Fathers

Church of Smyrna

c. 156 AD

The church of Smyrna (now Izmir) in Asia Minor. Its letter to the church at Philomelium tells how its bishop Polycarp was put to death about 155, the earliest Christian account of a martyrdom outside the New Testament.

Works here: 1 to read straight through

Treatises and other works1

The Martyrdom of Polycarp 24 sectionslistenThe church of Smyrna tells how its bishop Polycarp and other martyrs died, and holds up his death as a martyrdom that follows the gospel.