The bishop of Smyrna and disciple of the apostles whose steadfast martyrdom, recorded in an early eyewitness account, became a model for the persecuted church.
Life
Polycarp (c. 69–155), a link between the apostolic age and the early church, was bishop of Smyrna and, by tradition, a disciple of the Apostle John. He defended orthodoxy against early heresies and corresponded with Ignatius of Antioch. Arrested in old age, he refused to renounce Christ — "eighty-six years I have served him" — and was burned at the stake; the Martyrdom of Polycarp is among the earliest and most vivid accounts of Christian martyrdom.