Polycarp's View of Martyrdom

In section nine of the letter of Polycarp to the Philippians, we are able to get a glimpse into the mind of Polycarp, and to a certain extent his views on martyrdom and the suffering of the saints. He calls upon the Philippians to be “obedient to the word of righteousness and to exercise all patient endurance…” (9:1). He is telling them that even when they are persecuted, they must stand firm and not deny Christ in the face of their oppressors. He calls them to continue in their commitment and their obedience to Christ not only in thought but in action. He refers to a few different individuals by name who have already suffered for Christ. The Philippians were familiar with these people that he mentions. He mentions, first of all, Ignatius, whom many would consider to be Polycarp’s own mentor in the faith. Ignatius, having been inspired by the example of the apostles Peter and Paul, wrote many letters on his way to his martyrdom in Rome. He also spent a significant amount of time with Polycarp, and likely influenced his views on martyrdom. As Ignatius was making his way to Rome, where Peter and Paul had been martyred, he stopped at Smyrna where Polycarp was Bishop. It is recorded that “Ignatius spent several days there, and enjoyed the society of Polycarp, who had been a pupil of John […] His mind was set on the idea of martyrdom, and on the two martyr-apostles, Peter and Paul, who had taken the road from Antioch to Rome before him.” [1] It is likely that this sort of preoccupation with martyrdom evidenced in the life and writings of Ignatius had strong influence over Polycarp himself.

In his letter, Polycarp also mentions two people he refers to as Zosimus and Rufus. This Rufus may be mentioned by Paul in one of his letters, but it is unknown whether this Rufus is the same Rufus that Paul mentions. This may also be the Rufus mentioned in the Gospels who was the brother of Alexander and the son of Simon of Cyrene who was called upon by the Romans to carry the cross of Jesus when it became too much for him to bear. If this is the case, then Polycarp may have been attempting to call to mind an example of someone who understood what it was like to suffer for Christ, someone who was related to someone who had witnessed the crucifixion of Christ. This, however, is all speculation. The image, though, would perhaps be one of being called to carry the cross, which is what Jesus had told his followers they must do. Polycarp also mentions other people, but not by name, saying that these individuals were known to the Philippians, having been members of their own congregation, and that they had suffered for their faith. We are inclined to believe that these people had been killed in the persecution. This letter was written at a time of crisis, in which Christians were being killed.

Also, Polycarp mentions in his list the suffering of the Apostle Paul, who is believed to have been beheaded by the Emperor Nero. He also mentions the “rest of the apostles” who had also been killed, except for perhaps John who is believed to have been exiled to the Island of Patmos. Polycarp refers to Paul and the other apostles, saying that he is “persuaded that all these ‘did not run in vain’ (9:1). Polycarp sees the martyrdom of the saints not as something that should discourage the church in its faith, but that should encourage it. In pointing to the martyrdom of the apostles, Polycarp is showing the church at Philippi that the call of Christ is something that is worth dying for. One scholar writes of Polycarp: “He urges the Philippians to follow the examples of Ignatius, Zosimus and Rufus, not to mention their own martyrs, and Paul himself and the rest of the apostles.” [2] Polycarp wishes to show the Philippians that those who have suffered and died for Christ have not suffered and died in vain, and that they are now with Christ.

The account of the martyrdom of Polycarp also gives some hints as to what the perspective of Polycarp may have been on the issue of martyrdom. While the account was written much time after the death of Polycarp, it may contain evidence as to what he thought. Since it is a later writing, a number of the elements described in the account are questionable in regard to their historicity. Many of the elements of the story of Polycarp’s death contain obvious references and parallels to the death of Christ. While some of these things, such as the event of the dove flying out from the body of Polycarp as he is being killed, seem to be symbolic, pointing to the connection between Christ and the servant of Christ in suffering, it would appear that the main events of the story are factual. The reason for the writer of this account of Polycarp’s death to include all of these extra parallel features connected to the story of Christ’s Passion would be because of the time in which the account was written. At this time, many Christians held in high regard those who had suffered and died for Christ. They even kept and cherished relics that had been left behind by these saints. One scholar writes, “With Polycarp we have the first evidence of the cult of the relics of the martyrs. On the day of the anniversary of their death, their true ‘birth,’ Christians met at their tombs.” [3] Besides holding the martyrs in high esteem, second only to Christ, the writer of this account would have wanted to show how the follower of Christ was like Christ in his death. Another scholar writes:

The first people perceived as ‘saints’ in the Church were the early martyrs. Heroic self-sacrifice for the name of Christ implied that one was one of the elect, and inspired commemoration and imitation. The contemporary account of the martyrdom of Polycarp of Smyrna, who was burned to death at a pagan festival in Asia Minor around the middle of the second century, already contains many themes that would become standard in the later devotion to saints. [4]

An example of this can be seen when the writer records Polycarp attempting to remove his shoes just before he dies so that the other Christians may keep them as relics of some sort. True martyrs for Christ were held in high esteem.

Perhaps one of the reasons for such emphasis as is placed upon the matter of what true martyrdom in Christ looks like in this account is that there had been many during the early years of the church’s history who had been, in a way, careless martyrs. They had gone out of their way to suffer for Christ, thinking that they would receive a better reward in heaven because of their actions on behalf of Christ. There is even a reference to this kind of behavior among some of the early Christians in the book of Hebrews. In chapter eleven of this letter, the writer speaks of those who had great faith and who faced persecutions because of this. The writer says, “There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection” (Heb. 11:35b). The writer of the account of the martyrdom of Polycarp is showing his readers that Polycarp really knew how to die. In this narrative, he shows what Polycarp truly believed about dying for Christ and compares Polycarp’s martyrdom with the deaths of those who had turned themselves in so they could be put to death as martyrs for Christ. Summarizing what is written in this Martyrdom account, one writer says the following:

The Martyrdom is the story of a persecution of Christians in Smyrna in Asia Minor, some of whom have voluntarily put themselves forward for death in the arena, which reaches its height and conclusion in the hunting down and execution of the distinguished 86-year-old bishop Polycarp. The account is written in the form of a letter of the church of the Smyrnaeans to the church of Philomelium commending Polycarp's restrained 'witness according to the Gospel', as against those who willfully led others into danger by seeking out martyrdom. [5]

The account of the martyrdom states that there had been a fanatical man, likely a member of the Montanist sect, who had led a group of others to go with him to volunteer to be put to death for illegally being Christians. The account claims that when this man saw the wild beasts, he became afraid and was persuaded to deny Christ and offer the sacrifice to Caesar. The writer then goes on to say, “For this reason, therefore, brethren, we do not praise those who come forward of their own accord, since the gospel does not teach us so to do.” [6] The account also mentions a man named Germanicus who was made to fight wild beasts in the arena. The account says that “when the proconsul, wishing to persuade him, bade him have pity on his youth, he forcibly dragged the wild beast toward himself, wishing to obtain more quickly a release from their wicked and lawless life.” 6 It was because of this act of heroics that the crowd became amazed and called for the capture of Polycarp, the leader of the Christians. The writer records Polycarp as having not been afraid of this warrant issued for his arrest and that he wanted to stay in the city and carry on with his daily responsibilities. However, his friends convinced to flee to a nearby farm for protection. In this, the writer seeks to show how Polycarp is neither desirous of martyrdom nor is he afraid of it. He appears to be content with whatever happens to him. He is not a coward who will deny Christ at the threat of death, and he is not a fanatic who believes he can get God to give him a better reward by getting himself and others killed in the name of Christ.

Also, in this account of his death, three days before his capture and execution Polycarp has a dream in which the pillow on which he slept was blazing with fire. 6 From this he concluded that he was going to be burned as a martyr. The fact that this was revealed to him in a dream indicates that his death was not something that he had decided for himself. It was something that God was going to allow happen to him. This shows the difference between the view of martyrdom held by the fanatics and the view of martyrdom held by Polycarp. Polycarp believed that God would be using him in his death, rather than believing as the fanatics did that their actions would cause God to favor them over others. Another point made in the account is Polycarp’s sense of hospitality. Polycarp shows the true nature of a Christian and a martyr when the soldiers come to the farm to capture him and he offers to serve them a meal. Instead of taunting the men or behaving like a coward, Polycarp shows them kindness.

In conclusion, Polycarp’s views on martyrdom include the idea that martyrdom is an honor. The apostles before him had been martyred for their faith and they had received their reward from Christ. Martyrdom was not something to be feared. However, martyrdom was also not something to be desired. The time of ones death was up to God to decide. Most importantly, a Christian ought to glorify God in both life and death. Polycarp believed that we represented Christ in the actions of our daily living and that true martyrs represented Christ in the actions surrounding their death.




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[1] Philip Carrington, Archbishop of Quebec. The First Christian Century. Volume 1 of The Early Christian Church. (Cambridge: The University Press, 1957), 449.
[2] Ibid., 460.
[3] Jean Comby. From the Beginnings to the Fifteenth Century. Vol. 1 of How to read Church History. (New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1989), 41.
[4] Euan Cameron. Interpreting Christian History: The Challenge of the Churches’ Past. (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2005), 85.
[5] Sara Parvis, “The Martyrdom of Polycarp,” Expository Times 118 (2006): 105. doi: 20100825
[6] Richardson, Cyril (ed.). Early Christian Fathers. Vol. 1 of The Library of Christian Classics. (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1996), 150, 151.