Bishop of Smyrna and martyr Born of a
Christian family, Polycarp claimed to have been a
disciple of John, presumably the apostle. Ignatius
of Antioch, on his way to Roman martyrdom (c. 116),
wrote letters both to Polycarp and to the church of
Smyrna. In the days of Pope Anicetus, Polycarp
visited Rome as representative of the Asia Minor
churches that observed 14 Nisan as Easter. Although
he and the pope could not come to an agreement on
that question, they maintained fellowship with each
other. While there Polycarp met some of the
Valentinian heretics and encountered Marcion, whom
he characterized as "firstborn of Satan."
The account of Polycarp’s death (a letter from
the church of Smyrna to the church of Philomelium)
is the earliest extant Christian martyrology. The
civil authorities importuned the bishop to
apostatize because of his age, but he replied
dramatically, "I have served Christ eighty-six years
and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my
King? I am a Christian." Miraculously the flames did
not harm him, so he was dispatched with a dagger,
then burned. His followers gathered up his bones as
holy relics "more precious than precious stones and
finer than gold," and put them in a suitable place
where they could celebrate the anniversary of his
martyrdom. According to the record, the Jews were as
avid for his death as the pagans were.
Only one of Polycarp’s letters has been
preserved. Addressed to the Philippians in response
to one from them, it has to do with the assembling
of Ignatius’s letters into a single volume. It
alludes to more than one letter by the apostle Paul
to the Philippians. It is also an attestation of
certain New Testament books as canonical.
A. Cabaniss |