The Church, who is personified by her faithful shepherds, possesses the promise of immortality, and although the errors of paganism today – unfortunately well established in tendencies, strongly supported by ideas, and more than evident in facts – may long to destroy her, or at least to conceal and deform her, they will never succeed.
Newsdesk ( Gaudium Press) Having been born of the sacred side of the Saviour, the Church went on, sine mora [‘without delay’], to take root all over the face of the earth, impelled by the Holy Spirit and by that Voice which still echoed within her: “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation” (Mk 16:15-16).
Thus she proclaimed to the Gentiles a new way of life through which they would be fully rescued from the darkness of paganism. It was a completely holy and blameless modus vivendi [‘way of living’] that sprang from a soul transformed, by grace, into the image and temple of Christ.
This is what is beautifully described in the Letter to Diognetus on the life of the Christians of the second century: “They live in Greek or barbarian cities, according to the circumstances of each one”
And further on: “They are of flesh, but do not live according to the flesh. They dwell on earth, but their city is in Heaven. They obey the established laws, but by their way of life they surpass the laws. They love all and are persecuted by all. Others condemn them without knowing them; delivered up to death, they give life. They are poor, but make many rich; they lack everything, and live in abundance. They are despised, but in the midst of reproach they are filled with glory; they are slandered, but the testimony of justice stands forth. They are cursed, and they bless. They are reproached, and they repay with honour. They do good and are punished with evil; when they are punished, they rejoice as if they were given life…”.
One of the greatest exponents of Christianity in these early times was undoubtedly the holy prelate Polycarp.
Disciple of St John … a link between two eras
In the year 67 St. Peter and St. Paul were martyred; St John the Evangelist was still alive until the reign of Trajan (98-117). In the year 69 St Polycarp was born – thus amidst the atmosphere of the evangelic fervour of the first decades of the Catholic Church. Various documents from that time – including a letter he sent to the Christians of Philippi – are a precious source of information about his life, which illustrate well the Christianity of that time.
He had the good fortune to be a disciple of St. John the Evangelist and to know many others “who have seen the Lord”, and he is considered one of the principal figures among those eminent men who formed a link between the time of the Apostles in the first century and that of the Fathers of the Church in the following century.
Founded on God as on an immovable rock
St. John the Evangelist himself appointed him Bishop of Smyrna, a Greek city on the coast of Asia Minor (today Izmir in Turkey). He was a personal friend of the great St. Ignatius of Antioch, who was in turn a disciple of St. Paul the Apostle. An unmistakable sign of the virtuous relationship between these two saints is their letters. Time has spared seven of the many epistles written by St. Ignatius; in one of them he makes to St. Polycarp this admiring reference: “Your conscience is founded on God as on an immovable rock!” Of how many men could one write the same?
When St Ignatius was captured by the imperial police, Polycarp met him on the road to martyrdom, to kiss his hands and chains for the last time. On that occasion, the venerable Bishop of Antioch begged him to help protect the faithful of the young churches by writing letters of exhortation to those to whom he had been unable to do so before his arrest.
One of these letters, written in the first decade of the second century, has survived the course of time and is one of the most valuable documents of the ancient Church. St. Jerome considered it a masterpiece of apostolic zeal, saying that two centuries later it was still being read publicly in the churches. In the discussions concerning the canonicity or otherwise of certain epistles of St. Paul, a weighty argument in its favour was the aforementioned letter of the holy Bishop of Smyrna, which already cited the Pauline epistles in question.
Paladin of the Faith
Polycarp was at the centre of the theological struggles of the first and second centuries. Like tares among the wheat, the most virulent heresies began to spread at that time, threatening the unity of the flock of Christ. The saint’s vigor in defending the truth earned him the title of “champion of orthodoxy”.
Like his master John the Evangelist, he knew how to be truculent against those who threatened the faith of the simple people. On one occasion, he came across Marcion, the head of a heretical current that was causing great harm to the Church. The Bishop of Smyrna preferred not to speak to him; the proud man, however, would not allow anyone to ignore him, and questioned him:
How then, do you not know me? Don’t you know who I am?
Yes, I know you. You are the first-born son of Satan! – replied the saint.
However, in his dealings with the true sons of Christ, he was gentle and diplomatic.
Since until then the Churches of Asia differed as to the date of the celebration of Easter, St. Polycarp travelled to Rome to settle this doubt with Pope Saint Anicetus. Today problems like this may seem unimportant to us, but in that period it was not difficult for one of them to serve as a trigger for the explosion of heretical movements.
In the debates on the question, neither the Pope could convince the Bishop of Smyrna nor the Bishop of Smyrna him. However, the virtue that united the two men of God transcended the theological barriers. They agreed that each Church would retain its own customs regarding the date of the feast, and would remain united in charity. To show his appreciation of St. Polycarp, St. Anicetus asked him to celebrate the Eucharist together in Rome.
To the figure of the great bishop was soon to be added the last and perhaps most beautiful facet: that of martyrdom.
The persecution
Around 154, a ferocious persecution against Christianity began in Asia Minor. Not satisfied with taking the lives of the Christians of Smyrna, the executioners were particularly anxious to arrest their bishop. In vain, for he had been persuaded to leave the city for some time. They managed, however, to capture two boys who knew the place where he was staying and tortured them with such cruelty that one of them revealed him.
Like a meek lamb, he surrenders to his persecutors
It was the afternoon of the Friday before Easter when a patrol on horseback arrived at the cottage where the venerable old man was sheltering. Seeing it, the Christians who were there strongly urged him to escape. He could have easily done so, but he refused, saying, “God’s will be done.”
There was a supernatural reason for his surprising attitude: three days earlier, while he was praying, he had a vision in which he saw the pillow on which he used to rest his head burning in flames. He understood that it was a prophetic vision and said to those who accompanied him: “This must mean that I am going to be burned alive…”
So when his captors stormed the estate, he went to meet them with a serenity that disturbed them, for they expected an escape or a violent reaction. Surrounded by armed men, Polycarp remained calm and impassive. The intensity of his holiness commanded respect and made him master of the situation. He invited the policemen to take part in the meal that was being served at that hour. They looked at each other, astonished and unsure, but eventually accepted the invitation. At the end, the intrepid bishop told them that, before leaving, he would spend some time praying, during which he asked not to be interrupted. Impressed by his supernatural assurance, they did not dare to oppose this wish.
Polycarp withdrew somewhat and for two hours remained in prayer. Whoever imagines him bent over and silent, is mistaken. This man, whose spirit was not faded by the years, addressed Heaven by speaking aloud, with grace and eloquence. He recommended his flock to God and prayed for the Catholic Church throughout the world. All around him contemplated him in complete silence, both the baptized and the perplexed pagans.
At the end of his prayer, the venerable old man meekly surrendered to his captors. Not without remorse, and quite embarrassed, they took him on a donkey to the city stadium, where he was to be tried.
Before the Roman court
As they approached the dreadful place, from outside they could already hear the shouts and jeers of the ferocious crowd of pagans who were there impatiently awaiting the beginning of another bloody spectacle. As our saint entered, a powerful voice came from Heaven:
‘Be strong, Polycarp, and act like a man’!
This mysterious voice was heard only by the Christians who were there, concealed, waiting to collect the precious relics of the martyred bishop.
Brought before the proconsul, the latter threatened him with the terrible torture of death by fire and urged him to abjure his faith in Christ in order to save his life. To which he replied:
Thou threatenest me with fire which burns for a short time and is soon extinguished. But you know nothing of the eternal fire and the endless punishment that awaits the wicked.
To every question, the saint replied with strength and courage, not allowing anyone to be indifferent in his presence. Writing afterwards about this episode, Saint Irenaeus – his disciple – praised the distinction and serenity of his master in the face of death threats. It was precisely this that most enraged his enemies.
The torture by fire
Between shouts, the excited crowd prepared a fire with impressive speed. Polycarp undid his belt and removed his cloak, with the nobility and elevation that were his own. Some executioners were preparing to nail him to a stake, but he interrupted them:
Leave me as I am. The Lord, who has given me the power to face the fire, will help me to remain in the flames without moving; there is no need to fasten me by nails.
The Christians of Smyrna who witnessed his martyrdom later wrote a detailed account of it in a circular letter to the churches of the Pontus region. It is one of the most famous authentic documents of those times of persecution. “Then,” they narrate, “Polycarp put his hands behind him and was bound, as if he were a noble lamb ready for sacrifice. He became a victim to be burned, an offering to God, of pleasant odour.”
Turning his eyes to Heaven, the bishop martyr said a prayer in a loud voice. Immediately after his “Amen”, the executioners set the fire. The faithful of Smyrna continue the account thus: “We who were privileged to witness all this saw a great miracle: the fire took the form of a great arch, inflated by the wind as if it were a ship’s sail, thick as a wall, and then enveloped the body of the martyr, but without touching it. Polycarp remained within the flames, not like burnt flesh, but like bread being baked for an offering, or like gold being refined. And we all could smell a fragrant aroma, like that of incense or precious spices.
“Seeing that the body was not consumed by fire, those cruel men ordered an executioner to pierce Polycarp with a sword. When he had done so, a dove came out of the wound and out gushed such an abundance of blood that it put out the fire.
“This most admirable martyr was surely one of God’s elect. Polycarp, apostolic teacher and prophetic guide of our time, holy bishop of the Catholic Church in Smyrna.”
Formed by Saint John the Evangelist, Saint Polycarp in turn left a disciple of great spiritual stature, Saint Irenaeus of Lyon. He too, faithful to the charism and examples of virtue given by his master, strove to form successors who had the same spirit and passed on that precious heritage of holiness, whose root is Jesus Christ our Lord Himself.
May the figure of this saint be of encouragement to us in the midst of the many problems and difficulties that our Mother, the Holy Catholic Church, is going through.
She, who is personified by her faithful shepherds, possesses the promise of immortality, and although the errors of paganism today – unfortunately well established in tendencies, strongly supported by ideas and more than evident in facts – may long to destroy her, or at least to conceal and deform her, they will never succeed. Their firm rock is God Himself, who always prepares fertile ground where such a promise can rest safely and bear fruit, thus carrying out His eternal and most high designs… “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev 2:11-12).
By João Pedro Braunn
Compiled by Roberta MacEwan
