The Epistle Of Polycarp to the Philipians and his Martydom

Polycarp (/ˈpɒlikɑːrp/; Greek: Πολύκαρπος, Polýkarpos; Latin: Polycarpus; AD 69 – 155) was a Christian bishop of Smyrna.[2] According to the Martyrdom of Polycarp, he died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed to consume his body.[3] Polycarp is regarded as a saint and Church Father in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Lutheranism, and Anglicanism. Both Irenaeus[4] and Tertullian[5] say that Polycarp had been a disciple of John the Apostle, one of Jesus's disciples. In On Illustrious Men, Jerome similarly writes that Polycarp was a disciple of John the Apostle, who had ordained him as a bishop of Smyrna.[6] Polycarp is regarded as one of three chief Apostolic Fathers, along with Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch.