St. Polycarp - A Primer
The Death of St. Polycarp
"For eighty-six years I have been His servant and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme against my King and Savior?"
When Polycarp was an old man, he went to Rome to discuss with Pope Anicetus ecclesiastical matters, in particular how the date for Easter should be figured. (To this day, the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates Easter on a different day than Christians in the Western Church.)
When he got home to Smyrna, eleven Christians had already been martyred. Many people wanted to see a noted Christian like Polycarp brought to the stadium and executed. Because of his age, the proconsul tried to talk Polycarp into swearing by Caesar and to curse Christ. Polycarp’s response was, "For eighty-six years I have been His servant and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme against my King and Savior?" When coaxing wouldn’t convince Polycarp to deny his faith, he was threatened with being thrown to the beasts or burnt to death. The crowd wanted to see him burned. When the fire did not seem to consume him, a soldier was ordered to stab him to death.
"Now, the blessed Polycarp suffered martyrdom on the second day of the month Xanthicus just begun, the seventh day before the Kalends of May, on the great Sabbath, at the eighth hour. He was taken by Herod, Philip the Trallian being high priest, Statius Quadratus being proconsul, but Jesus Christ being King…" (From: The Encyclical Epistle of the Church at Smyrna, Concerning the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp.)
