Today is the feast of Saint Polycarp (AD 69 – 155), Bishop of Smyrna, a port city which is to be found in modern day Turkey. He died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed to consume his body. So, why us Saint Polycarp of significance to us today? The Chancellor of the Diocese of Lansing, Michael Andrews, now explains. He writes:
Saint Polycarp, one of the Apostolic Fathers, stands as a vital link between the Age of the Apostles and the Age of the Martyrs.
Formed in the faith by those who had known Christ himself, above all Saint John the Apostle, Polycarp was appointed Bishop of Smyrna. That church, recognized by the Lord for its steadfastness, was also exhorted by him to “remain faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:8-11).
Polycarp understood that the Christian life is, as our Lord declared, like a grain of wheat: unless it falls and dies, it bears no fruit (John 12:24). Polycarp’s very name, meaning “much fruit,” unfolded this Gospel image.
In his writings - among the earliest Christian sources outside the New Testament - Polycarp defended the Church against the shadow of Docetism, a heresy that taught that Jesus only “seemed” to be human. Polycarp faithfully echoed the apostolic teaching: “Whosoever denies that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is antichrist” (1 John 4:3).
Saint Polycarp urged believers to be immovable in truth, steadfast in charity, and ever loyal to the teaching of the apostles, for he knew that the Church grows not by novelty but by faithfully transmitting the apostolic tradition. As Saint Polycarp was led to his death, he professed: “For eighty-six years I have served Jesus Christ, and he has never abandoned me. How can I blaspheme my blessed King and Savior?” His life, abundant in labor and witness, was ultimately crowned with martyrdom.
Each year, on the anniversary of his passing into eternal life, the faithful gathered near his relics to pray in joyful commemoration of his victory in Christ – a practice that became the prototype for the Church’s calendar of saints and an early Christian expression of the veneration accorded to the saints and their relics. By his life and death, in word and example, Saint Polycarp continues to bear fruit that flourishes today.
Saint Polycarp, pray for us!