Sophia Scriptura

To Polycarp 3.1

Ignatius of Antioch · To Polycarp · ca. 110 (range ca. 105–135) · Troas · Read in context

Summary: Polycarp must stand firm against false teachers, like an anvil under the hammer.

Greek text · Lake, LCL 24:270

Οἱ δοκοῦντες ἀξιόπιστοι εἶναι καὶ ἑτεροδιδασκαλοῦντες μή σε καταπλησσέτωσαν. στῆθι ἑδραῖος ὡς ἄκμων τυπτόμενος. μεγάλου ἐστιν ἀθλητοῦ τὸ δέρεσθαι καὶ νικᾶν. μάλιστα δὲ ἕνεκεν θεοῦ πάντα ὑπομένειν ἡμᾶς δεῖ, ἵνα καὶ αὐτὸς ἡμᾶς ὑπομείνῃ.

English · Claude translation

Do not let those who seem trustworthy but teach otherwise overwhelm you. Stand firm, like an anvil being struck. It is the mark of a great athlete to be beaten and yet to win. Above all, for God's sake we must endure all things, so that he may also endure us.

About this passage

Source
Lake, LCL 24:270 · Kirsopp Lake, ed. and trans., The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 1, LCL 24 (London: Heinemann; New York: Macmillan, 1912), 172–277 · Greek text: K. Lake, The Apostolic Fathers (LCL, 1912-1913), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0
Also in
PG 5:721a–721b (found by text match)
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-26 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Lake (LCL 24, 1912); made independently of existing English translations.
Scripture
Topics
Heresy

Notes

Translation notes

  • “Teach otherwise” (ἑτεροδιδασκαλοῦντες): teach a different doctrine (compare 1 Tim 1:3; 6:3).

Cite this passage

Ign. Pol. 3.1 (PG 5:721a–721b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ign-polycarp/3/1/).

Plain text
Ign. Pol. 3.1 (PG 5:721a–721b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ign-polycarp/3/1/).

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