Apostolic Fathers · c. 69 – c. 155
St. Polycarp
Smyrna, Asia Minor
Biography
Polycarp was Bishop of Smyrna and, according to Irenaeus who knew him personally, a disciple of the Apostle John. He served as a living link between the apostolic generation and the great teachers of the second century, having taught Irenaeus of Lyons. Polycarp traveled to Rome to confer with Pope Anicetus about the dating of Easter. He was burned at the stake in old age rather than curse Christ, a martyrdom recorded in vivid detail by his own church.
Historical background
The Martyrdom of Polycarp (c. AD 155/156) is the earliest authentic account of a Christian martyrdom outside the New Testament, describing how the Smyrnaean church venerated his relics, providing early evidence for the cult of saints and relics.
Major writings
Letter to the Philippians
His only surviving writing, quoting extensively from the New Testament and urging fidelity to apostolic teaching.
Important teachings
Polycarp emphasizes fidelity to 'the word delivered to us from the beginning,' anchoring orthodoxy in continuity with apostolic tradition rather than novel teaching. His martyrdom account presents his death as an imitation of Christ's Passion and his relics as 'more precious than jewels.'
Quotations
“Whosoever does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is antichrist... let us return to the word delivered to us from the beginning.”
“We took up his bones, more precious than precious stones and more valuable than gold, and laid them in a suitable place.”