Martyrdom of Polycarp

The Martyrdom of Polycarp is a letter from the church at Philomelium to the church at Smyrna. It is one of the earliest known martyrologies—it tells the story of the death of Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna.

The day and time of Polycarp’s martyrdom is recorded as on “the second day of the first part of the month of Xanthicus, the seventh day before the calends of March, a great Sabbath at the eighth hour” (Martyrdom of Polycarp 21). This seems to be February 23rd, at around 2:00 in the afternoon. The year of Polycarp’s death is not provided, but paragraph 21 notes that Statius Quadratus was proconsul at this time, and his proconsulship can be reliably dated to ad 154–155 (Jefford, Reading, 87–88). As a result, most date Polycarp’s death to February 23, 155. Because the internal testimony of the Martyrdom of Polycarp leads the reader to believe that it was composed by eyewitnesses, the date of composition is likely between ad 155–160.

The Martyrdom of Polycarp tells the story of Polycarp’s arrest and subsequent death in a stadium. The telling of the story contains many miraculous elements, often paralleling gospel images from the arrest, crucifixion, and death of Christ (Jefford, Reading, 93–95).

For further details on this document and how it was received in the early church, and additional information on the debate surrounding the dating of Polycarp’s death, see these articles: Polycarp, Martyrdom of; Polycarp.