Polycarp was an early church leader, the bishop of Smyrna, and a disciple of the apostle John. Since he had direct contact with one of the apostles, he is considered an Apostolic Father—a church leader who was trained by and immediately followed the apostles.

Polycarp’s Letter to the Philippians is actually a cover letter for a group of Ignatius’ writings, which the church at Philippi had requested that Polycarp send to them. This is the only existing example of Polycarp’s writings, although he is mentioned in other writings. The letter is about 2,200 words long, about the same length as Galatians or 1 John.
uotes are in italics.