Hieromartyr Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna

Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, had known the apostle John and others who had seen Christ; his pupil Irenaeus of Lyons remembered how he spoke of them. According to his Life, a widow named Callista raised him as an orphan, and Bishop Bucolus ordained him. His Letter to the Philippians survives. In old age he travelled to Rome to discuss the date of Easter with Bishop Anicetus.

The account of his martyrdom, sent by the church of Smyrna to other churches, is among the oldest of its kind. Pressed by the proconsul to curse Christ, he answered: 'Eighty-six years I have served him, and he has done me no wrong.' The account tells that the flames would not touch him, so he was stabbed and his body burned. The year is disputed: c. 155–156, or 167.