27-APPENDIX B PAPIAS AND JOHN THE PRESBYTER

APPENDIX B PAPIAS AND JOHN THE PRESBYTER

Papias, a Phrygian by birth, and Bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia, wrote in the first half of the 2nd century a book called Expositions of Oracles of the Lord. Among the "Elders" whom Irenaeus quotes, Papias and Polycarp alone are called "ancient" (archaios--Adv. Haer. 5: 33). This helps us to fix the date of Papias. For Polycarp died either in A.D. 155 or 156. He had been a Christian for eighty-six years, and was therefore born in A.D. 70 at the very latest. Papias was therefore probably born about A.D. 70. We know from Irenaeus that Polycarp was a disciple of St. John, and several ancient writers, including Irenaeus, expressly assert that Papias also was a hearer of St. John. Eusebius (H. E. 3: 39) says that "in his preface" Papias does not declare that he was an "eye-witness of the holy apostles." But Eusebius in his Chronicle (Syncell. 655, 14) plainly says that Papias, like Polycarp, was a "hearer" of John the Divine and Apostle. The preface of Papias, which Eusebius transcribes, mentions John the Presbyter. The following is a literal translation of it:--

"But for your advantage I will not hesitate to put side by side with my interpretations everything that in time past I learnt well from the Elders, and remembered well, guaranteeing its truth. For, unlike the many, I did not take pleasure in those who say much, but in those who teach the truth; nor in those who relate alien commandments, but in those who relate such as were given from the Lord to the Faith, and are derived from ’the Truth’ itself. And again, on any occasion when a person came who had been a follower of the Elders, I would inquire about the discourses of the Elders--what Andrew or what Peter said, or what Philip or what Thomas or James, or what John or Matthew or any other of the disciples of the Lord, and the things which Aristion and John the Presbyter (Elder), the disciples of the Lord, say. For I did not suppose that the contents of books would profit me so much as the utterances of a living and abiding voice." The exact meaning of this passage is disputed, but much of it is perfectly clear. It is plain that Papias is referring to his action at a time long past (pote), probably about A.D. 100. It is also plain that he had no direct access at that date to the apostles about whose sayings he inquired. They were already dead, their speech was a thing of the past (eipen). On the other hand, Aristion and John the Presbyter were then living, their speech was a thing of the present (legousin). They survived at the time of his inquiries, and we cannot accept the hypothesis that Papias only meant that he inquired what Aristion and John the Presbyter said in their books. He recorded what they said to his friends, and he quoted them both so freely that Eusebius believed that Papias also wrote down words which Aristion and John the Presbyter said in his own hearing. But whether he heard them or only heard about them, it is evident that he had reached manhood before they were dead. It is also certain that he calls them "disciples of the Lord." He must mean by this that they had been personally in contact with Christ, like the apostles whom he has just mentioned. We therefore can only draw the conclusion that Papias believed that these two men had known the Lord in their boyhood, and the fact that he mentions only two such men favours this interpretation. With regard to the other Elders, the question at once arises, Did Papias include among those Elders the apostles whom he mentions? If he did not include them, he means that he inquired of travellers what they had heard from Elders who had known the apostles. This seems incredible; the information gained would be far inferior to that contained in books, whereas Papias speaks of it as superior. Moreover, it would imply that the knowledge possessed by Papias about those who had known the Lord was less direct than that possessed by Irenaeus! For Irenaeus (1) knew Polycarp (2) and others, who knew St. John and others who had seen the Lord. Whereas, according to this theory, Papias (1) was instructed by travellers (2), who had heard the Elders (3) speak about the apostles. If Papias had no better knowledge than this, Irenaeus would not have referred to Papias with such marked deference. We conclude, therefore, that Papias used the word "Elders" to denote Christians who had actually seen the Lord, including the apostles whom he mentions. This interpretation is supported by the fact that in the New Testament both St. Peter and St. John give themselves this very title.

If the above views are correct, they have an important bearing on the authenticity of St. John’s Gospel. The lifetime of Papias, like that of Polycarp, covers the whole period of dates to which modern Rationalists now assign that Gospel. If it was not written by the apostle, it is hard indeed to suppose that Papias did not know the truth, and record it. And it is equally hard to believe that his statements about it would not have been copied by such men as Irenaeus, Dionysius of Alexandria, and Eusebius.