appointed him to the see of Smyrna.
4
Late in 154 AD, St. Polycarp visited Rome with St. Irenaeus and met Pope
Anicetus to discuss their differences regarding the time for observing
Easter. For Polycarp, the practice of St. John celebrating the crucifixion and
resurrection of Christ together and always on the 14th of Nisan was
sacrosanct. The Pope disagreed but did not insist on conformity to the
Roman practice, and both parted amicably after co-celebrating Mass at the
first shrine built over the tomb of St. Peter. Also while in Rome, St.
Polycarp preached vigorously against the Gnostics and Marcionites,
bringing many back to the Church.
St. Polycarp would not live long after returning from Rome. The League
Festival of February 155 AD in honor of the Emperor ignited anti-Christian
outbursts and a demand for Christian blood from both pagan and Jewish
inhabitants. After ten Christians had been arrested, tortured and fed to the
lions, the mob began crying out for the bishop’s arrest. At the urging of his
beloved followers, St. Polycarp quit Smyrna. The Roman authorities
pursued him relentlessly and tracked him down, finding him in the house of
a friend deep in prayer for the Church, and for all he knew. He was taken to
the stadium and faced a howling crowd clamoring for his death: “That
teacher of Asia! That father-figure of the Christians! That destroyer of our
gods!”
Before too long Polycarp was condemned by an intimidated Pro-
consul after refusing to curse Christ: “How can I blaspheme my King who
has saved me?” At first, the flames miraculously did not consume him, St.
Polycarp dying only after a dagger was plunged into him:
“And then we who were privileged to witness it saw a wonderous
sight…The fire took on the shape of a hollow chamber, like a
ship’s sail when the wind fills it, and formed a wall round about
the martyr’s figure…Finally, when they realized that his body
could not be destroyed by fire, the ruffians ordered one of the
dagger-men to go up and stab him with his weapon” (Martyrdom
15, 1; 16).
St. Polycarp wrote many letters, however, all that remains extant is his
Letter to the Philippians, which is actually a composite of two letters
written C. 110 AD and 135 AD respectively. The Philippians had expressed
a desire to receive spiritual advice from St. Polycarp so he responded with
4
The Demurrer Against the Heretics 32 (C. 199 AD).
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