Hieromartyr Polycarp of Smyrna

Hieromartyr Polycarp, orphaned young, was raised by the pious widow Callista in Smyrna. He became a beloved disciple of the Apostle John the Theologian, was ordained deacon and later presbyter by Smyrna's first bishop Bucolus, and around 110 succeeded him as bishop of Smyrna. He corresponded with Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer, who praised him highly, and opposed Gnostic and Marcionite teachings.

Under Emperor Marcus Aurelius a mob demanded the arrest of "the father of the Christians"; learning of this, the bishop first hid, but once found, fed the soldiers sent to arrest him and calmly went to trial. Refusing to renounce Christ ("For eighty-six years I have served Him, and He has done me no wrong — how can I blaspheme my King and Savior?"), he was sentenced to burning — but tradition holds the flames formed a dome around him without touching his body, so the executioner finished him with a dagger, his blood reportedly extinguishing the fire.

The surviving "Martyrdom of Polycarp" (Martyrium Polycarpi) is one of the oldest and most historically reliable martyr accounts. The bishop also left behind his surviving "Epistle to the Philippians." He became a crucial historical link between the apostolic generation (John) and the later Church Fathers — his own disciple was Hieromartyr Irenaeus of Lyons.

His feast is kept on February 23/March 8.