NOVENA TO SAINT POLYCARP OF SMYRNA, BISHOP & MARTRY – DAY 1

St. Polycarp was born in 65 A.D. Nothing further is known about his early life.

Polycarp was a companion of a bishop named Papias. Both men were disciples of St. John the Apostle. Polycarp was also known to have corresponded with St. Ignatius of Antioch.

According to St. Irenaeus, Polycarp converted to Christianity after hearing the preaching of the Apostles. Polycarp was ordained a bishop in Smyrna.

Polycarp was one of the leaders of the Church during the tumultuous time when many who had known Christ personally began to die. Because the first-hand witnesses of Jesus’ works were no longer living, debates began to spring up among Christians about practices and teachings. Many heresies began to flourish, even while Christians were being persecuted by the secular government.

Polycarp saw imitation of Christ as the only answer to the problems that the Church was facing. He sought to imitate Jesus’ attitude toward the Pharisees when confronting heretics.

When dealing with disagreements among faithful Christians, Polycarp emphasized respect and forgiveness. He had to navigate through the controversy in the Church about when Easter should be celebrated since the East celebrated it in conjunction with Passover and the West celebrated it on the Sunday following Passover.

As Polycarp faced persecution for his Christian Faith, he did not seek martyrdom but waited until it was clear that God willed it. Those who knew him best admired Polycarp for this, as it allowed him time to bring more souls into the Church.

At one point, a crowd of pagans who were gathered to watch Christians be eaten by animals in the arena began to demand that Church leader Polycarp be found and put to death. Polycarp calmly left the city and hid at a farm that was nearby. He prayed for the Church as he waited to be found and killed.

As Polycarp prayed, he had a vision of his pillow turning to fire. He understood that the vision meant he would be burned alive.

When Polycarp was found by his persecutors, he talked to them and even gave them a meal to eat. Then he asked for an hour to pray. He spent the time praying for every person he knew and for the Church. His captors began to see his holiness and to question whether they should be arresting him.

Because he was eighty-six years old and clearly fragile, the proconsul begged Polycarp to give in and renounce his Faith. But Polycarp held fast to his Faith. He was set on fire, but the fire miraculously did not burn him. When his persecutors saw that he was not dying from the fire, they stabbed him to death. He died in 155. St. Polycarp’s Feast Day: February 23rd

(Culled from “Know Your Saints Online”)