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St. Polycarp of Smyrna
St. Polycarp of Smyrna (c. 69–c. 155). Born around 69 AD, likely in Asia Minor, Polycarp was a bishop, martyr, and one of the Apostolic Fathers, pivotal in early Christianity. Tradition holds he was a disciple of the Apostle John, receiving direct instruction in Ephesus. Appointed bishop of Smyrna (modern Izmir, Turkey), he led with humility, preaching Christ’s divinity and resurrection, countering heresies like Docetism. His epistle, Letter to the Philippians, urged steadfast faith and charity, preserved in early Christian writings. Polycarp mentored figures like Irenaeus and corresponded with Ignatius of Antioch, strengthening church unity. At age 86, during a persecution under Emperor Antoninus Pius, he was arrested for refusing to sacrifice to Roman gods. Bound and burned at the stake in Smyrna’s stadium around 155 AD, he survived the flames, only to be stabbed, his martyrdom recorded in The Martyrdom of Polycarp, one of the earliest such accounts. Unmarried, as a celibate bishop, he left no family but a legacy of courage. Polycarp said, “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?”
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St. Polycarp of Smyrna encourages believers to follow the examples of faith and patience set by Ignatius, Zosimus, Rufus, Paul, and the apostles. He reminds them that these faithful individuals did not run in vain but lived in faith and righteousness, now in the presence of the Lord. Their love was not for the world but for Jesus, who died and rose again for them.
The Word of Righteousness
I exhort you all, therefore, to yield obedience to the word of righteousness, and to exercise all patience, such as ye have seen [set] before your eyes, not only in the case of the blessed Ignatius, and Zosimus, and Rufus, but also in others among yourselves, and in Paul himself, and the rest of the apostles. [This do] in the assurance that all these have not run in vain, but in faith and righteousness, and that they are [now] in their due place in the presence of the Lord, with whom also they suffered. For they loved not this present world, but Him who died for us, and for our sakes was raised again by God from the dead.
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St. Polycarp of Smyrna (c. 69–c. 155). Born around 69 AD, likely in Asia Minor, Polycarp was a bishop, martyr, and one of the Apostolic Fathers, pivotal in early Christianity. Tradition holds he was a disciple of the Apostle John, receiving direct instruction in Ephesus. Appointed bishop of Smyrna (modern Izmir, Turkey), he led with humility, preaching Christ’s divinity and resurrection, countering heresies like Docetism. His epistle, Letter to the Philippians, urged steadfast faith and charity, preserved in early Christian writings. Polycarp mentored figures like Irenaeus and corresponded with Ignatius of Antioch, strengthening church unity. At age 86, during a persecution under Emperor Antoninus Pius, he was arrested for refusing to sacrifice to Roman gods. Bound and burned at the stake in Smyrna’s stadium around 155 AD, he survived the flames, only to be stabbed, his martyrdom recorded in The Martyrdom of Polycarp, one of the earliest such accounts. Unmarried, as a celibate bishop, he left no family but a legacy of courage. Polycarp said, “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?”