This article is part of a series on the apostolic fathers. See also “Ignatius: Bishop of Antioch, ‘God-Bearer,’ Martyr (Oct. 17/Dec. 20),” and download a timeline of The Ancient Church (PDF).
Polycarp (c. AD 69–155) was a bishop (chief pastor) of the ancient city of Smyrna in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), a faithful teacher of the apostolic faith, a man of prayer, and a famous martyr for Christ. Polycarp is regarded as one of the “apostolic fathers,” a term used to refer to the group of writers who came directly after the apostles. Still in existence are a letter of Polycarp to the Philippians and The Martyrdom of Polycarp, a sensational account of Polycarp’s courageous death. The Feast Day of St. Polycarp is celebrated on February 23, the day of his death.
Smyrna in the New Testament and Greco-Roman World
During his third missionary journey, Paul spent three years in Ephesus (c. AD 52–55), a major port city in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). As a result of Paul’s ministry there, and his daily lectures in the hall of Tyrannus, “all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks” (Acts 19:10). It’s likely that this is when a Christian church formed in the city of Smyrna (modern-day İzmir), about 35 miles up the coast from Ephesus. Alternatively, the church in Smyrna could have been founded by one or more Jews from Asia who had traveled to Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost and heard the gospel (Acts 2:9).
Smyrna was a thriving port city in the Roman province of Asia, similar in some ways to San Francisco or New York City in the United States today. Smyrna was fiercely loyal to Rome, the first in Asia to build a temple to the goddess Roma (a deity who embodied Rome and the Roman spirit), and one of four cities—along with Ephesus, Pergamum, and Sardis—to host the provincial assembly. It also had a large Jewish population that was especially hostile to Christians.
Likely because of its strategic location for the advance of the gospel, Smyrna was one of seven churches in Asia Minor to be addressed by John in the Book of Revelation (c. AD 95) with a message from Jesus about Jewish hostility and coming persecution:
“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.“‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’” (Rev. 2:8–11)
There is no consensus about the meaning of the “ten days” in Revelation 2:10, but given the apocalyptic genre of the book, it may be an allusion to the ten-day testing of Daniel (Daniel 1:12–14) and symbolic of an intense but limited period of tribulation.
About 60 years after Revelation was written, persecution broke out in Smyrna and nearby Philadelphia, resulting in the death of twelve Christians. Among the martyrs was Germanicus, a young Christian man who refused to be persuaded by the Roman proconsul (high-ranking official) to renounce Christ, and faced the wild beasts with remarkable courage. The final and most famous of the martyrs from Smyrna was the church’s esteemed bishop, Polycarp, then an old man.
Polycarp’s Appointment as Bishop of Smyrna and Connection to John and the Apostles
Much of what we know about Polycarp comes from Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons (modern-day France), who was born about 50 to 60 years after Polycarp, and was a leading voice in the next wave of Christian writers after the apostolic fathers. In addition to Irenaeus’s major surviving works (Against Heresies and Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching), several fragments of his writings have been preserved. In one of these fragments, Irenaeus writes a letter to Florinus, a presbyter (elder) in Rome who had fallen into the heresy of Gnosticism. Irenaeus reminds Florinus that in their early life, they had both heard and revered Polycarp, who knew the apostles and taught their doctrine, which Florinus was now abandoning:
These opinions, Florinus, … those presbyters who preceded us, and who were conversant with the apostles, did not hand down to you. For, while I was yet a boy, I saw you in Lower Asia with Polycarp, distinguishing yourself in the royal court, and endeavouring to gain his approbation. For I have a more vivid recollection of what occurred at that time than of recent events (inasmuch as the experiences of childhood, keeping pace with the growth of the soul, become incorporated with it); so that I can even describe the place where the blessed Polycarp used to sit and discourse — his going out, too, and his coming in — his general mode of life and personal appearance, together with the discourses which he delivered to the people; also how he would speak of his familiar intercourse with John, and with the rest of those who had seen the Lord; and how he would call their words to remembrance. Whatsoever things he had heard from them respecting the Lord, both with regard to His miracles and His teaching, Polycarp having thus received [information] from the eye-witnesses of the Word of life, would recount them all in harmony with the Scriptures. These things … I then listened to attentively, and treasured them up not on paper, but in my heart; and I am continually, by God’s grace, revolving these things accurately in my mind. And I can bear witness before God, that if that blessed and apostolic presbyter had heard any such thing, he would have cried out, and stopped his ears, exclaiming as he was wont to do: O good God, for what times have You reserved me, that I should endure these things? And he would have fled from the very spot where, sitting or standing, he had heard such words. This fact, too, can be made clear, from his Epistles which he dispatched, whether to the neighbouring Churches to confirm them, or to certain of the brethren, admonishing and exhorting them.
While it may be a bit of an overstatement to say that Polycarp was a “disciple” of John, it’s not far from the truth if Irenaeus was right that Polycarp had “familiar intercourse with John, and with the rest of those who had seen the Lord,” was “conversant with the apostles,” and “received from the eye-witnesses of the Word of life.” When Irenaeus says that it was Polycarp’s practice to “recount them all in harmony with the Scriptures,” he likely means that Polycarp would repeat when he had heard from the apostles, especially about Christ, and then demonstrate from the Old Testament that it was true, since this is the same project that Irenaeus undertakes in his Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching.
While it may be a bit of an overstatement to say that Polycarp was a “disciple” of John, it’s not far from the truth if Irenaeus was right that Polycarp had “familiar intercourse with John, and with the rest of those who had seen the Lord.”
In Book 3, Chapter 3 of Against Heresies, written around AD 180, a few decades after Polycarp’s death, Irenaeus again reflects on Polycarp’s legacy of holding to the apostolic faith:
Polycarp also was not only instructed by apostles, and conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was also, by apostles in Asia, appointed bishop of the Church in Smyrna, whom I also saw in my early youth, for he tarried [on earth] a very long time, and, when a very old man, gloriously and most nobly suffering martyrdom, departed this life, having always taught the things which he had learned from the apostles, and which the Church has handed down, and which alone are true. To these things all the Asiatic Churches testify, as do also those men who have succeeded Polycarp down to the present time. (AH 3.3.4)
In this passage, Irenaeus notes that Polycarp was appointed by “apostles in Asia” as the bishop of Smyrna, but it’s unclear which apostles he has in mind. A few decades later, in his Prescription Against Heretics, Tertullian of Carthage writes that “the Church of Smyrna recounts that Polycarp was placed there by John; as that of Rome does that Clement was in like manner ordained by Peter” (32). If John was one of the “apostles in Asia” who appointed Polycarp to Smyrna, and Irenaeus believed that this was the case, it’s odd that he doesn’t mention it in the passage above. Perhaps this is implied in the story which he immediately recounts about Polycarp’s memories of John:
There are also those who heard from him [Polycarp] that John, the disciple of the Lord, going to bathe at Ephesus, and perceiving Cerinthus within, rushed out of the bath-house without bathing, exclaiming, “Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within.” And Polycarp himself replied to Marcion, who met him on one occasion, and said, “Dost thou know me?” “I do know thee, the first-born of Satan.” (AH 3.3.4)
While Irenaeus believes this story to be true, it’s noteworthy that he merely heard it from others who claimed to have heard it from Polycarp. And in the story, it’s not clear that Polycarp was present with John at Ephesus. Irenaeus includes this story in Against Heresies because it supports his purpose of showing that Gnosticism and Marcionism were not taught by the apostles and are in fact heretical (Cerinthus was an early Gnostic teacher, and Marcion is the father of Marcionism). With that said, the story is consistent with John and Polycarp’s legacy of passionate opposition to heresy (cf. 1 Jn. 2:22–23; 4:1–3; 5:10; 2 Jn. 7, 9, 10–11; 3 Jn. 9–10; Pol. Phil. 7).
Polycarp’s connection to John is further strengthened by his ties to Papias. In Book 5, Chapter 33 of Against Heresies, Irenaeus mentions Papias, who lived around the same time as Polycarp, and was the bishop of Hierapolis, another city in Asia Minor. Irenaeus identifies Papias as “a hearer of John and a companion of Polycarp.” A handful of fragments from Papias’s writings have been interpreted in this way, though others think that Papias heard a different John (the Elder), or that he only heard from those who knew the apostles.
Polycarp as Bishop and Teacher of the Apostolic Faith
While Polycarp was bishop at Smyrna, he was, by all accounts, an extraordinary pastor and teacher of the apostolic faith, well known throughout the Christian world. The great Ignatius of Antioch wrote a letter to Polycarp, praising him for his “godly way of thinking, which is firmly established as if upon an immovable rock” (1.1), and for his “intense desire for the truth” (7.3). The Martyrdom of Polycarp eulogizes him as “an apostolic and prophetic teacher in our times and bishop of the catholic church in Smyrna” (16.2).
Because of his reputation, other churches wrote to Polycarp, requesting letters from him. Only one of Polycarp’s letters is extant (still in existence), his Epistle to the Philippians. When Ignatius of Antioch was on his way to be martyred in Rome, the Philippians contacted Polycarp, asking him to forward a letter from them to the church in Antioch (Pol. Phil. 13.1), send them a copy of Ignatius’s letters (13.2), and write to them with guidance about righteousness (3.1). Polycarp’s response to the Philippians gives instruction on pure doctrine and on righteousness, especially as it is opposed to covetousness or avarice, which had ensnared Valens, a former Philippian elder (11).
Reading Polycarp’s letter back-to-back with Paul’s letter to the Philippians beautifully illustrates how the apostolic fathers took up the mantle of the apostles for the edification of the church (Ephesians 4:11). Irenaeus praises Polycarp’s Epistle to the Philippians as “a most powerful letter … from which those who wish and care for their salvation may learn about the nature of his faith and preaching” (AH 3.3.4).
The apostolic fathers took up the mantle of the apostles for the edification of the church.
Polycarp’s words are all the more moving in light of his later martyrdom. He writes of “those confined by chains fitting for saints which are the crowns of those truly chosen by God and our Lord” (1.1), and encourages the church with the hope that “the one who raised [Christ] from the dead also will raise us if we do his will and follow in his commandments and love the things he loved” (2.2). The bishop of Smyrna urges, “Let us be imitators of [Christ’s] endurance, and if we should suffer because of his name, we should glorify him. For this is the example he set for us in himself, and this we have believed” (8.1).
Polycarp’s letter is also extraordinary for its heavy use of the New Testament (as we now know it), frequently quoting or alluding to books such as Matthew, Mark, Luke, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, 1 Peter, and 1 John. Polycarp’s letter demonstrates the church’s early reception and use of these books, and may point to the existence of an early Pauline letter collection.
Polycarp’s letter is extraordinary for its heavy use of the New Testament.
Chapter 7 is of special interest, as it is likely directed towards Docetism, an early heresy that claimed Christ merely “seemed” to have a physical body, but was in fact a purely spiritual being. This heresy was closely connected with Gnostic teachings, which viewed matter as inherently evil and spirit as inherently good. Drawing from 1 John and other portions of Scripture, Polycarp writes,
Whosoever does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is antichrist; and whosoever does not confess the testimony of the cross is of the devil; and whosoever perverts the oracles of the Lord to his own lusts, and says that there is neither a resurrection nor a judgment, he is the first-born of Satan. Wherefore, forsaking the vanity of many, and their false doctrines, let us return to the word which has been handed down to us from the beginning; watching unto prayer, and persevering in fasting; beseeching in our supplications the all-seeing God not to lead us into temptation, as the Lord has said: “The spirit truly is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38).
Near the end of his life, Polycarp visited Rome while Anicetus was bishop, and they discussed the proper date for celebrating Easter (a matter on which the East and West still differ to this day). Irenaeus recounts that despite their disagreement, the two bishops communed together and parted in peace:
For neither could Anicetus persuade Polycarp to forego the observance [in his own way], inasmuch as these things had been always [so] observed by John the disciple of our Lord, and by other apostles with whom he had been conversant; nor, on the other hand, could Polycarp succeed in persuading Anicetus to keep [the observance in his way], for he maintained that he was bound to adhere to the usage of the presbyters who preceded him. And in this state of affairs they held fellowship with each other; and Anicetus conceded to Polycarp in the Church the celebration of the Eucharist, by way of showing him respect; so that they parted in peace one from the other, maintaining peace with the whole Church, both those who did observe [this custom] and those who did not.
The Martyrdom of Polycarp
Not long after his visit to Rome, Polycarp faced martyrdom back in Smyrna, a fact that is attested by Irenaeus and described at length in The Martyrdom of Polycarp, the earliest full account of a Christian martyrdom after Stephen in Acts 6–7. The letter was written by the church of Smyrna at the request of the church of Philomelium (another city in Asia Minor). Its authors claim to be eyewitnesses of Polycarp’s martyrdom, and to record “what really took place” (20), though scholars debate the accuracy of the details and whether the version that we have is the original or a later redaction (combination and alteration of several sources). While some of the details are sensational, and may have been embellished, there is no reason to doubt the main events of the story, which testify to a man of great piety and courage.
While some of the details are sensational, and may have been embellished, there is no reason to doubt the main events of the story, which testify to a man of great piety and courage.
The Martyrdom of Polycarp reports that Polycarp was the twelfth and final martyr in a persecution at Smyrna and Philadelphia (19), and that his death “put an end to the persecution, having, as it were, set a seal upon it by his martyrdom” (1). Some were first brutally whipped, tearing their skin and exposing their soft tissues (2). When the Romans unleashed “the wild beasts,” several became afraid and offered pagan sacrifices, including Quintus, a man who had recently come from Phrygia (4). Others stood firm, like Germanicus of Smyrna, who even provoked the beasts to attack him. This agitated the crowd, who then called for the leader of the church to be seized: “The whole multitude, marvelling at the nobility of mind displayed by the devout and godly race of Christians, cried out, Away with the Atheists; let Polycarp be sought out!” (3). (Christians were commonly called “Atheists” because they denied the existence of the Roman gods and preached an invisible God, which seemed unreal to the Romans.)
Polycarp was reluctantly persuaded to retreat to the country for a time, where he continued in constant prayer and had a vision that he would be burned alive (5). When his captors arrived, he gave them food and drink, and asked for an hour to pray before leaving. Probably because of his age (Polycarp was around 86 years old at the time), the soldiers acquiesced, and “he stood and prayed, being full of the grace of God, so that he could not cease for two full hours, to the astonishment of those who heard him, insomuch that many began to repent that they had come forth against so godly and venerable an old man” (7).
Polycarp was escorted into the city, first on a donkey, and then in a chariot, in which two Roman officials tried to persuade him to spare himself. When they arrived at the city, frustrated by Polycarp’s refusal, they threw him out of the chariot, dislocating his leg. At the stadium, the crowd was so loud that they could not hear one another talk, but Polycarp and the Christians nearby heard a voice from heaven saying, “Be strong, and show yourself a man, O Polycarp!” (9).
When the proconsul told Polycarp to consider his old age and “swear by the fortune of Cæsar; repent, and say, ‘Away with the Atheists’ [the Christians],” Polycarp waved his hands towards the crowd and said, “Away with [these] Atheists” (9). The proconsul urged, “Swear, and I will set you at liberty, reproach Christ,” but Polycarp famously declared, “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?” (9). When their persuasion turned to threats, Polycarp stood firm: “You threaten me with fire which burns for an hour, and after a little is extinguished, but are ignorant of the fire of the coming judgment and of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly” (11).
The herald proclaimed, “Polycarp has confessed that he is a Christian,” and the crowd of heathens and Jews “cried out with uncontrollable fury, and in a loud voice, ‘This is the teacher of Asia, the father of the Christians, and the overthrower of our gods, he who has been teaching many not to sacrifice, or to worship the gods.’” A funeral pile was erected out of wood and bundles of twigs, but when they tried to nail Polycarp to it, he said, “Leave me as I am; for He that gives me strength to endure the fire, will also enable me, without your securing me by nails, to remain without moving in the pile.” So they simply bound his hands behind him. Then, Polycarp prayed,
O Lord God Almighty, the Father of your beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ, by whom we have received the knowledge of You, the God of angels and powers, and of every creature, and of the whole race of the righteous who live before you, I give You thanks that You have counted me, worthy of this day and this hour, that I should have a part in the number of Your martyrs, in the cup of your Christ, to the resurrection of eternal life, both of soul and body, through the incorruption [imparted] by the Holy Ghost. Among whom may I be accepted this day before You as a fat and acceptable sacrifice, according as You, the ever-truthful God, have foreordained, have revealed beforehand to me, and now have fulfilled. Wherefore also I praise You for all things, I bless You, I glorify You, along with the everlasting and heavenly Jesus Christ, Your beloved Son, with whom, to You, and the Holy Ghost, be glory both now and to all coming ages. Amen. (14)
Then the fire was lit, but the letter claims that “a great miracle” occurred, of which the writers were eyewitnesses: the flames surrounded Polycarp, but did not touch him, and a sweet odor filled the air (15). An executioner was ordered to pierce Polycarp through with a dagger, which spilled so much blood that it quenched the fire (16). Perhaps the most sensational claim of all is that when Polycarp was pierced, “there came forth a dove” (16). The authors likely meant that when Polycarp “gave up his spirit” (to use the language of John 19:30), his soul was born up to God by the Holy Spirit who dwelled within him, manifested in a visible form as at Christ’s baptism (Matthew 3:16).
The Romans refused to deliver Polycarp’s body to the Christians for burial, and consumed it with fire, but the Christians gathered his bones and preserved them for remembrance:
Accordingly, we afterwards took up his bones, as being more precious than the most exquisite jewels, and more purified than gold, and deposited them in a fitting place, whither, being gathered together, as opportunity is allowed us, with joy and rejoicing, the Lord shall grant us to celebrate the anniversary [or “birthday”] of his martyrdom, both in memory of those who have already finished their course, and for the exercising and preparation of those yet to walk in their steps. (18)
Paul Hartog notes that the emphasis here is not on using the remains as relics, but on burying them in a suitable place, which was then visited to honor and remember the martyr. Here we have an early tradition of observing feasts for the departed saints on the day of their true “birthday”—their death, their entrance into eternal life. Polycarp’s martyrdom is dated to “the second day of the month Xanthicus just begun, the seventh day before the Kalends of May, on the great Sabbath, at the eighth hour” (21), when Statius Quadratus was proconsul (21). This corresponds to February 23 at around 2 PM in the year AD 154 or 155 (probably 155).
Conclusion
To this day, the Feast Day of St. Polycarp is celebrated every February 23. The Book of Common Prayer includes the following collect (short prayer) for the Feast of Polycarp of Smyrna, a fitting conclusion to this article:
O God, the maker of heaven and earth, you gave your venerable servant, the holy and gentle Polycarp, the boldness to confess Jesus Christ as King and Savior and the steadfastness to die for his faith: Give us grace, following his example, to share the cup of Christ and to rise to eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
