St. Polycarp of Smyrna

Oversimplified

• Bishop of Smyrna and disciple of the Apostle John, burned at the stake c. 155; a living link between the Apostles and the second-century Church.
• His martyrdom account is the earliest we possess, and his famous reply to the proconsul — "eighty-six years I have served Him" — is a landmark of Christian courage.

Summary

St. Polycarp was bishop of Smyrna, a hearer of St. John, and a teacher of St. Irenaeus — a chain of memory reaching straight back to the Apostles. His single surviving letter, to the Philippians, is steeped in the New Testament.[^1] Arrested in old age, he refused to revile Christ: "Eighty-six years I have served Him, and He has done me no wrong; how can I blaspheme my King who saved me?" Irenaeus

The Martyrdom of Polycarp

The eyewitness Martyrdom of Polycarp is the oldest surviving martyr-act, and an early witness to the veneration of relics and the keeping of a martyr's feast day.[^2] Polycarp embodies the principle St. Irenaeus drew from him: the truth is guarded by continuity with those the Apostles taught. See Apostolic Succession, Relics, St. Irenaeus.

[^1]: St. Polycarp, Epistle to the Philippians. [^2]: The Martyrdom of Polycarp (c. 155) — the oldest surviving martyr-act.