Polycarp at Smyrna

Polycarp, an old bishop said to have known John, is told to curse Christ and go free. He answers, "Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?", and is burned.

Set beside it, Revelation 2:10 (record): “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”

To the church in Smyrna, c. AD 95: About sixty years later Smyrna's bishop, Polycarp, refuses to curse Christ and is burned; the church's own account says he was crowned with the crown of immortality (The Martyrdom of Polycarp 17.1).

How it was checked

• EvidenceT7 PRIMARY DOCUMENT / MEASUREMENT; Status: ADDED 2026-09-30
• Letter eraTHE WITNESSES AND THE TURN 44 to 312 AD
• SourcesThe Martyrdom of Polycarp 9.3 (tr. Roberts and Donaldson).