St. Polycarp (about 69–155), bishop of Smyrna in what is now Turkey, was a disciple of the apostle St. John and one of the last living links with the apostles. Arrested in his old age and ordered to curse Christ, he answered with words that have inspired martyrs ever since: “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?” He was burned at the stake, and the letter describing his death is the oldest account of a Christian martyrdom outside the New Testament. His feast day is February 23. Below are his story, his prayer at the stake in full, and a prayer to St. Polycarp.
A short prayer to St. Polycarp, written for this page:
St. Polycarp, faithful to Christ for eighty-six years,
pray that I may serve Him faithfully all my life,
stand firm when my faith is tested, and die praising God. Amen.
Who was St. Polycarp?
According to St. Irenaeus, who knew him as a boy, Polycarp had been taught by the apostles, especially St. John, and was made bishop of Smyrna by them. He welcomed St. Ignatius of Antioch on his way to martyrdom about 107, and Ignatius wrote him a letter of encouragement. Polycarp’s own Letter to the Philippians survives. In his old age he traveled to Rome to discuss the date of Easter with Pope St. Anicetus. About the year 155, during a persecution, he was arrested and brought into the stadium of Smyrna before the Roman proconsul.
“Eighty and six years have I served Him”
The proconsul urged the old bishop to respect his age, swear by the emperor’s fortune, and curse Christ. From The Martyrdom of Polycarp:
“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?”
When threatened with wild beasts and fire, he answered that the fire of the proconsul burned only for an hour, but that the fire of judgment was eternal, and he declared, “I am a Christian.”
His prayer at the stake
Bound to the stake, Polycarp looked up to heaven and prayed (The Martyrdom of Polycarp, ch. 14):
O Lord God Almighty, the Father of thy beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ, by whom we have received the knowledge of Thee, the God of angels and powers, and of every creature, and of the whole race of the righteous who live before thee, I give Thee thanks that Thou hast counted me worthy of this day and this hour, that I should have a part in the number of Thy martyrs, in the cup of thy Christ, to the resurrection of eternal life, both of soul and body, through the incorruption [imparted] by the Holy Ghost. Among whom may I be accepted this day before Thee as a fat and acceptable sacrifice, according as Thou, the ever-truthful God, hast foreordained, hast revealed beforehand to me, and now hast fulfilled. Wherefore also I praise Thee for all things, I bless Thee, I glorify Thee, along with the everlasting and heavenly Jesus Christ, Thy beloved Son, with whom, to Thee, and the Holy Ghost, be glory both now and to all coming ages. Amen.
The witnesses wrote that the flames formed an arch around him like a sail filled with wind and did not burn him, so that an executioner was ordered to stab him. The Christians of Smyrna gathered his bones, “more precious than the most exquisite jewels,” and celebrated the anniversary of his martyrdom every year: the beginning of the Church’s custom of honoring martyrs on the day of their death.
What is St. Polycarp the patron saint of?
St. Polycarp is the patron of Smyrna (modern İzmir) and is traditionally invoked by those suffering from earaches and dysentery. He is above all a model of lifelong faithfulness and of courage in old age.
Feast day
The memorial of St. Polycarp is February 23. Before 1969 it was kept on January 26.
Frequently asked questions
Who was St. Polycarp?
The bishop of Smyrna in the second century, a disciple of St. John the Apostle, martyred about 155 at the age of eighty-six or more.
What did St. Polycarp say before he died?
“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?”
When is St. Polycarp’s feast day?
February 23.
More early Church saints
- St. Justin Martyr
- St. Irenaeus
- St. Ignatius of Antioch
- Sts. Perpetua and Felicity
- St. John the Apostle
- Prayer for a happy death
- Saint feast days
- Saint of the day
Texts and sources
- The Martyrdom of Polycarp, chs. 9 and 14, trans. A. Roberts and J. Donaldson, Ante-Nicene Fathers vol. 1 (1885), public domain (Wikisource).