The Fathers of the Church spread the
gospel of Jesus Christ, defended the Church in apologetic writing
and fought the many heresies of the first six centuries of
Christianity. These men, also called Apostolic Fathers, gave
special witness to the faith, some dying the death of a martyr.
Like Jesus who referred to Abraham as a spiritual father (Luke
16: 24) and St. Paul, who referred to himself in the same terms
(1 Cor 4: 15), the Fathers were zealous for the word of God.
Their writings are a testimony to the faith of the early Church,
yet many Christians are unfamiliar with the work of Clement of
Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp of Smyrna, Justin the Martyr,
Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian of Carthage, Athanasius,
Ephraim, Cyril of Jerusalem, Hilary of Poitiers or Gregory the
Great to name of few of the early Church Fathers. Each month we
will additional provide biographical information and examples of
the writing of these great men of faith. We will focus here on
Polycarp of Symyrna.
St. Polycarp of Smyrna (69-155 A.D.) was another of the apostolic Fathers
who heard the Apostle John preach and became his disciple. He
received St. Ignatius when he came as a prisoner on his way to
martyrdom in Rome in 110 A. D. In his letter to Polycarp,
Ignatius urged him to "Give ye heed to the bishop that God
may give heed to you." Polycarp subsequently became Bishop
of Smyrna. St. Irenaeus praises him for his respect and devotion
to tradition and sound doctrine. He may have been him whom St.
John addressed in Revelation 2: 11, as the "angel of the
church in Smyrna," to whom the Master says, "Be thou
faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."
About 155 or 156 A.D. he was sentenced to a martyr's death. Below
are excerpts from his only surviving letter and from the
"The Martyrdom of Polycarp," the oldest extant account
of Christian martyrdom, written in the form of a letter from the
Church of Symyrna to the Church of God at Philomelium in Greater
Phrygia.
[Second] Letter
to the Philippians (135 A.D.)
Chapter 6 [his advice to priests and laity]
"And let the presbyters be compassionate and merciful to
all, bringing back those that wander, visiting all the sick, and
not neglecting the widow, the orphan, or the poor, but always
'providing for that which is becoming in the sight of God and
man; ' abstaining from all wrath, respect of persons, and unjust
judgment; keeping far off from all covetousness, not quickly
crediting [an evil report] against any one, not severe in
judgment, as knowing that we are all under a debt of sin. If then
we entreat the Lord to forgive us, we ought also ourselves to
forgive; for we are before the eyes of our Lord and God, and 'we
must all appear at the judgment-seat of Christ, and must every
one give an account of himself.' Let us then serve Him in fear,
and with all reverence, even as He Himself has commanded us, and
as the apostles who preached the Gospel unto us, and the prophets
who proclaimed beforehand the coming of the Lord [have alike
taught us]. Let us be zealous in the pursuit of that which is
good, keeping ourselves from causes of offence, from false
brethren, and from those who in hypocrisy bear the name of the
Lord, and draw away vain men into error."
Chapter 7 [the anti-Christ defined]
"'For whosoever does not confess that Jesus Christ has come
in the flesh, is antichrist; ' and whosoever does not confess the
testimony of the cross, is of the devil; and whosoever perverts
the oracles of the Lord to his own lusts, and says that there is
neither a resurrection nor a judgment, he is the first-born of
Satan. Wherefore, forsaking the vanity of many, and their false
doctrines, let us return to the word which has been handed down
to us from the beginning; 'watching unto prayer,' and persevering
in fasting; beseeching in our supplications the all-seeing God
'not to lead us into temptation ,' as the Lord has said: 'The
spirit truly is willing, but the flesh is weak.'"
Chapter 13
"For I trust that ye are well versed in the Sacred
Scriptures, and that nothing is hid from you; but to me this
privilege is not yet granted. It is declared then in these
Scriptures, 'Be ye angry, and sin not,' and, 'Let not the sun go
down upon your wrath.' Happy is he who remembers this, which I
believe to be the case with you. But may the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ Himself, who is the Son
of God, and our everlasting High Priest, build you up in faith
and truth, and in all meekness, gentleness, patience,
long-suffering, forbearance, and purity; and may He bestow on you
a lot and portion among His saints, and on us with you, and on
all that are under heaven, who shall believe in our Lord Jesus
Christ, and in His Father, who 'raised Him from the dead. Pray
for all the saints. Pray also for kings, and potentates, and
princes, and for those that persecute and hate you, and for the
enemies of the cross, that your fruit may be manifest to all, and
that ye may be perfect in Him."
"The Martrydom of Saint Polycarp"
[9: 3]
[Before being burned alive] "When the [Roman] Proconsul
urged him and said, 'Take the oath [to the emperor as god] and I
will release you; revile Christ' Polycarp answered: 'Eighty-six
years I have served Him, and He has never done wrong.' How then,
should I be able to blaspheme my King who has saved me?"
[14: 3]
". . . In this way and for all things I do praise you, I do
bless you, I do glorify you through the eternal and heavenly High
Priest, Jesus Christ, your beloved Child: through whom be glory
to you with Him and with the Holy Spirit, both now and through
ages yet to come. Amen."
[15]
"When he had pronounced this amen, and so finished his
prayer, those who were appointed for the purpose kindled the
fire. And as the flame blazed forth in great fury, we, to whom it
was given to witness it, beheld a great miracle, and have been
preserved that we might report to others what then took place.
For the fire, shaping itself into the form of an arch, like the
sail of a ship when filled with the wind, encompassed as by a
circle the body of the martyr. And he appeared within not like
flesh which is burnt, but as bread that is baked, or as gold and
silver glowing in a furnace. Moreover, we perceived such a sweet
odour [coming from the pile], as if frankincense or some such
precious spices had been smoking there."
[16]
"At length, when those wicked men perceived that his body
could not be consumed by the fire, they commanded an executioner
to go near and pierce him through with a dagger. And on his doing
this, there came forth a dove, and a great quantity of blood, so
that the fire was extinguished; and all the people wondered that
there should be such a difference between the unbelievers and the
elect, of whom this most admirable Polycarp was one, having in
our own times been an apostolic and prophetic teacher, and bishop
of the Catholic Church which is in Smyrna. For every word that
went out of his mouth either has been or shall yet be
accomplished."
[19]
"This, then, is the account of the blessed Polycarp, who,
being the twelfth that was martyred in Smyrna (reckoning those
also of Philadelphia), yet occupies a place of his own in the
memory of all men, insomuch that he is everywhere spoken of by
the heathen themselves. He was not merely an illustrious teacher,
but also a pre-eminent martyr, whose martyrdom all desire to
imitate, as having been altogether consistent with the Gospel of
Christ. For, having through patience overcome the unjust
governor, and thus acquired the crown of immortality, he now,
with the apostles and all the righteous [in heaven], rejoicing(ly)
glorifies God, even the Father, and blesses our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Savior of our souls, the Governor of our bodies, and
the Shepherd of the Catholic Church throughout the world."
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Ignatius of Antioch
Clement of Rome
