Need help finding a list of early Smyrna Bishops

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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: Wed Apr 25, 2018 2:07 pm 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?
I imagine what he means is this, from that same link:

[Another manuscript (Q. Paris Gr. 1468, of the eleventh century) has another form of this story. John destroys the temple of Artemis, and then 'we' go to Smyrna and all the idols are broken: Bucolus, Polycarp, and Andronicus are left to preside over the district. There were there two priests of Artemis, brothers, and one died. The raising is told much as in the older text, but more shortly.

'We' remained four years in the region, which was wholly converted, and then returned to Ephesus.]

If this version has been translated into English, I am not sure where to find it.
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Re: Need help finding a list of early Smyrna Bishops

Post by Secret Alias »

“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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Re: Need help finding a list of early Smyrna Bishops

Post by Secret Alias »

The genuine Acts of these martyrs were first
edited by Aube in the Revue Archeologique from a Paris manu-
script (cod. Gr. 1468) in 1881. Harnack re-edited it in 1888
with notes and a discussion of the date (T.TJ. iii. 4). The text
is also included in Gebhardt’s A.M.S. (p. 13). The martyr-
dom occurred when there were two Augusti (Acta 4, 21).
This points to the reign of Marcus Aurelius (14. 10, note) ;
and Harnack contends that this period is indicated by many
other features of the narrative. Thus Eusebius appears to
have dated it correctly. But it is impossible to believe that
he did so on the ground of the chronological data which the
Acts exhibit. He reached a right conclusion from insufficient
evidence (cp. § 46, note).

My guess is that a French translation of the manuscript may exist and a French summary of the MS is also available online if you read French:

On hésitera fort à faire figurer les Actes de Jean par Prochore parmi les utilisateurs des AJ. Dans le long récit du Ps-Prochore on ne trouve que deux épisodes (mort de l'apôtre et polémique avec les adorateurs d'Artémis) qui ont un rapport avec des sections des AJ (cf. 106-1 15 et 38 ss), et ce rapport est très lâche3. Le Ps-Prochore n'a pas eu sous les yeux les AJ ; il a dû s'inspirer de traditions orales ou écrites remontant aux AJ. Notons au passage qu'il en va de même pour Y Histoire syriaque de Jean, vraisemblablement composée à la fin IV siecle https://books.google.com/books?id=aofkP ... 22&f=false
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Re: Need help finding a list of early Smyrna Bishops

Post by Secret Alias »

This might be useful. Polycarp is apparently the successor to Boukolis (the name of the region the Church of St Mark was founded on in Alexandria - today April 25th is St Mark's day oddly enough)

It was the supposition of Papadopoulos Kerameus that the Bios relied (at least partially) on a story about Boukolos, see the passage in Bios ch. 3: "But as Boukolos arrived at the extremity of his life, as the story (historia) about him tells plainly..." (Polycarp was chosen as a bishop). Stewart-Sykes, Life (n. 2), p. 146 notes that Boukolos is left by John the apostle as proedros of the Church of Smyrna together with Polycarp, at least according to the Prochorus version of the Acts of John. It is only a question whether this can be traced back to an early tradition; cf. É. Junod - J.D. Kaestli, Acta Johannis: Praefatio - Textus, Turnhout 1983, pp. 147, 371. However, the combination of Polycarp, Ignatius and Boukolos is also present in the Synaksarion. 29. The rain miracle belongs to the cycle on Elijah in 1 Kings 18; it is present as well e.g. in Gregory of Nyssa's homily on the XL Martyrs of Sebaste; cf. J. Leemans, in "Let us die" (n. 14), pp. 99, 109 n. 16. The Bios also refers to the miracle of the fire extinguished by Polycarp (cf. Vita 28, incomplete); but the Bios' emphasis is again that Polycarp performed the miracle only by prayer and the sign of the cross. 30. It has been argued in our work on Polycarp that the quotations made by Eusebius, H.E. IV. 15, represent the menologium text as well, and that there is no reason to believe that Eusebius' text was based on an earlier form of the martyrdom https://books.google.com/books?id=Aq4lA ... EQ6AEIKTAA
“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 »

I imagine the closest you're going to get is this AB article - https://books.google.com/books?id=m-YTA ... wQ6AEIKTAA This journal is pretty widely available in academic libraries.
“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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Re: Need help finding a list of early Smyrna Bishops

Post by Secret Alias »

Maybe this is the ticket

https://www.amazon.com/Acts-John-Accord ... B00YFPWAOA

No, it's not.
“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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Re: Need help finding a list of early Smyrna Bishops

Post by Secret Alias »

Some more info

In Codex 1468 we read at '45/0. 45 that John left there (at Smyrna) a: president (1rp6e8pov ) Boukolos and Polyearp lu': disa'p/er and Andronicus. 'Boukolos and Polycarp' is obviously an interpolation, but Andronicus, Zahn suggests (Forsefi. vi 101 an.) represents Ariston who was, according to A1). Cami. vii 46, the first bishop of that see. If Zahn's bow was drawn at a venture, an examination of the allusions to Andronicus shews that his arrow hit the mark. https://books.google.com/books?id=jTs2A ... AQ6AEIJDAA
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Re: Need help finding a list of early Smyrna Bishops

Post by Ethan »

There as apparently a Bishop called Plutarch between 89-105 CE who succeeded Polycarpus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutarch_of_Byzantium

Pope Pius I alongside Antonius Pius , the word 'Pope' is a Latin abbreviation of Pater Patria, who was Antonius at that time.

These Pope and Bishop lists are historical fiction produced in the 11th century.
Last edited by Ethan on Thu Apr 26, 2018 1:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
https://vivliothikiagiasmatos.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/joseph-yahuda-hebrew-is-greek.pdf
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Re: Need help finding a list of early Smyrna Bishops

Post by MrMacSon »

Ethan wrote: Wed Apr 25, 2018 11:44 pm There as apparently a Bishop called Plutarch between 89-105 BCE1 who succeeded Polycarpus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutarch_of_Byzantium
1 CE [AD] though I can't believe Polycarp was that early
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Re: Need help finding a list of early Smyrna Bishops

Post by Ben C. Smith »

MrMacSon wrote: Thu Apr 26, 2018 1:18 am
Ethan wrote: Wed Apr 25, 2018 11:44 pm There as apparently a Bishop called Plutarch between 89-105 BCE1 who succeeded Polycarpus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutarch_of_Byzantium
1 CE [AD] though I can't believe Polycarp was that early
Is that even the same Polycarp?
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