also by apostles in Asia appointed
bishop of the Church in Smyrna, whom I also saw in my early youth, for
he lived a very long time; and when a very old man, gloriously and most
nobly suffering martyrdom, departed this life, having always taught
those things which he had learned from the apostles, and which the
Church has handed down, and which alone are true."

Of the numerous letters which Polycarp as bishop of Smyrna wrote to the
neighboring churches only one is extant. It is addressed by "Polycarp
and the presbyters with him to the Church of God sojourning at
Philippi," and probably was written about the middle of the second
century. In this epistle he praises the Philippians for their firm
Christian faith, and exhorts them to adhere to the doctrine which St.
Paul had taught them by word of mouth and by his epistle. After various
exhortations to presbyters, deacons, and other members of the Church,
Polycarp refers to the martyrdom of Ignatius, but apparently was
ignorant of the circumstances attending it, for the epistle concludes
with a request for information respecting him.

The martyrdom of Polycarp himself is described in an epistle addressed
by the Church of Smyrna, of which he was bishop, to the Church of
Philomelium, a city of the neighboring province of Phrygia. There are
probably some interpolations; but, excepting these, the document can
hardly be of much later date than the death of the martyr. There are
several reasons for this conclusion.

In the first place, the general tenor shows that it is intended to give
information of events which had recently happened; secondly, a
postscript states that a copy of it belonged to Irenaeus, a disciple of
Polycarp; and thirdly, a large part of it is transcribed by Eusebius,
who treats it as an authentic document.

The date of the death of Polycarp is well ascertained to be A.D. 167, in
the reign of Marcus Aurelius. For some time previously there had been a
cruel persecution of the Christians at Smyrna, in which both the Gentile
and Jewish inhabitants took part. Against Polycarp especially, as the
chief minister of the Christian Church, their hostility was directed.
After several Christians had been tortured and thrown to the lions, the
multitude clamored for the death of the bishop.

Yielding to the urgent entreaties of those around him Polycarp quitted
the city; but he was pursued and brought back. The proconsul, who had
reluctantly allowed him to be arrested