Saint Polycarp

Saint Polycarp’s Story

Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, disciple of Saint John the Apostle and friend of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, was a revered Christian leader during the first half of the second century.

Saint Ignatius, on his way to Rome to be martyred, visited Polycarp at Smyrna, and later at Troas wrote him a personal letter. The Asia Minor Churches recognized Polycarp’s leadership by choosing him as a representative to discuss with Pope Anicetus the date of the Easter celebration in Rome—a major controversy in the early Church.

Only one of the many letters written by Polycarp has been preserved, the one he wrote to the Church of Philippi in Macedonia.

At 86, Polycarp was led into the crowded Smyrna stadium to be burned alive. The flames did not harm him and he was finally killed by a dagger. The centurion ordered the saint’s body burned. The “Acts” of Polycarp’s martyrdom are the earliest preserved, fully reliable account of a Christian martyr’s death. He died in 155.

Categories: 

More News

Father Alan Finley Returns to Salisbury to Mark 50 Years of Priesthood

July 30, 2025

On Sunday, 27 July 2025, Father Alan Finley returned to Salisbury to mark the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood,...Read more

Gaza

July 28, 2025
As mass starvation spreads across Gaza, Catholic aid agencies call for decisive action

CAFOD, the Church’s overseas aid and development agency, alongside 115...Read more

  •  
  • 1 of 299