The Martyrdom of Polycarp (c. 155)

The oldest surviving account of a Christian martyrdom outside the New Testament.

Polycarp was the elderly bishop of Smyrna, in what is now Turkey, and is said to have known the Apostle John. Around the year 155 he was arrested and ordered to curse Christ to save his life.

His reply has echoed for nearly two thousand years: “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?” This letter, written by his church to other Christian communities, describes his arrest and death and became a model for honoring the martyrs.

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