Saint Polycarp
Saint Polycarp
Martyr and Bishop of Smyrna
Born	AD. ca. 69
Died	AD. ca. 155, Smyrna
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Lutheran Church
Feast	February 23
Patronage	against earache, dysentery
Saints Portal

Polycarp of Smyrna (ca. 69- ca. 155) was a Christian bishop of Smyrna (now İzmir in Turkey) in the second century. He died a martyr when he was stabbed after an attempt to burn him at the stake failed. Polycarp is recognized as a saint in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. It is recorded that "He had been a disciple of John." The options for this John are John the son of Zebedee traditionally viewed as the author of the Fourth Gospel, or John the Presbyter (Lake 1912). Traditional advocates follow Eusebius in insisting that the apostolic connection of Papius was with John the Evangelist, and that this John, the author of the Gospel of John, was the same as the Apostle John. Image File history File links Burghers_michael_saintpolycarp. ... The Year of the four emperors: After Neros death, Galba, Otho and Vitellius all serve as emperor for a short time each before Vespasian takes over. ... Events Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius starts a new war against the Parthians Pope Anicetus succeeds Pope Pius I First year of Yongshou era of the Chinese Han Dynasty Births Dio Cassius, Roman historian Cao Cao, future ruler of the Kingdom of Wei Deaths July 11 - Pope Pius I Saint Polycarp... Agora of Smyrna Smyrna (Greek: Σμύρνη) is an ancient city (today Ä°zmir in Turkey) that was founded at a very early period at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic... 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Dysentery (formerly known as flux or the bloody flux) is the term for tenesmus (painful straining to pass stool), cramping, and frequent, small-volume severe diarrhea associated with blood in the feces. ... Image File history File links Gloriole. ... Polycarp may refer to: Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna and Christian saint Polycarp, childrens TV show host in south Louisiana Category: ... The Year of the four emperors: After Neros death, Galba, Otho and Vitellius all serve as emperor for a short time each before Vespasian takes over. ... Events Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius starts a new war against the Parthians Pope Anicetus succeeds Pope Pius I First year of Yongshou era of the Chinese Han Dynasty Births Dio Cassius, Roman historian Cao Cao, future ruler of the Kingdom of Wei Deaths July 11 - Pope Pius I Saint Polycarp... Christianity percentage by country, purple is highest, orange is lowest Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      This article is about a title... Agora of Smyrna Smyrna (Greek: Σμύρνη) is an ancient city (today Ä°zmir in Turkey) that was founded at a very early period at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. ... Ä°zmir, historically Smyrna, is the third most populous city of Turkey and the countrys largest port after Ä°stanbul. ... Look up Martyr in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In traditional Christian iconography, Saints are often depicted as having halos. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic... 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Polycarp and Papias

Polycarp was a companion of Papias (Irenaeus V.xxxii) another "hearer of John" as Irenaeus interprets Papias' testimony, and a correspondent of Ignatius of Antioch. Ignatius addressed a letter to him, and mentions him in the letters to the Ephesians and to the Magnesians. Polycarp's famous pupil was Irenaeus, for whom the memory of Polycarp was a link to the apostolic past. Papias (working in the 1st half of the 2nd century) was one of the early leaders of the Christian church, canonized as a saint. ... Saint Ignatius of Antioch (also known as Theophorus)(c. ... Irenaeus (Greek: Εἰρηναῖος), (b. ...

Irenaeus relates how and when he became a Christian and in his letter to Florinus stated that he saw and heard him personally in lower Asia; in particular he heard the account of Polycarp's discussion with John the Evangelist and with others who had seen Jesus. Irenaeus also reports that Polycarp was converted to Christianity by apostles, was consecrated a bishop and communicated with many who had seen Jesus. He repeatedly emphasizes the very great age of Polycarp. The Martyrdom has Polycarp himself indicate his age on the day of his death, with the phrase "Eighty and six years I have served him", which is understood to mean that he was 86 years old, thus indicating that his family had accepted Christianity while he was an infant.^[1]. Irenaeus (Greek: Εἰρηναῖος), (b. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Names of John. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ...

Visit to Anicetus, Bishop of Rome

Polycarp visited Rome during the time of his fellow Syrian, Anicetus, Bishop of Rome, in the 150s or 160s, and they might have found their customs for observing the Christian Passover differed, Polycarp following the eastern practice of celebrating Passover on the 14th of Nisan, the day of the Jewish Passover, regardless of what day of the week it fell. Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... Anicetus was pope from about 154 to about 167 (the Vaticans list cites 150 or 157 to 153 or 168. ... Passover, also known as Pesach or Pesah (פסח pesaḥ), is a Jewish holiday (lasting seven days in Israel and among some liberal Diaspora Jews, and eight days among other Diaspora Jews) that commemorates the exodus and freedom of the Israelites from Egypt; it is also observed by... Quartodecimanism (fourteenism) was the practice of fixing the date of Easter (in the Bible called Pesach) to the 14th day of Nisan in the Bibles Hebrew Calendar which, according to the Gospels, was the time Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem. ... Pasch redirects here. ...

Surviving writings and early accounts

His sole surviving work is his Letter to the Philippians, a mosaic of references to the Greek Scriptures. It, and an account of The Martyrdom of Polycarp that takes the form of a circular letter from the church of Smyrna to the churches of Pontus, form part of the collection of writings term "The Apostolic Fathers" to emphasize their particular closeness to the apostles in Church traditions. The Martyrdom is considered one of the earliest genuine account of a Christian martyrdom, and one of the very few genuine accounts from the actual age of the persecutions. Polycarps Letter to the Philippians is referred to by Irenaus as follows: There is also a forceful epistle written by Polycarp to the Philippians, from which those who wish to do so, and are anxious about their salvation, can learn the character of his faith, and the preaching of... The Martyrdom of Polycarp is one of the works of the Apostolic Fathers, and as such is one of the very few genuine such writings from the actual age of the persecutions. ... Traditional rural Pontic house A man in traditional clothes from Trabzon, illustration Pontus is the name which was applied, in ancient times, to extensive tracts of country in the northeast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) bordering on the Euxine (Black Sea), which was often called simply Pontos (the main), by... The Apostolic Fathers were a small collection of Christian authors who lived and wrote in the late 1st century and early 2nd century who are acknowledged as leaders in the early church, but whose writings were not included in the collection of Christian scripture, the New Testament Biblical canon, at...

Span of life

The date of Polycarp's death is in dispute. Eusebius dates it to the reign of Marcus Aurelius, circa 166 – 167. However, a post-Eusebian addition to the Martyrdom of Polycarp dates his death to Saturday, February 23 in the proconsulship of Statius Quadratus—which works out to be 155 or 156. These earlier dates better fit the tradition of his association with Ignatius and John the Evangelist. However, the addition to the Martyrdom cannot be considered reliable on only its own merits. Further, numerous lines of evidence have been given to place the dating of Polycarp's death to the end of the 160s, perhaps even later. Ussher, for example, calculated this to 169; William Killen seems to agree with this dating. Some of those evidences include that the Martyrdom uses the singular when referring to the Emperor and Marcus Aurelius only became the sole emperor of Rome in 169 (and beginning in 161); Eusebius and Jerome both state Polycarp died under Marcus Aurelius (cf. Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers, Vol. 1, pp. 629, 632); this martyrdom took place during a major persecution, which could correspond to the late 160s or the one in 177 with that of Lyons and Vienne (Ibid., pp. 629-30). Lightfoot would argue for the earlier date of Polycarp's death, to which others such as Killen would greatly disagree.^[2] Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (c. ... Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (April 26, 121[1] – March 17, 180) was Roman Emperor from 161 to his death. ... Events Pope Soter succeeds Pope Anicetus Change of Patriarch of Constantinople from Patriarch Laurence to Patriarch Alypius Dacia invaded by barbarians Conflict erupts on the Danube frontier between Rome and the Germanic tribe of the Marcomanni Roman envoy sent out by emperor Antoninus Pius. ... Events Germanic tribe Marcomanni waged war against the Romans at Aquileia Change of era name from Yanxi to Yongkang of the Chinese Han Dynasty King Chogo of Baekje waged war against Silla in Korean peninsula. ... February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius starts a new war against the Parthians Pope Anicetus succeeds Pope Pius I First year of Yongshou era of the Chinese Han Dynasty Births Dio Cassius, Roman historian Cao Cao, future ruler of the Kingdom of Wei Deaths July 11 - Pope Pius I Saint Polycarp... Events First apparition of the heresiarch Montanus in Ardaban (Mysia) Births Lü Bu, Chinese general. ... Saint Ignatius of Antioch (also known as Theophorus)(c. ... James Ussher (also spelled Usher) (January 4, 1581–March 21, 1656) was Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625–1656 and a prolific religious scholar who most famously published a chronology which dated creation from 4004 BC. Ussher was born in Dublin, Ireland into a well-to... Second Marcomanni War begins. ... Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (April 26, 121[1] – March 17, 180) was Roman Emperor from 161 to his death. ... Second Marcomanni War begins. ... Events March 7 - Roman emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. ... “Saint Jerome” redirects here. ... Events A systematic persecution of Christians begins in Rome under Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. ...

The "Great Sabbath"

Because in the Smyrnaean letter known as the Martyrdom of Polycarp it states that Polycarp was taken on the day of the preparation and killed on the Great Sabbath, some believe that this is evidence that the Smyrnaeans under Polycarp observed the seventh day Sabbath.

This is confirmed by historians such as William Cave who have written, "...the Sabbath or Saturday (for so the word sabbatum is constantly used in the writings of the fathers, when speaking of it as it relates to Christians) was held by them in great veneration, and especially in the Eastern parts honoured with all the public solemnities of religion." (Cave William, D.D. Primitive Christianity: or the Religion of the Ancient Christians in the First Ages of the Gospel. 1840 edition revised by H. Cary. Oxford, London, pp. 84-85).

The Eastern part of the Empire refers to Asia Minor. Smyrna was a town in Asia Minor.

Some feel that the expression, the Great Sabbath refers to the Christian Passover or another annual holy day. If so, then the martrydom would have had to have been between one and two months later as Nisan 14 (the date that Polycarp observed Passover) cannot come before the end of March in any year. Other Great Sabbaths (if this is referring to what are commonly considered to be Jewish holy days, though observed by many early professors of Christ) come in the Spring, late summer, or Fall. None occur in the winter. Passover, also known as Pesach or Pesah (פסח pesaḥ), is a Jewish holiday (lasting seven days in Israel and among some liberal Diaspora Jews, and eight days among other Diaspora Jews) that commemorates the exodus and freedom of the Israelites from Egypt; it is also observed by...

The Great Sabbath may be alluded to in the Gospel of John (John 7:37). This is called the Last Great Day and is a stand-alone annual holy day immediately follows the Feast of Tabernacles. Sukkot (סוכות or סֻכּוֹת sukkōt, booths) or Succoth is an 8-day Biblical pilgrimage festival, also known as the Feast of Booths, the Feast of Tabernacles, or Tabernacles. ...

Importance

Polycarp occupies an important place in the history of the Christian Church. He is among the earliest Christians whose writings survive. It is probable that he knew John the Apostle, the disciple of Jesus. He was an elder of an important congregation in an area where the apostles laboured. And he is from an era whose orthodoxy is widely accepted by Orthodox Churches, Oriental Churches, Seventh Day Church of God groups, Protestants and Catholics alike. All of this makes his writings of great interest. John the Apostle (Hebrew: Johanan ;Greek Ιωάννης, see names of John) was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      For other uses, see Twelve Apostles... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Eastern Christianity. ... The term Oriental Orthodoxy refers to the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only the first three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the Council of Ephesus — and reject the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon. ... Church of God is a name used by numerous, mostly unrelated bodies. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ...

Polycarp was not a philosopher or theologian. He appears, from surviving accounts, to have been a practical leader and gifted teacher, "a man who was of much greater weight, and a more steadfast witness of truth, than Valentinus, and Marcion, and the rest of the heretics," said Irenaeus, who remembered him from his youth. (Adversus Haereses III.3.4). He lived in an age after the deaths of the apostles, when a variety of interpretations of the sayings of Jesus were being preached. His role was to authenticate orthodox teachings through his reputed connection with the apostle John. Surviving accounts of the bravery of this very old man in the face of death by burning at the stake added credence to his words. -Quevedo Valentinius, also called Valentinus (c. ... Marcion of Sinope (ca. ... On the Detection and Overthrow of the So-Called Gnosis, commonly called Against Heresies (Latin: Adversus haereses), is a five volume work written by St. ...

His martyrdom is of particular importance in understanding the position of the church in the pagan era of the Roman Empire. While the persecution is supported by the local proconsul, the author of the account noted the bloodthirstiness of the crowd in their calls for the death of Polycarp (Chp. 3). Additionally, the account also demonstrates the complexity of the Roman government's position toward Christianity, since the Christians are given the opportunity to recant and are not punished immediately as confessed criminals. This rather odd judicial system toward the crime of Christianity will later be derided by Tertullian in his Apology. Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian, (ca. ...

Polycarp was a great transmitter and authenticator of Christian Revelation in a period when the gospels and epistles were just beginning to achieve acceptance. Although his visit to Rome to meet the Bishop was significant and has long been used by the Roman Catholic Church to buttress papal claims, the documented truth according to Catholic sources is that Polycarp did not accept the authority of the Roman Bishops to change Passover (rather, they agreed to disagree, both believing their practice to be Apostolic) -- nor did some of those who have been suggested to be his spiritual successors, such as Melito of Sardis and Polycrates of Ephesus. Revelation This article is about prophecy. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic... Melito of Sardis, or Melito of Sardes, a Christian saint, was the was the bishop of Sardis in Asia Minor. ... Polycrates of Ephesus was a bishop (chief pastor) in Ephesus in the late 2nd century. ...

The chief sources of information concerning Polycarp are four: the authentic epistles of Ignatius, which include one to Polycarp; Polycarp's Epistle to the Philippians; passages in Irenaeus' Adversus Haeresis; and the letter of the Smyrnaeans recounting the martyrdom of Polycarp. Saint Ignatius of Antioch (also known as Theophorus) (ca. ... Polycarps Letter to the Philippians is described by Irenaeus as follows: There is also a forceful epistle written by Polycarp to the Philippians, from which those who wish to do so, and are anxious about their salvation, can learn the character of his faith, and the preaching of the... The Martyrdom of Polycarp is one of the works of the Apostolic Fathers, and as such is one of the very few genuine such writings from the actual age of the persecutions. ...

References to Polycarp in pop culture

Polycarp (2007) is a feature film directed by George Lekovic. The title of the movie is a direct reference to Polycarp of Smyrna and his writings, which play a significant plot device in the film. This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ...

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External links

• Letter to the Phillipians from the Ante-Nicene Fathers
• Corrected Translation of Polycarp's Letter to the Philippians This corrects an omission of a Latin word that Roberts and Donaldson accidentally omitted.
• Early Christian Writings: Polycarp; text and introductions
• Paul N. Tobin, "The Apostolic Succession: Polycarp and Clement": A skeptical assessment finds inconsistencies in the tradition as reported in this article.
• Location of the Early Church: Another Look at Rome, Ephesus & Smyrna This documented article explains some of the reasons why the history of the orthodox Church in the second century should be traced through John and Polycarp.
• "The Martyrdom of Polycarp": The contemporary account of his death in the letter of the Smyrnaeans.
• The Catholic Encyclopedia: "Polycarp"
• Patron Saints: Polycarp of Smyrna
• The Golden Legend: Polycarp of Smyrna