Sophia Scriptura

To the Philippians 11.1

Polycarp of Smyrna · To the Philippians · ca. 110–135 · Smyrna · Read in context

Summary: Polycarp grieves over Valens, a presbyter at Philippi who misused his office, and warns the church against greed.

Latin text · Lake, LCL 24:296

Nimis contristatus sum pro Valente, qui presbyter factus est aliquando apud vos, quod sic ignoret is locum qui datus est ei. Moneo itaque ut abstineatis vos ab avaritia et sitis casti veraces. Abstinete vos ab omni malo.

English · Claude translation

I am deeply grieved for Valens, who was once made a presbyter among you, that he so fails to understand the office that was given him. I warn you, therefore, to keep away from greed, and to be pure and truthful. Keep away from every evil.

About this passage

Source
Lake, LCL 24:296 · Kirsopp Lake, ed. and trans., The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 1, LCL 24 (London: Heinemann; New York: Macmillan, 1912), 282–301 · Greek text: K. Lake, The Apostolic Fathers (LCL, 1912), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-26 · Translated by Claude from the Latin version (the Greek of this passage is lost), text of Lake (LCL 24, 1912).
Topics
Church office, Ethics

Notes

Translation notes

  • “Office” (locum): literally “place.”
  • “Greed” (avaritia): the Greek probably had φιλαργυρία, “love of money” (see the glossary). The letter implies, without saying outright, that Valens's fault involved money.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (OCR error in the digitized Latin; capitals lost in the digitization restored): walente → Valente; nimis / moneo / abstinete → Nimis / Moneo / Abstinete.

Cite this passage

Pol. Phil. 11.1 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/pol-philippians/11/1/).

Plain text
Pol. Phil. 11.1 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/pol-philippians/11/1/).

Download citation:BibTeX ·RIS (Zotero, EndNote)

Report an error in this passage