Polycarp (Greek: Πολύκαρπος, Polýkarpos; Latin: Polycarpus; AD 69 – 155) was a 2nd-century Christian bishop of Smyrna.[2] According to the Martyrdom of
Polycarp he died a martyr, bound and burned at the
stake, then stabbed when the fire failed to touch him.[3]Polycarp
is regarded as a saint and Church
Father in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches.
It is recorded by Irenaeus, who heard him speak in
his youth, and by Tertullian,[4] that he had been a disciple of John
the Apostle.[5][6]Saint
Jerome wrote that Polycarp was a disciple of John
and that John had ordained him bishop of Smyrna.
The early tradition that expanded upon the Martyrdom to link Polycarp in competition and contrast
with John the Apostle who, though many people had tried to kill him, was not
martyred but died of old age after being exiled to the island of Patmos, is embodied in
the Coptic
language fragmentary papyri (the "Harris fragments")
dating to the 3rd to 6th centuries.[7] Frederick Weidmann, their editor, interprets
the "Harris fragments" as Smyrnan hagiography addressing Smyrna–Ephesus church rivalries,
which "develops the association of Polycarp and John to a degree unwitnessed, so
far as we know, either before or since".[8] The fragments echo the Martyrology, and diverge from
it.
With Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp is
regarded as one of three chief Apostolic Fathers. The sole
surviving work attributed to his authorship is his Letter
to the Philippians; it is first recorded by Irenaeus of Lyons.
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