The Martyrdom of Polycarp · §13 · Origen of Alexandria

The pyre is built and Polycarp refuses the nails

Click or tap any sentence to jump there. The side buttons skip a paragraph.

After the crowd demands that Polycarp be burned alive, the narrator describes the gathering of wood and Polycarp stripping for the fire.

It all happened in a moment, faster than words can tell. The crowd rushed at once to gather timber and dry sticks from the workshops and bathhouses, and the Jews in particular threw themselves eagerly into serving the work, as they customarily do.

When the pyre was ready, Polycarp stripped off all his clothes himself and unfastened his belt, and he even tried to remove his own sandals. He had never done this before, because each of the faithful always hurried to be the first to touch his body. In every way he had been adorned by his good life even before his martyrdom. They at once fitted the trappings of the pyre around him, and when they were about to nail him as well, Polycarp said, "Leave me as I am. The one who has given me strength to endure the fire will also give me strength to remain undisturbed on the pyre without the safeguard of your nails."

Greek

XIII. Ταῦτα οὖν μετὰ τοσούτου τάχους ἐγένετο, θᾶττον ἢ ἐλέγετο, τῶν ὄχλων παραχρῆμα συναγόντων ἔκ τε τῶν ἐργαστηρίων καὶ βαλανείων ξύλα καὶ φρύγανα, μάλιστα Ἰουδαίων προθύμως, ὡς ἔθος αὐτοῖς, εἰς ταῦτα ὑπουργούντων. Ὅτε δὲ ἡ πυρὰ ἡτοιμάσθη, ἀποθέμενος ἑαυτῷ πάντα τὰ ἱμάτια καὶ λύσας τὴν ζώνην, ἐπειρᾶτο καὶ ὑπολύειν ἑαυτόν, μὴ πρότερον τοῦτο ποιῶν διὰ τὸ ἀεὶ ἕκαστον τῶν πιστῶν σπουδάζειν, ὅστις τάχιον τοῦ χρωτὸς αὐτοῦ ἅψηται. Ἐν παντὶ γὰρ ἀγαθῆς ἕνεκεν πολιτείας καὶ πρὸ τῆς μαρτυρίας ἐκεκόσμητο. Εὐθέως οὖν αὐτῷ περιετίθετο τὰ πρὸς τὴν πυρὰν ἡρμοσμένα ὄργανα. Μελλόντων δὲ αὐτῶν καὶ προσηλοῦν εἶπεν· Ἄφετέ με οὕτως· ὁ γὰρ δοὺς ὑπομεῖναι τὸ πῦρ, δώσει καὶ χωρὶς τῆς ὑμετέρας ἐκ τῶν ἥλων ἀσφαλείας ἄσχυλτον ἐπιμεῖναι τῇ πυρᾷ.

About this text

They wanted the report shared with other Christians so that God would be glorified and Polycarp would be remembered and imitated.

This letter was written by the Church of Smyrna (c. 156) to the church of God at Philomelium and to all congregations of the holy and universal church everywhere. The Smyrnaeans were answering a request from Philomelium for a fuller account of their recent martyrs, especially bishop Polycarp, whose death closed the persecution. They wanted the report shared with other Christians so that God would be glorified and Polycarp would be remembered and imitated.

The letter argues that true martyrdom happens according to God's will and the gospel, when the martyr waits to be handed over like Christ, endures torture patiently with Christ present, and seeks the salvation of others. It therefore praises the tortured Christians and Germanicus, who provoked the beast, but blames Quintus the Phrygian and other volunteers whose self offering ended in denial, and presents Polycarp as the model who withdrew, prayed, accepted betrayal and arrest, fed his captors, refused to swear by Caesar, revile Christ or deny he was a Christian, and accepted burning in fulfilment of his vision. A reader will meet Polycarp, Germanicus, Quintus, Herod and his father Nicetes with Alce, the provincial official Philip, the proconsul, and later transmitters such as Irenaeus, Gaius, Socrates or Isocrates, Pionius, Marcian and the scribe Evarestus, and will hear quoted speech from Polycarp, the proconsul, Herod and Nicetes, the crowd, the herald, a heavenly voice and Nicetes petitioning about the body, with argument against Quintus and against the heretical teacher Marcion.

As rendered here, martyr means one who confesses himself a Christian under trial and dies rather than deny him, martyrdom means faithful suffering unto death, confess means to declare oneself a Christian before authority and denial means denying Christ by swearing, sacrificing or reviling him, while universal means worldwide, proconsul means the Roman governor, police chief means the local arresting officer, provincial official means the leader in charge of festivals and beast shows, crown means the reward for enduring, anniversary means the yearly celebration of a martyr death, and worship is owed to Christ alone. Godless people renders the crowd insult against Christians for rejecting pagan gods. There are no formal book citations, only unattributed gospel like phrases given as modern allusions. Evarestus is the scribe who wrote with his household, Marcion is the heretical teacher Polycarp rebuked, and Herod and Philip of Tralles appear as names in the closing date formula.

This work has passed this project's source check. This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.