Polycarp

Who they were

Polycarp was born around 69 or 70 to Christian parents and learned the faith from the apostles themselves, becoming a disciple of St John. St Irenaeus, his pupil, and the historian Eusebius record that the apostles made him bishop of Smyrna. Over a long episcopate he guarded the apostles' teaching, spread the Gospel among pagans and opposed heresy; Irenaeus remembered him as a patient, kindly preacher with great care for widows and slaves.

In 107 he welcomed St Ignatius of Antioch at Smyrna on his way to martyrdom in Rome, and later gathered Ignatius' letters for the Philippians with his own Letter to the Philippians. Around 154 he went to Rome to discuss the date of Easter with Pope Anicetus; they did not agree, but stayed friends. Arrested in persecution under Antoninus Pius, he told the proconsul who urged him to curse Christ: 'For eighty-six years I have served Him and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me? I am a Christian.' Sentenced to the fire, he was unharmed by it and was killed with a sword on 23 February 155.

The miracles

There was never a formal cause: Polycarp has been honoured as a martyr since his death. The Martyrdom of Polycarp, written by an eyewitness, is held to be the oldest authentic account of a Christian martyr, and the first to call one who dies for the faith a 'martyr'.

Why that counted as sanctity

Polycarp is a living link to the apostles: taught by St John, he kept their faith whole for decades and, at eighty-six, would not deny the King he had served all his life.

Connected on this site

• Irenaeus Saint Pupil
• John the Apostle Saint Teacher
  “Both Irenaeus and Tertullian say that Polycarp had been a disciple of John the Apostle, one of Jesus's disciples.” — Wikipedia
• Ignatius of Antioch Saint
  “Polycarp is regarded as one of three chief Apostolic Fathers, along with Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch.” — Wikipedia