Epistle to the Trallians (LongVersion)

I KNOW THAT YOU POSSESS AN UNBLAMEABLE AND SINCERE MIND IN PATIENCE: and that not only for present use, but as a permanent possession, as Polybius your bishop has shown me, who has come to Smyrna by the will of God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, His Son, with the cooperation of the Spirit, and so sympathized in the joy which I, who am bound in Christ Jesus, possess, that I beheld your whole multitude in Him. Having therefore received through him the testimony of your goodwill according to God, I gloried to find that you were the followers of Jesus Christ the Savior.

BE SUBJECT TO THE BISHOP AS TO THE LORD: for "he watches for your souls, as one that shall give account to God." Therefore, it seems to me that you live not according to human ways, but in accordance with Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that by believing in His death, you may be made partakers of His resurrection through baptism. It is therefore necessary that whatever you do, do nothing without the bishop. And be subject also to the presbytery, as to the apostles of Jesus Christ, who is our hope, in whom, if we live, we shall be found in Him. It is also important for you to please the deacons in every way, who are ministers of the mysteries of Christ Jesus; for they are not ministers of food and drink, but servants of the Church of God. They must, therefore, avoid all grounds of accusation against them, as they would a burning fire. Let them, then, prove themselves to be such.

AND DO YOU REVERENCE THEM AS CHRIST JESUS: of whose place they are the keepers, just as the bishop is the representative of the Father of all things, and the presbyters are the sanhedrim of God, and assembly of the apostles of Christ. Apart from these, there is no elect Church, no congregation of holy ones, no assembly of saints. I am persuaded that you also share this opinion. For I have received the evidence of your love, and still have it with me, in your bishop, whose very appearance is highly instructive, and his meekness itself is a power; whom I imagine even the ungodly must reverence. Loving you as I do, I avoid writing in any severer tone to you, that I may not seem harsh to any, or lacking [in tenderness]. I am indeed bound for the sake of Christ, but I am not yet worthy of Christ. But when I am perfected, perhaps I shall then become so. I do not issue orders like an apostle.

BUT I ASSESS MYSELF SO THAT I MAY NOT PERISH THROUGH BOASTING: and it is good to glory in the Lord. And even if I were established in things related to God, it would still befit me to be more fearful, and not pay attention to those who vainly inflate my ego. For those who commend me also scourge me. [I do indeed desire to suffer], but I am unsure if I am worthy to do so. For the envy of the wicked one is not visible to many, but it wars against me. Therefore, I need meekness, by which the devil, the prince of this world, is brought to nothing.

Could I not write to you about matters more mysterious? But I hesitate to do so, afraid I might harm you, as you are still new [in Christ]. Forgive me for this, as you might not be able to handle their profound meanings and could be overwhelmed by them. For even though I am devoted [to Christ] and can understand heavenly matters, the angelic orders, the different types of angels and hosts, the differences between powers and dominions, the variations between thrones and authorities, the might of the Æons, and the supremacy of the cherubim and seraphim, the loftiness of the spirit, the kingdom of the Lord, and above all, the incomparable majesty of Almighty God—even with this knowledge, I am not perfect; nor am I a disciple like Paul or Peter. There are still many things I lack to fully align with God.

I THEREFORE: yet not I, out the love of Jesus Christ, "urge you all to speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment." For there are some vain talkers and deceivers, not Christians, but Christ-betrayers, carrying the name of Christ in deceit, and "corrupting the word" of the Gospel; while they mix the poison of their deceit with their persuasive talk, as if they mingled aconite with sweet wine, so that he who drinks, being deceived in his taste by the very great sweetness of the drink, may unknowingly encounter his death.

One of the ancients gives us this advice, "Let no man be called good who mixes good with evil." For they speak of Christ, not to preach Christ, but to reject Christ; and they speak of the law, not to establish the law, but to proclaim things contrary to it. For they separate Christ from the Father, and the law from Christ. They also falsely accuse His being born of the Virgin; they are ashamed of His cross; they deny His suffering; and they do not believe His resurrection.

They introduce God as a Being unknown; they suppose Christ to be unbegotten; and regarding the Spirit, they do not admit that He exists. Some of them say that the Son is a mere man, and that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are but the same person, and that creation is the work of God, not by Christ, but by some other strange power.

BE ON YOUR GUARD: therefore, against such people, so that you do not set a snare for your own souls. Act in such a way that your life is without offense to all people, lest you become "a snare upon a watchtower, and like a net which is spread out." For "he who does not heal himself in his own works is the brother of him who destroys himself." If, therefore, you also put away conceit, arrogance, disdain, and haughtiness, it will be your privilege to be inseparably united to God, for "He is near to those who fear Him." And He says, "Upon whom will I look, but upon him who is humble and quiet and trembles at my words?" Also, you should reverence your bishop as Christ Himself, according to the instructions of the blessed apostles.

He who is within the altar is pure; therefore, he is obedient to the bishop and presbyters.

But he who is outside does anything apart from the bishop, the presbyters, and the deacons, such a person is defiled in his conscience and is worse than an infidel. For what is the bishop but one who possesses all power and authority beyond all others, as far as a man can possess it, who, according to his ability, has been made an imitator of the Christ of God? And what is the presbytery but a sacred assembly, the counselors and advisers of the bishop? And what are the deacons but imitators of the angelic powers, fulfilling a pure and blameless ministry unto him, as the holy Stephen did to the blessed James, Timothy and Linus to Paul, Anencletus and Clement to Peter? He, therefore, who will not yield obedience to such, must be utterly without God, an impious person who despises Christ and depreciates His appointments.

I WRITE THESE THINGS TO YOU: not because I know there are any such people among you; no, indeed I hope that God will never let any such report reach my ears, He “who did not spare His Son for the sake of His holy Church.” But foreseeing the traps of the wicked one, I prepare you in advance with my warnings, as my beloved and faithful children in Christ, equipping you with protection against the deadly disease of unruly men. Thus, by the good will of Christ our Lord, flee from this disease. Therefore, by clothing yourselves with meekness, become imitators of His sufferings and His love, with which He loved us when He gave Himself as a ransom for us, to cleanse us by His blood from our old ungodliness, and to grant us life when we were almost lost to the depravity within us. Let none of you hold a grudge against your neighbor. For our Lord says, “Forgive, and it will be forgiven to you.” Do not give any reason for the Gentiles to speak against you, lest “by means of a few foolish men the word and doctrine of Christ are blasphemed.” For the prophet speaks as if in the voice of God, “Woe to him by whom my name is blasphemed among the Gentiles.”

THEREFORE: close your ears when anyone speaks against Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was descended from David and was also born of Mary; who was truly begotten of God and the Virgin, but not in the same manner. For indeed, God and man are not the same. He truly took on a body; for "the Word was made flesh," and lived on earth without sin. For He says, "Which of you convicts me of sin?" He really ate and drank.

He was crucified and died under Pontius Pilate. He truly, and not just in appearance, was crucified and died, witnessed by beings in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. By those in heaven, I mean beings with incorporeal natures; by those on earth, the Jews and Romans, and those who were present when the Lord was crucified; and by those under the earth, the multitude that arose with the Lord. For the Scripture says, "Many bodies of the saints who slept arose," their graves being opened.

He descended alone into Hades, but He rose accompanied by a multitude; and tore apart that means of separation that had existed from the beginning of the world, and broke down its partition wall. He also rose again in three days, with the Father raising Him up; and after spending forty days with the apostles, He was taken up to the Father, and "sat down at His right hand, waiting until His enemies are placed under His feet." On the day of preparation, then, at the third hour, He received the sentence from Pilate, the Father allowing it to happen; at the sixth hour, He was crucified; at the ninth hour, He gave up the spirit; and before sunset, He was buried.

During the Sabbath, He remained under the earth in the tomb where Joseph of Arimathea had laid Him. At the break of the Lord’s day, He rose from the dead, according to what He had spoken, "As Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of man also be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." The day of preparation, then, includes the passion; the Sabbath includes the burial; the Lord’s Day includes the resurrection.

BUT IF: as some who are without God, meaning the unbelieving, say, He became man only in appearance, that He did not actually take a body, that He died merely in appearance and did not truly suffer, then why am I now in chains and eager to face the wild beasts? In this case, I die in vain and am guilty of falsehood against the cross of the Lord. Then the prophet also declares in vain, “They shall look on Him whom they have pierced, and mourn over themselves as over one beloved.” These people, therefore, are no less unbelievers than those who crucified Him.

But as for me, I do not place my hopes in one who died for me in appearance, but in reality. For what is false is entirely opposed to the truth. Mary truly conceived a body with God inhabiting it. And God the Word was truly born of the Virgin, having clothed Himself with a body with passions like ours. He who forms all men in the womb was Himself really in the womb and made for Himself a body from the seed of the Virgin, but without any intercourse of man.

He was carried in the womb, just as we are, for the usual period of time; and was really born, as we also are; and was truly nourished with milk and partook of ordinary food and drink, just as we do. And when He had lived among men for thirty years, He was baptized by John, truly and not in appearance; and when He had preached the Gospel for three years, and done signs and wonders, He who was Himself the Judge was judged by the Jews, falsely so-called, and by Pilate the governor; was scourged, was struck on the cheek, was spat upon; He wore a crown of thorns and a purple robe; He was condemned: He was crucified truly, and not in appearance, not in imagination, not in deceit.

He truly died, was buried, and rose from the dead, just as He prayed in a certain place, saying, “But do You, O Lord, raise me up again, and I shall repay them.” And the Father, who always hears Him, answered and said, “Arise, O God, and judge the earth; for You shall receive all the heathen for Your inheritance.” The Father, therefore, who raised Him up, will also raise us up through Him, apart from whom no one will attain true life.

For He says, “I am the life; he that believes in me, even though he dies, shall live; and everyone that lives and believes in me, even though he dies, shall live forever.” Therefore, flee from these ungodly heresies, for they are the inventions of the devil, that serpent who was the author of evil, and who by means of the woman deceived Adam, the father of our race.

AVOID THOSE WICKED FOLLOWERS OF HIS: like Simon his firstborn son, Menander, Basilides, and their entire wicked group of followers, who worship a man, and whom the prophet Jeremiah also calls cursed. Flee from the impure Nicolaitanes, falsely so called, who are lovers of pleasure and given to slanderous speeches. Also avoid the children of the evil one, Theodotus and Cleobulus, who produce deadly fruit; if anyone tastes it, they die instantly—not just a temporary death, but one that lasts forever. These men are not planted by the Father but are an accursed brood. The Lord says, “Let every plant my heavenly Father has not planted be uprooted.” If they were branches of the Father, they would not be “enemies of the cross of Christ” but rather would be against those who “killed the Lord of glory.” But now, by denying the cross and being ashamed of the passion, they cover the transgression of the Jews, fighters against God, and murderers of the Lord; for calling them merely murderers of the prophets would be insufficient. But Christ invites you to share in His immortality through His passion and resurrection, since you are His members.

I GREET YOU FROM SMYRNA: along with the Churches of God that are with me, whose leaders have refreshed me in every way, both physically and spiritually. My bonds, which I bear for the sake of Jesus Christ (praying that I may reach God), encourage you. Maintain harmony among yourselves, and keep praying; for it is fitting for each of you, and especially the presbyters, to support the bishop, to the honor of the Father, and to the honor of Jesus Christ and the apostles. I appeal to you in love to listen to me, so that my writing may not stand as a testimony against you. And also pray for me, who needs your love, along with the mercy of God, that I may be found worthy to achieve the destiny I am now intended for, and that I may not be found unworthy.

The love of the Smyrnæans and Ephesians sends you greetings. Remember our Church in Syria, from which I am not worthy to receive my name, being the least among those there. Farewell in the Lord Jesus Christ, while you continue to be subject to the bishop, and likewise to the presbyters and deacons. And let every one of you love one another with an undivided heart. My spirit greets you, not only now, but also when I shall have attained to God; for I am still exposed to danger. But the Father of Jesus Christ is faithful to fulfill both my and your prayers: in whom may we be found without sin. May I have joy of you in the Lord.