Papias

Papias , fl. AD 130, early Christian theologian said to have been bishop of Hieropolis and a friend of St. Polycarp . Papias' five-volume work, Oracles; or, Explanations of the Sayings of the Lord, survives only in fragments quoted by Eusebius of Caesarea and St. Irenaeus. These are valuable sources for the history of the church.

Papias (c.60–130), Bp. of Hierapolis in Asia Minor. His work survives only in quotations in Irenaeus and Eusebius. In the fragments on the origin of the first two Gospels he states that St Mark, having become the interpreter of St Peter, set down accurately, though not in order, everything that he remembered of the words and actions of the Lord; and that St Matthew composed ‘the oracles’ in Hebrew, and everyone translated them as best he could.

Papias Bishop of Hierapolis (140 CE); quoted by the historian Eusebius as having been once told by ‘the Elder’ that Mark, not himself a follower of Jesus, acted as a translator or interpreter for Peter. Because he often listened to Peter's preaching, Mark was able to write down what he remembered, though admittedly this was not ‘in order’. These words were the basis which established the tradition of the connection of Mark's gospel with Peter. Though it was not first-hand eyewitness testimony, it was enough to establish the authority of this gospel even after Matt. and Luke became more popular.

Papias also wrote that Matthew wrote down ‘sayings’ of Jesus in Hebrew, and it has been speculated that he was referring to what scholars nowadays call ‘Q’; but evidence that such a source has existed in Hebrew (if it existed at all) is entirely lacking. Perhaps Papias meant that Matthew compiled a convenient anthology of OT proof texts for Christian preachers.