The Martyrdom of Polycarp: "Leave Me As I Am" Trusting God in the Flames

The St Shenouda Podcast explores the ultimate act of faith recorded in the earliest chronicle of Christian martyrdom outside of the New Testament: The Martyrdom of Polycarp.Join us as we dive into the letter written by the Church in Smyrna, detailing the final hours of the blessed Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna. Polycarp was an apostolic and prophetic teacher who, at 86 years of age, had been discipled by the Apostle John. The account is recognized as taking on the literary form of both a letter and the earliest of the martyr acts as a genre in the ancient Christian tradition.Facing intense persecution around 155 AD, Polycarp, after being urged to hide, had a prophetic vision that he "must be burnt alive". Following his betrayal by a member of his own household, he was brought before the proconsul Statius Quadratus. Despite being urged to "swear by the fortune of Cæsar" and "reproach Christ", Polycarp bravely declared: "Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?".Threatened with fire, he countered, warning the proconsul of the "fire of the coming judgment and of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly".The sources reveal an astonishing miracle at the stake: Polycarp refused to be nailed, trusting that "He that gives me strength to endure the fire, will also enable me, without your securing me by nails, to remain without moving in the pile". When the fire was lit (with the Jews eagerly assisting in gathering wood), the flames shaped themselves into an arch, encompassing his body without consuming him like ordinary flesh; instead, he looked "like bread that is baked, or as gold and silver glowing in a furnace". Witnesses perceived a sweet odour, like frankincense or precious spices. Ultimately, he was pierced through with a dagger, releasing so much blood that the fire was extinguished.Polycarp's death serves as the prized example in the text's "martyrdom ideology," illustrating proper discipleship and the imitation of Christ (imitatio Christi). Though his body was burned by the centurion to prevent the Christians from taking a memorial, his bones were collected, considered "more precious than the most exquisite jewels, and more purified than gold". This ancient practice led to the tradition of celebrating the anniversary of his martyrdom "with joy and rejoicing".Discover the profound patience, constancy, and love displayed by the martyrs who, looking to the grace of Christ, "despised all the torments of this world, redeeming themselves from eternal punishment by [the suffering of] a single hour".