Polycarp

Life

Polycarp was the bishop who led the church in Smyrna, a port city in Asia Minor (present-day western Turkey). His year of birth and origins are uncertain. Irenaeus, who heard him teach in person, recorded that Polycarp had associated with the apostle John and others who had seen the Lord, and that he had been appointed bishop by the apostles.

Late in life he visited Rome and discussed the date of Easter with Anicetus, bishop of the Roman church. According to Irenaeus, the two did not reach agreement, but they shared the Eucharist and remained in fellowship.

Polycarp was later arrested in Smyrna. When the proconsul demanded that he revile Christ, he reportedly replied, "Eighty-six years have I served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?" He was condemned to be burned at the stake; according to the account, the fire did not consume his body, so he was killed with a dagger. Many scholars date his martyrdom to 155 or 156, though some place it later.

Ministry and Contributions

• Letter to the Philippians: Polycarp's only surviving work is a letter to the church at Philippi. The letter mentions Paul's Epistle to the Philippians and draws extensively on the language of many writings now included in the New Testament. For this reason it is an important source for the study of the formation of the canon. The letter presents Zosimus and Rufus, along with Ignatius, as examples of endurance. Whether this Rufus is the same person as the Rufus mentioned in Scripture cannot be determined.
• Relationship with Ignatius: Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, wrote a letter to Polycarp while being taken to Rome to be martyred.
• Response to heresy: Irenaeus reports that Polycarp called Marcion "the firstborn of Satan." This anecdote contributed to Polycarp's reputation as a defender of apostolic teaching against Marcionism and Gnosticism.
• Martyrdom account: The Martyrdom of Polycarp, the account of his death that the church of Smyrna recorded and sent to other churches, is regarded as the earliest martyrdom account outside the New Testament.

Influence on the Korean Church

In the Korean church, Polycarp is frequently cited as a symbol of faithfulness unto martyrdom. His martyrdom often serves as a sermon illustration in preaching on the words addressed to the church in Smyrna in Revelation 2:8–11, especially "be thou faithful unto death" (Revelation 2:10). His confession that he had served Christ for eighty-six years is widely quoted in sermons and devotional books. In seminary courses on the history of the early church, he is treated as a representative figure among the Apostolic Fathers.

Assessment

The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church venerate him as a saint. They also emphasize that Irenaeus presented him as a witness to episcopal succession from the apostles. Protestants generally hold him in high regard as a forebear in the faith and a martyr who faithfully transmitted apostolic teaching, placing particular weight on the continuity between his teaching and Scripture.

Several points remain under scholarly discussion:

• The identity of his teacher John: Opinions differ as to whether the "John" he followed was the apostle John or "John the Elder," whom Eusebius distinguished from the apostle.
• The martyrdom account: Some scholars suggest that certain miraculous details in the martyrdom account may be later additions.
• Date of martyrdom: Debate over the exact year continues.