reatributed fragments from Maximus the
Confessor to John of Scythopolis, and discussed and questioned the authorship of
a few others. This particular webpage is in the public domain, I only ask that you
credit those who worked hard producing these translations. -
Please contact me if any of the information given here is incorrect.
Index of Fragments in Chronological order by Author:
My translation. Eusebius wrote his Chronicon in the year 303AD. I am fairly certain that the Greek for this passage comes from an unattributed quotation from George Syncellus’ Chronology 424. When it is matched with Jerome’s translation of Eusebius, it seems certain that this is what Eusebius said. I need to check GCS 47 to verify this. See Syncellus’ quote below.
NPNCF translation. Eusebius wrote his Ecclesiastical History in the year 324AD. This
passage refers to Emperor Trajan’s reign which was from 98-
My translation. I used the reconstructed Greek given by SC 153 p213-
Victorinus of Pettau c.260AD seems to allude to parts of this passage and other nearby passages in his Commentary on the Apocalypse 21.6: “Of this kingdom, the Lord reminded the Apostles before He suffered, saying: I will not drink of this fruit of the vine any more, until when I will drink with you again in the coming kingdom,v which is the hundred parts multiplied, ten times, a thousand times, to greater things and better things.” Translation by Kevin Edgecomb [checked].
Hippolytus of Rome c.210AD in his Commentary On Daniel may quote Irenaeus or Papias: "Therefore, after the Lord had described the coming Kingdom to the disciples as being glorious and wonderful, Judas, who confused by what was spoken, said 'And yet who will see these things?' And the Lord said, "Those who are worthy will see these things.'" Commentary On Daniel 4.59 (my translation [checked GCS Commentary on Daniel]). Thanks to Stephen Carlson for pointing it out.
The following parallels to this passage were sent in by William Murphy. I gratefully present them for you all here:
2 Baurch c.100AD "The earth also shall yield its fruit ten-
The pseudopigriphal 2 Apocalypse of John c.5th century AD "Hear, righteous John. There shall be in that time abundance of corn and wine, such as there hath never been upon the earth, nor shall ever be until those times come. Then the ear of corn shall produce a half chœnixand the bend of the branch shall produce a thousand clusters, and the cluster shall produce a half jar of wine; and in the following year there shall not be found upon the face of all the earth a half chœnix of corn or a half jar of wine." 2 Apocalypse of John [checked]
The Coptic Apocalypse of Paul 4th-
1 Enoch 2nd-
Finally an Encomium on John the Baptist reported in The New Testament Apocrypha M. R. James p.37 [checked], also parallels this passage. Clement of Alexandria in his Stromaties 6.6.48 is said to allude to this passage but I do not see a parallel [checked GCS edition]. The "Dialogue between Christ and the Devil" evidently parallels this passage, but I have not checked this myself.
NPNCF translation. After this passage book 3 of Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History ends and book 4 begins in the 12th year of Trajen, 110AD.
NPNCF translation.
NPNCF translation. This letter was written in 398AD.
NPNCF translation. This letter was written in 399AD. Theodora was the widow of the above mentioned Lucinius, who had died since Jerome last wrote to him.
LTF translation, last sentence is the NPNCF translation. This was written in 393AD. Gennadius continued Jerome’s work, but I do not know if he added anything to the entry on Papias, like Jerome did to Eusebius’s Chronicon by mentioning Ignatius. The NPNCF translation suggests that Papias or John the Elder wrote other books, but I see no need for that inference in the Latin given by Holmes.
Roger Pearse’s collaborative translation. This was written in 380AD. Jerome translated and continued Eusebius’ Chronicon. Jerome appears to have added a reference to Ignatius.
LTF translation, the last paragraph is my translation via Cramer vol 3 p.12 [checked].
This entire quotation is also given by Theophylact Exposition on the Acts of the
Apostles PG125 p522 [checked] and the first paragraph is not attributed to Apollinarius.
Oecumenius does the same but omits the last sentence Commentary on the Acts of the
Apostles PG118 p57. [checked]. A similar but not identical catena ascribes only
the first sentence of the second paragraph to Papias and the rest of the three paragraphs
to, seemingly, Apollinarius Cramer vol 1 p.231 [checked]. A scholia on Acts 1.18
compiled in S. Lvcae Actvs apostolorvm graece et latine Riga 1782 p. 304 by Matthai
[checked] gives a shortened variation of the first and second paragraph and attributes
it to Apollinarius, and also has a different passage associated with Eusebius, but
neither mention Papias. Another catena is quite similar to the passage at hand but
omits the last sentence, it is given in Anecdota Graeca volume 2 p464 [checked]
This one page is annoyingly omitted by the Google scan so I scanned it myself. Kirsopp
Lake The Beginning of Christianity p24 [checked] says that Bar-
LTF translation. This and the following fragment are not from Maximus the Confessor as Migne, Lightfoot, and Holmes have stated. See Rorem & Lamoreaux John of Scythopolis and the Dionysian Corpus: Annotating the Areopagite Oxford 1998 [checked] for a discussion of the dates of John’s writings and his relationship with Maximus the Confessor.
LTF translation. The scholia itself is not on Ecclesiastical Hierarchy 7.2 as Lightfoot and Holmes have said, but it is on 7.3.5. The break in the text concerns John's discussion of Apollinarius and is unrelated to Papias.
Papias, bishop of Hierapolis, who was a disciple of John the Divine, and a companion of Polycarp, wrote five books of Oracles of the Lord, wherein, when giving a list of the Apostles, after Peter and John, Philip and Thomas and Matthew he included among the disciples of the Lord Aristion and a second John, whom also he called `The Elder.' So some think that this John is the author of the two short and catholic Epistles, which are published in the name of John; and he gives as the reason that the primitive (fathers) only accept the first epistle. Some too have wrongly considered the Apocalypse also to be his (i.e. the Elder John's) work. Papias too is in error about the Millennium, and from him Irenaeus also.
Papias in his second book says that John the Divine and James his brother were killed by the Jews. The aforesaid Papias stated on the authority of the daughters of Philip that Barsabas, who is also called Justus, when challenged by the unbelievers drank serpent's poison in the name of the Lord, and was shielded from all harm. He makes also other marvelous statements, and particularly about the mother of Manaim who was raised from the dead. As for those who were raised from the dead by Christ, (he states) that they survived till the time of Hadrian.
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LTF translation. I exchanged the words “[He says] that” with “So some think” which better matches the Greek. The Greek for this fragment was originally given by C. De Boor Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur Leipzig 1889 p.170 [checked the Greek but not German discussion]
LTF translation. For a brief discussion of Andrew's dates see Di Berardino Parology: The Eastern Fathers from Chalcedon to John of Damascus. 2006 [checked].
LTF translation. I changed the word "array" into "administration." This passage concerns
Revelation 12:7-
Robert Bedrosian translation. This passage is in the Armenian translation of Andrew's
On the Apocalypse and concerns Revelation 12:7-
LTF translation. Many believe that Anastasius did not write this work. For a brief discussion of Anastasius' dates and authorship see Di Berardino Parology: The Eastern Fathers from Chalcedon to John of Damascus. 2006 [checked].
LTF translation.
My translation.
My translation. Syncellus places this passage 97 years after the birth of Jesus.
LTF translation. This text appears to be a later interpolation and was not written
by George Hamartolus. It may be from Codex Coislinianus 305, but I am not sure. See
Rolte Theologische Quartalschrift 1862 p466 [checked, but did not read German discussion].
This text is not given in the edition of George Hamartolus's Chronicle by C. De
Boor Georgii Monachi Chronicon vol. 2 1904 p.447 [checked] See PG110 p.18-
LTF translation. See Bekker Photii Bibliotheca vol. 1 for Greek [checked].
My translation. See J.N. Barletta Photii Epistolae London 1864 [not checked]
Irenaeus of Lyons wrote c180AD
Eusebius of Caesarea c260-
Apollinarius c310-
Jerome c342-
Philip of Side wrote 434-
John of Scythopolis wrote 537-
Andrew of Caesarea likely wrote before 614AD
Anastasius of Sinai? Wrote towards end of 7th century
George Syncellus wrote c800AD
George Hamartolus? (George Monochos/the Sinner) wrote c866-
Photius of Constantinople c810-
Codex Vaticanus Alexandrinus 14 9th century
Agapius of Menbij (Agapius of Hierapolis) wrote c941AD
Vardan Arewelts’i (Vardan Vardapet) c1200-
Chronicon Paschale 630AD
Papias the Lexicographer 11th century
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I added a new fragment from Jerome's Commentary on the Apocalypse, added a comment
to Irenaeus' fragment and another to one of Eusebius' fragments, updated the Selected
Bibliography, did some basic editing, and eliminated the To Do List because I have
done all I can in the short term. -
After some very helpful tips from William Murphy I have added some extensive notes to the fragment by Irenaeus and to one by Eusebius. I have also added a link to Stephen Carlson's translation of Harnack's research into the existence of Papias' work in the Middle Ages ~September 2009.
Selected Bibliography:
Holmes, Michael, W. The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations. 2002
(NPNCF) Nicene and Post-
(ANCF) Ante-
(LTF) J.B. Lightfoot and J.R. Harmer The Apostolic Fathers 1888. Found here
J.B. Lightfoot Essays On The Work Entitled Supernatural Religion. 1889. Found here
(PG) J. Migne Patrologia Graeca Series
(CSHB) Corpus Scriptorum Historium Byzantinae Series
(GCS) Die Griechischen Christlichen Schriftsteller Series
(SC) Sources Christianes Series
(CSEL) Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum Series
(DECL) Dopp and Geerlings Dictionary of Early Christian Literature 2000.
Johannes Quasten Patrology 4 volumes.
Di Berardino Parology: The Eastern Fathers from Chalcedon to John of Damascus. 2006
See Ben Smith’s website for a good discussion textexcavation.com
See Stephen Carlson’s blog for a good discussion on the existence of Papias’ work in the Middle Ages.
Translation from Lightfoot Essays On The Work Entitled Supernatural Religion. 1889 p210 [checked]. Codex title taken from Holmes. [checked] Latin can be found in J.B. Pitra Analecta Sacra 2.1 p.160 [checked].
Translated by a kind friend from the Arabic in Vasiliev Patrologia Orientalis vol. 7 [checked].
See Roger Pearse's translation from the French [checked]. Note that Agapius was from the Hierapolis in Syria, not the Hierapolis of Phyrgia which was where Papias was from. Thanks to Roger Pearse for helping me locate the Arabic text.
Robert Bedrosian translation. These two passages were originally written in Armenian. See Folker Siegert Unbeachtete Papiaszitate bei armenischen Schriftstellern. New Testament Studies, Volume 27, Issue 05, October 1981 [checked, but did not read German discussion]. The title of the work by Vardan Arewelts’i was taken from Holmes [checked].
My translation. Holmes only says that this catena comes from Balthasar Cordier Catena Patrum Graecorum in Sanctum Joannem Antwerp, 1630[not checked]. Currently [Aug/09] Google books has only a blank file. The manuscript that Cordier found the catena may possibly be Miniscule 56 but this is mostly guess by me.
My translation. This reference to Papias is certainly an error. Lightfoot shows that the author of this chronicle is following Eusebius and that the name should read Paplyus. Essays On The Work Entitled Supernatural Religion. 1889 p148 [checked]. There seems to be a general agreement with Lightfoot in the scholarly community.
Those who practised guilelessness towards God they used to call children, as Papias also shows in the first book of the Expositions of the Lord, and Clement of Alexandria in the Paedagogue.
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This he says, darkly indicating, I suppose, Papias of Hierapolis in Asia, who was a bishop at that time and flourished in the days of the holy Evangelist John. For this Papias in the fourth book of his Dominical Expositions mentioned viands among the sources of delights in the resurrection.... And Irenaeus of Lyons says the same thing in his fifth book against heresies, and produces in support of his statement the aforesaid Papias.
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Therefore the foretold blessing indisputably belongs to the times of the Kingdom, when the righteous shall rise from the dead and reign and through the resurrection itself shall be honored by God, when also creation shall be freed and renewed, and shall grow a multitude of every kind of food from the dew of heaven and from the wealth of the earth. Just as the Elders, who saw John the disciple of the Lord, recalled hearing from him how concerning these times he used to teach that the Lord would say:
“Days will come in which the vines shall grow, when each one will have ten-
These things Papias, the hearer of John, who was a companion of Polycarp, a man of
ancient time, testifies in writing in the fourth of his books, for there are five
books composed by him. And he adds saying “These things are believable to those
who believe. For,” he says, “even Judas the betrayer who did not believe and questioned
‘And how will such things happen been accomplished by God?’ But the Lord said ‘those
who come to those times shall see.’” -
Irenaeus and others record that John the Theologian and Apostle survived until the times of Trajan; after which Papias of Hierapolis and Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, both of whom heard him, became well known.
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In the third year of the reign of the emperor mentioned above [Trajan], Clement committed the episcopal government of the church of Rome to Evarestus, and departed this life after he had superintended the teaching of the divine word nine years in all. But when Symeon also had died in the manner described, a certain Jew by the name of Justus succeeded to the episcopal throne in Jerusalem. He was one of the many thousands of the circumcision who at that time believed in Christ. At that time Polycarp, a disciple of the apostles, was a man of eminence in Asia, having been entrusted with the episcopate of the church of Smyrna by those who had seen and heard the Lord. And at the same time Papias, bishop of the parish of Hierapolis, became well known, as did also Ignatius, who was chosen bishop of Antioch, second in succession to Peter, and whose fame is still celebrated by a great many.
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There are extant five books of Papias, which bear the title Expositions of Oracles of the Lord. Irenaeus makes mention of these as the only works written by him, in the following words: "These things are attested by Papias, an ancient man who was a hearer of John and a companion of Polycarp, in his fourth book. For five books have been written by him." These are the words of Irenaeus.
But Papias himself in the preface to his discourses by no means declares that he
was himself a hearer and eye-
He says: "But I shall not hesitate also to put down for you along with my interpretations
whatsoever things I have at any time learned carefully from the elders and carefully
remembered, guaranteeing their truth. For I did not, like the multitude, take pleasure
in those that speak much, but in those that teach the truth; not in those that relate
strange commandments, but in those that deliver the commandments given by the Lord
to faith, and springing from the truth itself. If, then, any one came, who had been
a follower of the elders, I questioned him in regard to the words of the elders,-
It is worth while observing here that the name John is twice enumerated by him. The first one he mentions in connection with Peter and James and Matthew and the rest of the apostles, clearly meaning the evangelist; but the other John he mentions after an interval, and places him among others outside of the number of the apostles, putting Aristion before him, and he distinctly calls him a presbyter. This shows that the statement of those is true, who say that there were two persons in Asia that bore the same name, and that there were two tombs in Ephesus, each of which, even to the present day, is called John's. It is important to notice this. For it is probable that it was the second, if one is not willing to admit that it was the first that saw the Revelation, which is ascribed by name to John
And Papias, of whom we are now speaking, confesses that he received the words of the apostles from those that followed them, but says that he was himself a hearer of Aristion and the presbyter John. At least he mentions them frequently by name, and gives their traditions in his writings. These things we hope, have not been uselessly adduced by us.
But it is fitting to subjoin to the words of Papias which have been quoted, other passages from his works in which he relates some other wonderful events which he claims to have received from tradition. That Philip the apostle dwelt at Hierapolis with his daughters has been already stated. But it must be noted here that Papias, their contemporary, says that he heard a wonderful tale from the daughters of Philip. For he relates that in his time one rose from the dead. And he tells another wonderful story of Justus, surnamed Barsabbas: that he drank a deadly poison, and yet, by the grace of the Lord, suffered no harm.
The Book of Acts records that the holy apostles after the ascension of the Savior, put forward this Justus, together with Matthias, and prayed that one might be chosen in place of the traitor Judas, to fill up their number. The account is as follows: "And they put forward two, Joseph, called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias; and they prayed and said..."
The same writer gives also other accounts which he says came to him through unwritten tradition, certain strange parables and teachings of the Savior, and some other more mythical things. To these belong his statement that there will be a period of some thousand years after the resurrection of the dead, and that the kingdom of Christ will be set up in material form on this very earth. I suppose he got these ideas through a misunderstanding of the apostolic accounts, not perceiving that the things said by them were spoken mystically in figures.
For he appears to have been of very limited understanding, as one can see from his discourses. But it was due to him that so many of the Church Fathers after him adopted a like opinion, urging in their own support the antiquity of the man; as for instance Irenaeus and any one else that may have proclaimed similar views.
Papias gives also in his own work other accounts of the words of the Lord on the authority of Aristion who was mentioned above, and traditions as handed down by the presbyter John; to which we refer those who are fond of learning. But now we must add to the words of his which we have already quoted the tradition which he gives in regard to Mark, the author of the Gospel.
"This also the presbyter said: Mark having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately, though not in order, whatsoever he remembered of the things said or done by Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor followed him, but afterward, as I said, he followed Peter, who adapted his teaching to the needs of his hearers, but with no intention of giving a connected account of the Lord's discourses, so that Mark committed no error while he thus wrote some things as he remembered them. For he was careful of one thing, not to omit any of the things which he had heard, and not to state any of them falsely." These things are related by Papias concerning Mark. But concerning Matthew he writes as follows: "So then Matthew wrote the oracles in the Hebrew language, and every one interpreted them as he was able." And the same writer uses testimonies from the first Epistle of John and from that of Peter likewise. And he relates another story of a woman, who was accused of many sins before the Lord, which is contained in the Gospel according to the Hebrews. These things we have thought it necessary to observe in addition to what has been already stated.
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And so greatly did the splendor of piety illumine the minds of Peter's hearers that they were not satisfied with hearing once only, and were not content with the unwritten teaching of the divine Gospel, but with all sorts of entreaties they besought Mark, a follower of Peter, and the one whose Gospel is extant, that he would leave them a written monument of the doctrine which had been orally communicated to them. Nor did they cease until they had prevailed with the man, and had thus become the occasion of the written Gospel which bears the name of Mark.
And they say that Peter when he had learned, through a revelation of the Spirit, of that which had been done, was pleased with the zeal of the men, and that the work obtained the sanction of his authority for the purpose of being used in the churches. Clement in the eighth book of his Hypotyposes gives this account, and with him agrees the bishop of Hierapolis named Papias. And Peter makes mention of Mark in his first epistle which they say that he wrote in Rome itself, as is indicated by him, when he calls the city, by a figure, Babylon, as he does in the following words: "The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, greets you; and so does Mark my son."
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Judas did not die by hanging, but lived on, having been cut down before he was suffocated. And the acts of the apostles show this, that falling head long he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. This fact is related more clearly by Papias, the disciple of John, and the fourth book of the Expositions of the Oracles of the Lord as follows:
Judas walked about in this world a terrible example of impiety; his flesh swollen to such an extent that, where hay wagon can pass with ease, he was not able to pass, no, not even the mass of his head merely. They say that his eyelids swelled to such an extent that he could not see the light at all, while as for his eyes they were not visible even by a physician looking through an instrument, so far have they sunk from the surface.
His genitals appeared entirely disfigured, nauseous and large. When he carried himself about discharge and worms flowed from his entire body through his private areas only, on account of his outrages. After many agonies and punishments, he died in his own place. And on account of this the place is desolate and uninhabited even now. And to this day no one is able to go by that place, except if they block their noses with their hands. Such judgment was spread through his body and upon the earth.
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Bishop Irenaeus writes that John the Apostle survived all the way to the time of Trajan: after whom his notable disciples were Papias, Bishop of Hieropolis, Polycarp of Smyrna, and Ignatius of Antioch.
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Papias, a hearer of John, and bishop of Hierapolis in Asia, wrote only five books, which he entitled An Exposition of Discourses of the Lord. Wherein, when he asserts in his preface that he is not following promiscuous statements, but has the Apostles as his authorities, he says:
I used to inquire what had been said by Andrew, or by Peter, or by Philip, or by Thomas or James, or by John or Matthew or any other of the Lord's disciples, and what Aristion and the Elder John, the disciples of the Lord, were saying. For books to read do not profit me so much as the living voice clearly sounding up to the present day in the persons of their authors.
From which it is clear that in his list of names itself there is one John who is reckoned among the Apostles, and another the Elder John, whom he enumerates after Aristion. We have mentioned this fact on account of the statement made above, which we have recorded on the authority of very many, that the two later epistles of John are not the work of the Apostle, but of the Elder. This Papias is said to have promulgated the Jewish tradition of a Millennium, and he is followed by Irenaeus, Apollinarius and the others, who say that after the resurrection the Lord will reign in the flesh with the saints. Tertullian also in his work On the hope of the faithful, Victorinus of Petau and Lactantius follow this view.”
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It is a false rumor which has reached you to the effect that I have translated the books of Josephus and the volumes of the holy men Papias and Polycarp. I have neither the leisure nor the ability to preserve the charm of these masterpieces in another tongue.
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The growth of this heresy is described for us by Irenaeus, bishop of the church of Lyons, a man of the apostolic times, who was a disciple of Papias the hearer of the evangelist John.
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With regard however to the inspiration of the book (i.e. the Apocalypse) we hold it superfluous to speak at length;
since the blessed Gregory (I mean, the Divine) and Cyril, and men of an older generation as well, Papias, Irenaeus, Methodius and Hippolytus, bear testimony to its genuineness.
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But thus says Papias, (I quote him) word for word: -
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And Papias, in his discourses, put it this way: Heaven did not countenance his earthly plans, since communication between light and darkness is impossible. He [satan] fell to earth to dwell here, and people came to where he lived. However, he did not let them enjoy their natural passions, rather, he beguiled them into many evils. But Michael and his forces who are overseers of the world helped humanity, as Daniel learned. They established laws and made the prophets wise.
All this constituted a battle against the dragon [satan] who [always] set obstacles
for humanity. And this struggle extended to Heaven , to Christ. Then Christ came,
and the law which had been impossible for others [to fulfill] He realized in His
own body, according to the Apostle. He caused sin to retreat and condemned satan,
and by His death He spread His righteousness over everyone. Once this happened,
the victory of Michael and his forces was realized, and the dragon was unable to
resist any longer. This was because the death of Christ made a laughing-
For he had failed in battle, as Anton [David] himself confessed in a psalm he wrote about this: "The enemy's weapons were completely destroyed." For Christ had judged him and he fell absolutely. The Doctors of the Church teach that until this fall he [satan] had hopes of returning to his former glory, but afterwards he fell completely. On this [topic] Irenaeus takes the words of the martyr Justin as follows...
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Taking their start from Papias the great, of Hierapolis, the disciple of the Apostle who leaned on Christ's bosom, and Clement, Pantaenus the priest of the Alexandrians and Ammonius, the great scholar, those ancient and first expositors who agree with each other in understanding all the work of the six days (as referring) to Christ and His Church.
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So then the more ancient expositors of the churches, I mean Philo, the philosopher, and contemporary of the
Apostles, and the famous Papias of Hierapolis, the disciple of John the Evangelist...and their associates, interpreted the sayings about Paradise spiritually, and referred them to the Church of Christ.
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Peter sent the first catholic epistle from Rome, having, according to Eusebius, Mark the evangelist as a follower. At this time, he composed the gospel at the Romans’ request, according to Clement in the sixth book of his Hypotyposeis and Papias the bishop of Hierapolis.
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Irenaeus and others record that John the Theologian and Apostle survived until the times of Trajan; after which Papias of Hierapolis and Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, both of whom heard him, were becoming known.
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After Domitian, Nerva reigned one year, who recalled John from the island (i.e. Patmos),
and allowed him to dwell in Ephesus. He was at that time the sole survivor of the
twelve Apostles, and after writing his Gospel received the honour of martyrdom. For
Papias, bishop of Hierapolis, who was an eye-
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Nor again (does Stephanus follow) Papias, the bishop and martyr of Hierapolis, nor Irenaeus, the holy bishop of
Lyons, when they say that the kingdom of heaven will consist in enjoyment of certain material foods.
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And the...great Methodius...and also Irenaeus bishop of Lyons and Papias bishop of Heirapolis, Methodius won the crown of martyrdom, the latter were apostolic men....But however, when they diminish the truth and were brought to speak against the common and ecclesiastical dogma, in these things we do not follow them, but we take nothing away from their patristic honor and glory.
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The Gospel of John was made known and given to the Churches by John, while he yet remained in the body; as (one) Papias by name, of Hierapolis, a beloved disciple of John, has related in his exoteric, that is, in his last five books; but he wrote down the Gospel at the dictation of John, correctly. But Marcion the heretic, when he had been censured by him because he held heretical opinions, was cast off by John. Now he had brought writings or letters delivered to him from the brethren that were in Pontus.
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And there was at that time in Menbij [Hierapolis] a distinguished master who had many treatises, and he wrote five treatises on the Gospel. And he mentions in his treatise on the Gospel of John, that in the book of John the Evangelist, he speaks of a woman who was adulterous, so when they presented her to Christ our Lord, to whom be glory, He told the Jews who brought her to Him, “Whoever of you knows that he is innocent of what she has done, let him testify against her with what he has.” So when He told them that, none of them responded with anything and they left.
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Now as regards the aloe which they brought [or bring], some say that it is a mixture of oil and honey. But certainly aloe is a type of incense. The geographer and Papias relate that there are fifteen kinds of aloe in India...
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The story of that adulterous woman, which other Christians have written in their
gospel, was written about by a certain Papias, a student of John, who was declared
a heretic and condemned. Eusebius wrote about this. There are laws and that matter
which Pilate, the king of the Jews, wrote of. And it is said that he wrote in Hebrew
with Latin and Greek above it. -
For the last of these, John, who was called the son of thunder, when he was exceedingly old, as both Irenaeus and Eusebius handed down to us, as well as succession of other believers who were historians, at that time when the terrible heresies were sprouting, dictated the gospel to his respectable disciple Papias the Heirapolitan for the completion of those who preached the word before him to the gentiles throughout all the world.
[checked Greek in Holmes]
133 years from the ascension of the Lord into the heavens...With the holy Polycarp, 9 others from Philadelphia testified in Smyrna. And in Pergamum others were martyred, among whom was Papias and many others, whose martyrdoms are circulated in writing.
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For even previously, Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis and Nepos, Bishop of areas of Egypt, thought the same as Victorinus concerning the thousand year Kingdom.
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My translation. Jerome revised Victorinus' Commentary on the Apocalypse to improve the style and correct, in his view, doctrinal errors. According to DECL, Victorinus wrote c.260AD, [checked] According to Quasten It is unknown when Jerome made his revision but it likely was not towards the end of his life [Checked]. The ANCF translation of Victorinus is in actuality Jerome's revision which is quite different in certain places, especially at the end. A translation from the SC 423 edition is given here. I used the older CSEL 49 edition [checked]
Victorinus of Pettau c.260AD alludes to Papias’ statement on Mark in his Commentary on the Apocalypse 4.4: “Mark, the interpreter of Peter, wrote a record of those things which he generally taught, but not in order, and begins with the word of prophecy announced by Isaiah.” Translation by Kevin Edgecomb. [checked]
This is notable because Victorinus wrote earlier than Eusebius and is thus an independent witness to this account of the composition of the Gospel according to Mark.
Eusebius also quotes Dionysius of Alexandria c.260AD (Ecclesiastical History 7.25 [checked]) as theorizing that Revelation and the Gospel of John were written by two different Johns based on styalistic grounds and that there are, supposedly, two monuments to John in Ephesus. Additionaly Eusebius quotes Polycrates of Ephesus c.195AD as claiming that John, who reclined on the chest of the Lord, wore priestly garb and was buried in Ephesus Ecclesiastical History 3.31 [checked] The ambigious priesthood of John is, to my knowledge, only repeated in the Mingana manuscript below.
The Apostolic Constitutions also claim that there were two Johns: "Of Ephesus, Timotheus,
ordained by Paul; and John, by me John."-
A. Mingana in “The Authorship of the Fourth Gospel,” Bulletin of the John Rylands Library XIV (1930): 333ff. [checked] reports that an 18th century Syriac manuscript, apparantly copied from an 8th century manuscript, contains a treatise attributed to Eusebius of Caeserea which gives interesting details about a second John:
“John the Evangelist was also from Bethsaida. He was of the tribe of Zebulun. He
preached in Asia at first, and afterwards was banished by Tiberius Caesar to the
isle of Patmos. Then he went to Ephesus and built up the church in it. Then three
disciples went thither with him, and there he died and was buried. [These three were]
Ignatius, who was afterwards bishop in Antioch and was thrown to the beasts at Rome;
Polycarp, who was afterwards bishop in Smyrna and was crowned in the fire; John,
to whom he committed the priesthood and the episcopal see after him. He then [the
Evangelist, having lived a long time, died and was buried in Ephesus, in which he
had been bishop. He was buried by his disciple John, who was bishop in Ephesus [after
him]; and their two graves are in Ephesus―one concealed, namely the Evangelist’s;
the other being that of John his disciple, who wrote the Revelations, for he said
that he heard all that he wrote from the mouth of the Evangelist.” -
The previous two quoations may be completely based off of Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History, they are however given to aid the reader in attempting to track down Papian allusions. I am grateful for the kind William A. Murphy who gave me exact references for the Mingana and Bruce articles.
ANCF translation. This passage was sometimes regarded as written by Papias of Hierapolis, it is not. It was written by a lexicographer in the 11th century who was also named Papias. See Lightfoot Essays On The Work Entitled Supernatural Religion. 1889 p211 [checked].
(1) Mary the mother of the Lord; (2) Mary the wife of Cleophas or Alphaeus, who was the mother of James the bishop and apostle, and of Simon and Thaddeus, and of one Joseph; (3) Mary Salome, wife of Zebedee, mother of John the evangelist and James; (4) Mary Magdalene. These four are found in the Gospel. James and Judas and Joseph were sons of an aunt (2) of the Lord's. James also and John were sons of another aunt (3) of the Lord's. Mary (2), mother of James the Less and Joseph, wife of Alphaeus was the sister of Mary the mother of the Lord, whom John names of Cleophas, either from her father or from the family of the clan, or for some other reason. Mary Salome (3) is called Salome either from her husband or her village. Some affirm that she is the same as Mary of Cleophas, because she had two husbands. [checked ANCF]