Introduction to Papias of Hierapolis

Church tradition can be a double-edged sword. Without it, we wouldn’t have our Bible, or common beliefs on how to interpret and explain the Gospel to others. It is through tradition that we understand doctrine like the Trinity, or what books do and do not belong in the canon of Scripture. At the same time, credibility of traditions can be debated, not only in the modern day, but even back in the early centuries of the Church.

One of the best examples of an early Church tradition that was and continues to be heavily contested is the witness of Papias of Hierapolis. According to 2nd century Church leader Irenaeus, Papias was a disciple of John, possibly making him a companion of Ignatius and Polycarp. (Eusebius, 3.39) He was bishop of Hierapolis, most likely lived from the late 1st century to early 2nd century, and wrote five books containing sayings from Jesus. (Holmes, 2006, Pg. 302-303) Not only that, but he also gave the earliest known written witness of Matthew, Mark, and John being the authors of their Gospel accounts.

On the surface, this sounds like an extraordinary source for Christians to learn from! So, why is there controversy?

First off, we simply don’t have any of Papias’ complete writings. All we have are brief quotes of his writings from later Church Fathers, primarily Irenaeus (2nd century) and Eusebius (4th century). There are several other theologians who quote Papias through the centuries, but the credibility of these references are highly contested in scholarship. (Carlson, 2021, Pg. 333-336)

As a result, if you read a collection of Papias quotes, you might read more or less quotes than a different collection, because scholars who have translated Papias have come to different conclusions on which quotes are genuine!

But the confusion doesn’t stop there. Even what we do have from Papias was contested by some of the Church Fathers. Was Papias a disciple of the Apostle John, or a different John from the 1st century? (Hill, 2006, Pg. 310) Irenaeus seems to believe Papias and Polycarp were disciples of the Apostle, but Eusebius (who is no fan of Papias) is more skeptical.

After naming John as one of the Apostles, Papias names another disciple, named John the Elder. According to 5th century Church historian Philip of Side, John the Elder is actually the author of 2nd and 3rd John. (Philip, 5.2) Richard Bauckham is convinced John the Elder is the “John” Papias learned from, not the Apostle, and even then, Papias did not learn first hand from the Elder, but from hearers of the Elder. (Bauckham, 2017, Pg. 19)

Regarding his witness to the Gospel of Matthew, Papias claims Matthew originally wrote his Gospel account in Hebrew. (Eusebius, 3.39) This is a strange claim for Papias to make, as Matthew seems to have definitely been originally written in Greek. (Hill, 2006, Pg. 311) Is it possible that instead of the text being in Hebrew, Papias meant that Matthew’s Gospel was written for the Hebrews? This could actually make sense, as Matthew leans heavily toward showing Jesus to be the Jewish Messiah, but it’s unclear. These are just a couple examples of the interesting yet frustratingly mysterious witness of Papias.

So, as we go over some of the content we (allegedly) have of Papias, we need to go in with discernment. Papias was definitely influential to the early Church, and many highly respected him. It would be a mistake to brush off the fragments we have of his. At the same time, we also have to recognize our lack of first-hand sources.

I am certainly not qualified to solve the several mysteries and debates regarding Papias. So instead of trying to piece the puzzle together, we’ll focus more on the quotes of Papias we do have that are believed by scholars to be most credible.

What can we learn from the most credible quotes of Papias? As we dive in, we’ll see a pretty diverse catalog of topics, ranging from Gospel accounts, oral tradition, Judas, the Apostles, Jesus traditions, and eschatology. This makes studying Papias all the more interesting, and gives us a fascinating glimpse of the early Church.

Bibliography

Schaff, P. (2016). The Complete Ante-Nicene, Nicene, and Post-Nicene Collection of Early Church Fathers. Toronto, Canada.

Holmes, M. (2006). The Apostolic Fathers in English (3rd Edition). Grand Rapids, MI. Baker Academic.

Carlson, S. (2021). The Fragments of Papias. In M. Bird and S. Harrower, The Cambridge Companion to the Apostolic Fathers. University Printing House, Cambridge, United Kingdom. Cambridge University Press.

Hill, C. (2006). Papias of Hierapolis. The Expository Times, Vol. 117 (8), Pg. 309-315. SAGE Publications.

Bauckham, R. (2006, 2017). Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony (2nd Edition). Grand Rapids, MI. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.