Polycarp of Smyrna, Letter to the Philippians.

The Letter to the Philippians penned by Polycarp of Smyrna is sometimes dismissed as an example of a proof-texting moralism, indicative of the post-apostolic church's fall from the heights of Pauline Christianity. Read on its own terms, this complex exhortatory letter reveals a vigorous, pastorally sensitive effort to integrate both behavioural and theological aspects of 'righteousness' as Polycarp seeks to maintain the stability and integrity of the Philippian congregation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]