Papias of Hierapolis was a Christian bishop in the early second century CE, during the Roman era. He served in the city of Hierapolis in Phrygia, in modern-day Turkey. According to later church historians, he was considered a hearer of the apostle John and a companion of another early Christian leader, Polycarp. However, the exact dates of his life are unknown.

He is known for a single major work, the Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord, which was written in five books. This text is now lost and survives only in fragments quoted by later Christian writers.

Papias holds significant historical importance for several reasons. First, his writings provide the earliest known external reports about the origins of the Gospels of Mark and Matthew. He recorded that Mark wrote down the teachings of Peter and that Matthew compiled the sayings of Jesus. Second, he emphasized collecting oral traditions from followers of the apostles, famously preferring the "living voice" to written texts, which offers modern scholars a window into how early Christian teachings were transmitted. Third, his vivid belief in a future thousand-year earthly kingdom of Christ, a doctrine known as chiliasm, was influential but also controversial, leading some later church fathers to criticize his views.