The Martyrdom of Polycarp

The Martyrdom of Polycarp From: The colony of God's Church at Smyrna To: The colony of God's Church at Philomelium, and to all the colonies of the Holy Catholic Church everywhere.

In this letter, we are sending you an account of the martyrs, in particular the blessed Polycarp, whose witness acted as a seal on the most recent persecution and brought it to an end.

Indeed, all the martyrdoms that took place here in Smyrna were ultimately willed by God and were blessed and noble. Even in this, we must still acknowledge that everything that happens in this world is ultimately under…

But thank God that all of Satan's efforts failed. Germanicus showed just how noble and gallant he was by displaying his strength and endurance as he was thrown to the savage beasts.

There was one man from Phrygia, though, Quintus was his name, who, along with a few others had actually voluntarily surrendered. But once he saw the beasts, he caved.

When Polycarp heard about what had happened, he didn't show any sign of alarm and was actually prepared to stay in the city anyway. Eventually, though, the rest of us convinced him to leave and go out to his quiet…

Since it became clear that the authorities were continuing to hunt for him, he then moved to another farm. Shortly after he had left, the searchers came to that first place and, when they found he wasn't there, they…

The policemen left that house on a Friday, around suppertime, weapons in hand and bringing the houseboy with them, and they arrived at the farm where Polycarp was staying late at night, with Polycarp in bed in the…

After he finished praying, they put him on a donkey and took him into the city. It just so happened that that day was a special Sabbath day.

As soon as Polycarp stepped into the arena, there came a voice from heaven that said, "Be strong, Polycarp, and play the man!" No one saw who said it, but we who were with him definitely heard it.

Then the governor tried another track and said, "Just swear by the fortune of Caesar, then." Polycarp shot back with, "If you think for one second that I am going to swear by the fortune of Caesar, then you really don't…

The governor then said, "I have wild beasts here. If you don't change your mind, you're going to be thrown to them." "Go ahead, call them up!" said Polycarp. "There is no way in the world I am going to change my answer.

It was amazing to see that throughout all of this, Polycarp was beaming with courage, joy, and grace. When the governor saw that Polycarp wasn't dismayed at all by any of his threats, he was at a complete loss.

It only took a short time for the crowd to get everything ready. They went about collecting kindling from various shops, and the Jews, in particular, went out of their way to help get it all to the arena.

And so, they tied him to the stake instead. With his hands tied behind his back, he looked like a noble sacrificial ram taken from the flock--a readied burnt-offering for God.

As soon as Polycarp said, "Amen," the men set fire to the pyre and a great sheet of flame blazed up. And then we who were there saw something amazing. We are fortunate to have been spared, so we can tell you about it.

When they realized that Polycarp's body wasn't burning, they ordered one of the executioners to go up and stab him with his spear. When he did, Polycarp's soul departed his body like a dove and his blood gushed out and…

As it turned out, the Evil One clearly saw that not only had Polycarp been crowned with immortality and received his prize, but that everyone there had seen it happen, he decided to try to make sure we could not get…

Yet when the centurion saw that the Jews were just looking to rile people up, he had the body confiscated and burned up, leaving only the bones.

With that, our account of the martyrdom of Polycarp the Blessed is done. If you include the martyrs from Philadelphia, he was the twelfth one to meet a martyr's death in Smyrna, although he is the only one to be singled…

Now, we know you wanted a more exhaustive account of everything that happened, but this brief summary is all we were able to do. Brother Marcian actually wrote it.

Our blessed Polycarp died his martyr's death at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, on the Greater Sabbath, on February 23rd, AD 155. The official responsible for his arrest was Herod, the high priest and president of the Asian…

§ 21–22 (¶21)

We bid you all farewell, brothers and sisters. Be sure to order your lives according to the word of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to God the Father and the Holy Spirit for the salvation of His holy…

§ 21–22 (¶22)