Polycarp

Polycarp was a Christian <a href="/facts/Metropolis_of_Smyrna/0IMrCvmk">bishop of Smyrna</a>. According to the <a href="/facts/Martyrdom_of_Polycarp/QblGvarD">Martyrdom of Polycarp</a>, he died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed to consume his body. Polycarp is regarded as a <a href="/facts/Saint/lDE6So1B">saint</a> and <a href="/facts/Church_Fathers/U2aPanJQ">Church Father</a> in the <a href="/facts/Eastern_Orthodox_Church/5n20Akh5">Eastern Orthodox Church</a>, the <a href="/facts/Roman_Catholic_Church/rJ4F4gqH">Roman Catholic Church</a>, <a href="/facts/Oriental_Orthodox_Churches/Hr4jF7La">Oriental Orthodox Churches</a>, <a href="/facts/Lutheranism/L4pMlRcS">Lutheranism</a>, and <a href="/facts/Anglicanism/CDICRNVn">Anglicanism</a>.
Both <a href="/facts/Irenaeus/VSKUJw0X">Irenaeus</a> and <a href="/facts/Tertullian/w7hxz5Yt">Tertullian</a> say that Polycarp had been a disciple of <a href="/facts/John_the_Apostle/WI3EuYIz">John the Apostle</a>, one of <a href="/facts/Apostles_in_the_New_Testament/2sPQ1VPS">Jesus's disciples</a>. In <a href="/facts/De_Viris_Illustribus_(Jerome)/kINHkIQk">On Illustrious Men</a>, <a href="/facts/Jerome/0qVqVA73">Jerome</a> similarly writes that Polycarp was a disciple of John the Apostle, who had ordained him as a bishop of Smyrna. Polycarp is regarded as one of three chief <a href="/facts/Apostolic_Fathers/UkdL4nyx">Apostolic Fathers</a>, along with <a href="/facts/Clement_of_Rome/Uvyr6B6S">Clement of Rome</a> and <a href="/facts/Ignatius_of_Antioch/umI24tG1">Ignatius of Antioch</a>.

Polycarp open-in-new

Polycarp