Jack Winstanley

Fr. Schiele, pd. 7

Honors Theology
September 30, 2014

Polycarp of Smyrna

When Jesus and his twelve apostles were roaming around to al the different
churches of Asia and Greece, they were the leaders of the Church. All
teachings, writings, scripture, and tradition came from them. However, when
the Apostolic Age came to an end with the martyrdom of John the Apostle
around 100AD, there had to be people to take over and help the Church
continue to grow and teach people. The first wave of people to step up and help
lead the Church would be called the Apostolic Fathers. Many, if not all of these
men, had some form of physical contact with one of the Apostles at some point
in this time, and that contact is believed to be the source of their knowledge and
their teachings. Among the Apostolic Fathers was Polycarp of Smyrna, a
follower of John who would go on to make many advancements for the
Catholic Church during his time.

St. Jerome had written that John the Apostle himself ordained Polycarp bishop
of Smyrna and it was in Smyrna where Polycarp would start his writings and
teachings along with his follower, Irenaus. Polycarp was a follower of John the
Apostle along with another notable Apostalic Father, Papias of Hierapolis. What we
know about Polycarps life mainly comes from two main sources; the letter of the
Smyrnaeans, which recounts the life and martyrdom of Polycarp, and the passages in
Irenaeus' Adversus Haereses. From these two main sources we can deduce that
he was born in 69AD and dies somewhere between 150 and 160AD. The exact
date of his death is not known, but it was recorded that at the time of his
martyrdom Polycarp stated that "Eighty and six years I have served Him, and
He has done me no wrong.". His martyrdom was well recorded, and from the
accounts it is told that he was burnt at the stake, but stabbed when the fire
wouldn't reach him.

One of Polycarps main missions was to help unify the practices of the
European and Greek churches with the practices of the Asian churches. In the
late 140's or early 150's he along with Irenaeus had traveled to Rome to see
Pope Anicetus. Polycarp had arrived in Rome with a very set agenda of topics
he wanted to discuss. The most prominent of these was when we should
celebrate Easter. Irenaeus stated that what that the two men fought on, was the
time of Easter. Each man adhered to his own custom, which didn't interfere
with the other. Polycarp followed the traditional eastern practice of celebrating
the feast on the 14th day in the month of Nisan, the day of Jewish Passover.
Anicetus followed the newer western practice of celebrating the holiday on the
first Sunday after the full moon of the Spring equinox, which would be March
21st. Seeing as we still celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the Spring
equinox, we can see who won that argument.

One of the only surviving works of Polycarp is his Letter to the Philippians. It
is believed to have been written rather early in his teaching, it's estimated to be
from around 110AD. At this time the Church in Philippi was still fairly new
and not very well organized. Irenaeus described the letter in saying that "There
is also a forceful epistle written by Polycarp to the Philippans, from which
those who which to do so, and are anxious about their salvation, can learn about
the character of his faith, and the preachings of the truth.". One of the main
topics of his letter is to warn against many of the disorders in the Church,
mainly apostacy, and that all members should percerviere in their good works
in the name of God. This is highlighted in Polycarps statement that Christians
should "Stand fast, therefore, in this conduct and in the example of the Lord,
'firm and unchangeable in faith, lovers of the brotherhood, loving of each other,
united in truth,' helping each other with the mindness of the Lord, despising no
man.". His letter also famously quotes many exerts from other passages that
would eventually become the New Testament, mainly the Gospel of John.

Polycarp of Syrma was one of the first Apostolic Fathers to carry out their own
mission in the Church, and his was also one of the longest. He has maybe fallen
to the wayside to the works of Ignasious of Antioch and similar figures, but his
achievements are notable nonetheless. His devotion to furthering the teachings
of the Church and adding his interpretatino of the Scripture is what set him
apart form other Church leaders at the time.