The Martyrdom of Polycarp · §9 · Origen of Alexandria

Polycarp turns the insult back and refuses to revile Christ

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Polycarp has been led into the crowded stadium and the proconsul is now questioning him and urging him to swear by Caesar and deny being a Christian.

As Polycarp entered the stadium, a voice came from heaven saying, "Be strong, Polycarp, and act as a man." No one saw the one who spoke, but those of our people who were present heard the voice.

After he was brought forward, a great uproar broke out when people heard that Polycarp had been arrested. When he was led up, the proconsul asked him if he himself was Polycarp. When he confessed that he was, the proconsul urged him to deny, saying, "Respect your age," along with the other things they customarily say: "Swear by the fortune of Caesar, repent, say, 'Away with the godless people.'"

Polycarp looked with a stern face at the whole crowd of lawless nations in the stadium, waved his hand toward them, groaned and looked up to heaven, and said, "Away with the godless people." As the proconsul kept pressing him and saying, "Swear, and I will set you free; revile Christ," Polycarp said, "For eighty-six years I have served him, and he never did me any wrong. How can I speak evil against my king who saved me?"

Greek

IX. Τῷ δὲ Πολυκάρπῳ εἰσιόντι εἰς τὸ στάδιον φωνὴ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἐγένετο· Ἴσχυε, Πολύκαρπε, καὶ ἀνδρίζου. Καὶ τὸν μὲν εἰπόντα οὐδεὶς εἶδεν, τὴν δὲ φωνὴν τῶν ἡμετέρων οἱ παρόντες ἤκουσαν. Καὶ λοιπὸν προσαχθέντος αὐτοῦ θόρυβος ἦν μέγας ἀκουσάντων ὅτι Πολύκαρπος συνείληπται. Προσαχθέντα οὖν αὐτὸν ἀνηρώτα ὁ ἀνθύπατος εἰ αὐτὸς εἴη Πολύκαρπος. Τοῦ δὲ ὁμολογοῦντος, ἔπειθεν ἀρνεῖσθαι λέγων· Αἰδέσθητί σου τὴν ἡλικίαν, καὶ ἕτερα τούτοις ἀκόλουθα, ὡς ἔθος αὐτοῖς λέγειν· Ὄμοσον τὴν Καίσαρος τύχην, μετανόησον· εἶπον· Αἶρε τοὺς ἀθέους. Ὁ δὲ Πολύκαρπος ἐμβριθὲς τῷ προσώπῳ εἰς πάντα τὸν ὄχλον τὸν ἐν τῷ σταδίῳ ἀνόμων ἐθνῶν ἐμβλέψας καὶ ἐπισείσας αὐτοῖς τὴν χεῖρα, στενάξας τε καὶ ἀναβλέψας εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, εἶπεν· Αἶρε τοὺς ἀθέους. Ἐγκειμένου δὲ τοῦ ἀνθυπάτου καὶ λέγοντος· Ὄμοσον, καὶ ἀπολύω σε· λοιδόρησον τὸν Χριστόν, ἔφη ὁ Πολύκαρπος· Ὀγδοήκοντα καὶ ἓξ ἔτη δουλεύω αὐτῷ, καὶ οὐδέν με ἠδίκησεν· καὶ πῶς δύναμαι βλασφημῆσαι τὸν βασιλέα μου, τὸν σώσαντά με;

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.