Need help finding a list of early Smyrna Bishops

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Lev
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Need help finding a list of early Smyrna Bishops

Post by Lev »

Hi all,

I'm hoping someone can help me locate a list of early Smyrna Bishops referred to in a Catholic blog:
“According to less established tradition, the first bishop of Smyrna was Apelles (mentioned in Romans 16:10), followed by Strataes, a brother (or uncle) of Timothy, then Ariston, then Bucolus, the bishop under whom St. Polycarp was raised, first being made a deacon, then a presbyter, and finally, upon the death of Bucolus, bishop.”
Sadly, the author doesn't provide a source for this "less established tradition", so I can't investigate how trustworthy it is. I've googled all sorts of ways to try and find it online, but without success. I can't find it in Eusebius either.

Would anyone be able to point me in the right direction, please?
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Ben C. Smith
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Re: Need help finding a list of early Smyrna Bishops

Post by Ben C. Smith »

Lev wrote: Mon Apr 23, 2018 8:33 am Hi all,

I'm hoping someone can help me locate a list of early Smyrna Bishops referred to in a Catholic blog:
“According to less established tradition, the first bishop of Smyrna was Apelles (mentioned in Romans 16:10), followed by Strataes, a brother (or uncle) of Timothy, then Ariston, then Bucolus, the bishop under whom St. Polycarp was raised, first being made a deacon, then a presbyter, and finally, upon the death of Bucolus, bishop.”
Sadly, the author doesn't provide a source for this "less established tradition", so I can't investigate how trustworthy it is. I've googled all sorts of ways to try and find it online, but without success. I can't find it in Eusebius either.

Would anyone be able to point me in the right direction, please?
Part of the tradition comes from one of the early church orders:

Apostolic Constitutions 7.46: 46 Now concerning those bishops which have been ordained in our lifetime, we let you know that they are these: James the bishop of Jerusalem, the brother of our Lord; upon whose death the second was Simeon the son of Cleopas; after whom the third was Judas the son of James. Of Caesarea of Palestine, the first was Zacchaeus, who was once a publican; after whom was Cornelius, and the third Theophilus. Of Antioch, Euodius, ordained by me Peter; and Ignatius by Paul. Of Alexandria, Annianus was the first, ordained by Mark the evangelist; the second Avilius by Luke, who was also an evangelist. Of the church of Rome, Linus the son of Claudia was the first, ordained by Paul; and Clemens, after Linus' death, the second, ordained by me Peter. Of Ephesus, Timothy, ordained by Paul; and John, by me John. Of Smyrna, Aristo the first; after whom Strataeas the son of Lois; and the third Aristo [Σμύρνης δὲ Ἀρίστων πρῶτος, μεθ' ὃν Στραταίας ὁ Λώϊδος καὶ τρίτος Ἀρίστων]. Of Pergamus, Gaius. Of Philadelphia, Demetrius, by me. Of Cenchrea, Lucius, by Paul. Of Crete, Titus. Of Athens, Dionysius. Of Tripoli in Phoenicia, Marathones. Of Laodicea in Phrygia, Archippus. Of Colossae, Philemon. Of Borea in Macedonia, Onesimus, once the servant of Philemon. Of the churches of Galatia, Crescens. Of the parishes of Asia, Aquila and Nicetas. Of the church of Aeginae, Crispus. These are the bishops who are entrusted by us with the parishes in the Lord; whose doctrine keep always in mind, and observe our words. And may the Lord be with you now, and to endless ages, as Himself said to us when He was about to be taken up to His own God and Father. For says He, Lo, I am with you all the days, until the end of the world. Amen.

There is no mention of Bucolus or Polycarp there, however. That bit probably comes from the biography of Polycarp by Pionius:

Life of Polycarp 3a: 3a But after the departure of the Apostle, Strataeas succeeded to his teaching, and certain of those after him, whose names, so far as it is possible to discover who and what manner of men they were, I will set down. But for the present let us proceed at once to Polycarp. One whose name was Bucolus being bishop in Smyrna at that time, there was in those days a certain lady, devout and fearing God, conversant in good works, whose name was Callisto. An angel sent from the Lord stood by her and said to her in a vision of the night, "Callisto, rise up and go to the gate called the Ephesian, and when thou hast gone forward a little in front of it, two men shall meet thee, having with them a little lad named Polycarp."

This work also mentions Stretaeas, (grand)son of Lois:

Life of Polycarp 2a: 2a In the days of unleavened bread Paul, coming down from Galatia, arrived in Asia, considering the repose among the faithful in Smyrna to be a great refreshment in Christ Jesus after his severe toil, and intending afterwards to depart to Jerusalem. So in Smyrna he went to visit Strataeas, who had been his hearer in Pamphylia, being a son of Eunice the daughter of Lois. These are they of whom he makes mention when writing to Timothy, saying, "Of the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and in thy mother Eunice," whence we find that Strataeas was a brother of Timothy.

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Secret Alias
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Re: Need help finding a list of early Smyrna Bishops

Post by Secret Alias »

Certain versions of the Acts of John speak of Polycarp being installed by John in Ephesus
“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
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Secret Alias
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Re: Need help finding a list of early Smyrna Bishops

Post by Secret Alias »

All lists of bishops before the end of the second century are fictitious
“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
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Lev
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Re: Need help finding a list of early Smyrna Bishops

Post by Lev »

Ben Smith - you are a SAINT!

Thank you very much for this extremely helpful response. I've been wrestling with the source for this on and off for months!

It's a pity none of the sources cite Apelles, but most are there. I wonder if the first Ariso[n] is the same person as the third bishop, perhaps resuming his post?

Many thanks, Secret Alias, for pointing me to the Acts of John for Polycarp's installation. Appreciated.
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MrMacSon
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Re: Need help finding a list of early Smyrna Bishops

Post by MrMacSon »

How reliable is any of this sort of information?
Secret Alias
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Re: Need help finding a list of early Smyrna Bishops

Post by Secret Alias »

The question is whether the figure of 'bishop' or 'overseer' existed before 150 CE. I doubt it. It seems like a reaction against the random diffusion of texts and traditions which must have marked the first 100 years of Christianity (yes, I don't buy the whole 'Christianity was founded in 150 CE' conspiracy).
“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
Charles Wilson
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Re: Need help finding a list of early Smyrna Bishops

Post by Charles Wilson »

SA --

How can you POSSIBLY doubt the authenticity of what we are told? Wasn't the sixth pope named "Sextus"? You can't get any more historical than that, now, can you?

CW
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Lev
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Re: Need help finding a list of early Smyrna Bishops

Post by Lev »

SA - I've been trying to locate the account of Polycarp's installation by John in the Acts of John, but can't find it. I've searched through the version on Early Christian Writings here: http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/t ... sjohn.html

Have you got a link to the account, please?
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MrMacSon
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Re: Need help finding a list of early Smyrna Bishops

Post by MrMacSon »

MrMacSon partly rewrote what Secret Alias wrote: Mon Apr 23, 2018 2:08 pm
The question is whether the figure of 'bishop' or 'overseer' existed before 150 CE. I doubt it. It seems like a reaction against the [lack] random diffusion of texts and traditions which must have marked [have been proposed to have existed in] the first 100 years AD/CE of Christianity (yes, [Secret Alias] doesn't buy the whole 'Christianity was founded in 150 CE' conspiracy).
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