Early Christian Writings (Classics) by Maxwell Staniforth and Andrew Louth

Author:Maxwell Staniforth and Andrew Louth
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780141915302
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 1987-04-29T16:00:00+00:00

The Martyrdom of Polycarp

From the colony of God’s Church1 at SMYRNA,

To the colony of God’s Church at PHILOMELIUM,2 and to all colonies of the Holy Catholic Church everywhere.

All mercy, peace, and love to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

1. In this letter, brothers, we are sending you an account of the martyrs, and in particular of the blessed Polycarp; whose witness set the seal, so to speak, on the persecution and brought it to an end. It was almost as though all the preceding events had been leading up to another Divine manifestation of the Martyrdom which we read of in the Gospel;3 for Polycarp, just like the Lord, had patiently awaited the hour of his betrayal – in token that we too, taking our pattern from him, might think of others before ourselves. This is surely the sign of a true and steadfast love, when a man is not bent on saving himself alone, but his brethren as well.

2. But indeed all the other martyrdoms that God willed to take place (we must be careful to ascribe all things to His governance) were blessed and noble. No one could fail to admire their high-hearted endurance, and the love they showed for their Master. Some of them were so cut to pieces by the scourges that their very vitals were plainly exposed to view, down to the inmost veins and arteries; and yet they still bore up, until even the bystanders were moved to tears of pity for them. Others displayed such heroism that not a cry or a groan escaped from any of them; which seemed a clear proof to us all that in that hour of anguish those martyr-heroes of Christ were not present in the body at all – or better still, that the Lord was standing at their side and holding them in talk. So it was that, with all their thoughts absorbed in the grace of Christ, they made light of the cruelties of this world, and at the cost of a single hour purchased for themselves life everlasting. For them, the fires of their barbarous tormentors had a grateful coolness, for they held ever before their eyes their escape from the quenchless flames of eternity, and looking up they beheld with inward vision the good things in store for those who persevere. Things which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mortal heart has dreamed offn1 were revealed by the Lord to those men – who by this time were men no longer, but already angels.

It was the same with those who were condemned to the wild beasts. The pains they endured were horrible, for they were forced to lie on beds of spikes and subjected to other varied forms of torture, in the hope that these lingering agonies would enable the Fiend to extort a recantation from them; in fact, there was no end to the devices the devil employed against them.

3. Thank God, however, all his efforts were unavailing.

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