He, on account of certain questions concerning the day of the Passover, went to Rome in the time of the emperor Antoninus Pins while Anicetus ruled the church in that city.
There he led back to the faith many of the believers who had been deceived through the persuasion of Marcion and Valentinus, and when. Marcion met him by chance and said "Do you know us" he replied, "I know the firstborn of the devil.
He wrote a very valuable Epistle to the Philippians which is read to the present day in the meetings in Asia. Please buy the CD to support the site, view it without ads, and get bonus stuff! Kirby, Peter. Martyrdom of Polycarp At a Glance. Discuss this text on the Early Writings forum.
For it becomes us who profess greater piety than others, to ascribe the authority over all things to God. And truly , who can fail to admire their nobleness of mind , and their patience, with that love towards their Lord which they displayed? But they reached such a pitch of magnanimity, that not one of them let a sigh or a groan escape them; thus proving to us all that those holy martyrs of Christ , at the very time when they suffered such torments, were absent from the body, or rather, that the Lord then stood by them, and communed with them.
And, looking to the grace of Christ , they despised all the torments of this world, redeeming themselves from eternal punishment by [the suffering of] a single hour. For this reason the fire of their savage executioners appeared cool to them. For they kept before their view escape from that fire which is eternal and never shall be quenched, and looked forward with the eyes of their heart to those good things which are laid up for such as endure; things which ear has not heard, nor eye seen, neither have entered into the heart of man , 1 Corinthians but were revealed by the Lord to them, inasmuch as they were no longer men, but had already become angels.
And, in like manner, those who were condemned to the wild beasts endured dreadful tortures, being stretched out upon beds full of spikes, and subjected to various other kinds of torments, in order that, if it were possible, the tyrant might, by their lingering tortures, lead them to a denial [of Christ ]. For the devil did indeed invent many things against them; but thanks be to God , he could not prevail over all.
For the most noble Germanicus strengthened the timidity of others by his own patience, and fought heroically with the wild beasts. For, when the proconsul sought to persuade him, and urged him to take pity upon his age, he attracted the wild beast towards himself, and provoked it, being desirous to escape all the more quickly from an unrighteous and impious world.
But upon this the whole multitude, marvelling at the nobility of mind displayed by the devout and godly race of Christians , cried out, Away with the Atheists; let Polycarp be sought out! Now one named Quintus, a Phrygian, who was but lately come from Phrygia, when he saw the wild beasts, became afraid. This was the man who forced himself and some others to come forward voluntarily [for trial].
Him the proconsul, after many entreaties, persuaded to swear and to offer sacrifice. Wherefore, brethren, we do not commend those who give themselves up [to suffering], seeing the Gospel does not teach so to do. Matthew But the most admirable Polycarp , when he first heard [that he was sought for], was in no measure disturbed, but resolved to stay in the city. However, in deference to the wish of many, he was persuaded to leave it. He departed, therefore, to a country house not far distant from the city.
There he stayed with a few [friends], engaged in nothing else night and day than praying for all men , and for the Churches throughout the world, according to his usual custom. And while he was praying , a vision presented itself to him three days before he was taken; and, behold, the pillow under his head seemed to him on fire.
Upon this, turning to those that were with him, he said to them prophetically , I must be burnt alive. And when those who sought for him were at hand, he departed to another dwelling, whither his pursuers immediately came after him. And when they found him not, they seized upon two youths [that were there], one of whom, being subjected to torture, confessed.
It was thus impossible that he should stay hidden, since those that betrayed him were of his own household. The Irenarch then whose office is the same as that of the Cleronomus , by name Herod, hastened to bring him into the stadium. His pursuers then, along with horsemen, and taking the youth with them, went forth at supper-time on the day of the preparation with their usual weapons, as if going out against a robber.
Matthew And having come about evening [to the place where he was], they found him lying down in the upper room of a certain little house, from which he might have escaped into another place; but he refused, saying, The will of God be done.
How can I blaspheme my King and my Savior? The early church was hated by the society and government of the Roman Empire for various reasons, such as the refusal of Christians to sacrifice to the gods. The Empire went through many phases of demanding that the Christians sacrifice — which meant denying their faith — or be killed. The earliest attacks claimed the lives of many of the apostles. The account is in the form of a letter from eye-witnesses to other churches in the area.
It is the earliest chronicle of a martyrdom outside the New Testament. Polycarp was an old man, at least 86 see part 10 , and probably the last surviving person to have known an apostle, having been a disciple of St.
This was one reason he was greatly revered as a teacher and church leader. As you read it, look for parallels between this story and the Easter story in the gospels. We are writing to you, brothers, with an account of the martyrs, especially the blessed Polycarp, whose death brought to the persecution to a close. Almost all the events that led up to it reveal it to be another martyrdom in the divine pattern that we see in the Gospel.
For he waited for his betrayal, just like the Lord did, so that we might follow him, in looking out for the needs of others as well as ourselves. All the martyrdoms which God allowed to happen remember that the devout will ascribe all things to his sovereignty were blessed and noble.
Who could not admire their honor, their patience, their love for the Lord? They were whipped to shreds till their veins and arteries were exposed, and still endured patiently, while even those that stood by cried for them.
They had such courage that none of them let out a sigh or a groan, proving when they suffered such torments they were absent from their bodies — or rather that the Lord then stood by them and talked with them. By the grace of Christ they despised all the cruelties of this world, redeeming themselves from eternal punishment by the suffering of a single hour. They were no longer men, but had already become angels. In the same way, those who were condemned to the wild beasts endured dreadful torture.
Some were stretched out on beds of spikes. In all that the Devil attempted he failed, thanks be to God. Someone has just tipped off the pursuers that Polycarp is hiding out at a farmhouse in the country. The mounted police set out on Friday about suppertime.
They carried their usual weapons, as if they were advancing against a bandit. Late in the evening, they arrived to arrest Polycarp and found that he was resting upstairs. He could have escaped to another place but decided to stay. When Polycarp heard that the police were there, he went downstairs and talked with them.
Everyone was amazed at his age and courage and wondered why there should be so much haste about arresting an old man like this.
Despite the lateness of the hour, he had a table set for them to eat and drink, as much as they desired. He asked them to give him an hour to pray undisturbed, and they agreed. So Polycarp stood and prayed out loud. He was so filled with the grace of God that, for two hours, he could not be silent. Those who listened were astounded, and many were sorry that they had come to arrest such a venerable old man. When Polycarp had finished his prayer, after remembering everyone who had ever crossed his path—both small and great, high and low—and the whole Catholic Church throughout the world, the time came for him to leave.
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