E00087: The Greek Martyrdom of *Polycarp/Polykarpos (bishop and martyr of Smyrna, S00004), of the 2nd/rd c., recounts how, after the saint's martyrdom, the Christians collected and buried his cremated bones, and intended to celebrate the anniversary of his death. Written in Smyrna (western Asia Minor).
Creators: name: Pnowakowski
Publisher: name: University of Oxford
Year: 2014
Subjects: History

description: Martyrdom of Polycarp (BHG 1556)<br><br>For an overview of the Martyrdom of Polycarp, see E00035.<br><br>(17.1) ὁ δὲ ἀντίζηλος καὶ βάσκανος καὶ πονηρός, ὁ ἀντικείμενος τῷ γένει τῶν δικαίων, ἰδὼν τό τε μέγεθος αὐτοῦ τῆς μαρτυρίας καὶ τὴν ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς ἀνεπίληπτον πολιτείαν ἐστεφανωμένον τε τὸν τῆς ἀφθαρσίας στέφανον καὶ βραβεῖον ἀναντίρρητον ἀπενηνεγμένον, ἐπετήδευσεν ὡς μηδὲ τὸ λείψανον αὐτοῦ ὑφ’ ἡμῶν ληφθῆναι, καίπερ πολλῶν ἐπιθυμούντων τοῦτο ποιῆσαι καὶ κοινωνῆσαι τῷ ἁγίῳ αὐτοῦ σαρκίῳ. <br><br>(17.2) ὑπέβαλεν γοῦν Νικήτην τὸν τοῦ Ἡρώδου πατέρα, ἀδελφὸν δὲ Ἄλκης, ἐντυχεῖν τῷ ἄρχοντι, ὥστε μὴ δοῦναι αὐτοῦ τὸ σῶμα μή, φησίν ἀφέντες τὸν ἐσταυρωμένον τοῦτον ἄρξωνται σέβεσθαι· καὶ ταῦτα ὑποβαλλόντων καὶ ἐνισχυόντων τῶν Ἰουδαίων, οἳ καὶ ἐτήρησαν μελλόντων ἡμῶν ἐκ τοῦ πυρὸς αὐτὸν λαμβάνειν, ἀγνοοῦντες ὅτι οὔτε τὸν Χριστόν ποτε καταλιπεῖν δυνησόμεθα τὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς τοῦ παντὸς κόσμου τῶν σωζομένων σωτηρίας παθόντα ἄμωμον ὑπὲρ ἁμαρτωλῶν, οὔτε ἕτερόν τινα σέβεσθαι. <br><br>(17.3) τοῦτον μὲν γὰρ υἱὸν ὄντα τοῦ θεοῦ προσκυνοῦμεν, τοὺς δὲ μάρτυρας ὡς μαθητὰς καὶ μιμητὰς τοῦ κυρίου ἀγαπῶμεν ἀξίως ἕνεκα εὐνοίας ἀνυπερβλήτου τῆς εἰς τὸν ἴδιον βασιλέα καὶ διδάσκαλον, ὧν γένοιτο καὶ ἡμᾶς κοινωνούς τε καὶ συμμαθητὰς γενέσθαι.<br><br>(18.1) ἰδὼν οὖν ὁ κεντυρίων τὴν τῶν Ἰουδαίων γενομένην φιλονεικίαν, θεὶς αὐτὸν ἐν μέσῳ ὡς ἔθος αὐτοῖς, ἔκαυσεν. <br><br>(18.2) οὕτως τε ἡμεῖς ὕστερον ἀνελόμενοι τὰ τιμιώτερα λίθων πολυτελῶν καὶ δοκιμώτερα ὑπὲρ χρυσίον ὀστᾶ αὐτοῦ ἀπεθέμεθα ὅπου καὶ ἀκόλουθον ἦν. <br><br>(18.3) ἔνθα ὡς δυνατὸν ἡμῖν συναγομένοις ἐν ἀγαλλιάσει καὶ χαρᾷ παρέξει ὁ κύριος ἐπιτελεῖν τὴν τοῦ μαρτυρίου αὐτοῦ ἡμέραν γενέθλιον εἴς τε τὴν τῶν προηθληκότων μνήμην καὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἄσκησίν τε καὶ ἑτοιμασίαν.<br><br>(19.1) Τοιαῦτα τὰ κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Πολύκαρπον, ὃς σὺν τοῖς ἀπὸ Φιλαδελφίας δωδέκατος ἐν Σμύρνῃ μαρτυρήσας, μόνος ὑπὸ πάντων μνημονεύεται, ὥστε καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ λαλεῖσθαι … <br><br><br>'(17.1) But the jealous and envious and evil οne, the adversary of the race of the righteous, having seen the greatness of his martyrdom, his blameless conduct from the beginning, and that he had been crowned with the crown of immortality and captured the indisputable prize, took care that not even his body should be taken away by us, although many were desiring to do this and to be with his holy flesh. <br><br>(17.2) So he incited Niketes, the father of Herodes and brother of Alke, to appeal to the governor not to hand over his body."Lest", he said, "forsaking the crucified one, they should worship this one." And all that, at the instigation and insistence of the Jews, who even kept watch as we were about to remove the body from the fire. For they ignored that we shall never be able to abandon Christ – who, innocent himself, suffered on behalf of sinners, for the salvation of the whole world of those who are saved – and worship someone else. <br><br>(17.3) For we worship Him, since He is the Son of God, whereas the martyrs we love as disciples and imitators of the Lord, worthily because of their unsurpassed loyalty towards their King and Master. May we too become their companions and fellow disciples!<br><br>(18.1) And so, seeing the opposition raised by the Jews, the centurion put him in the middle and, as is their custom, burned him. <br><br>(18.2) So we later took up his bones - more valuable than precious stones and finer than gold - and laid them where it was fitting. <br><br>(18.3) The Lord will grant that we, as far as we can, shall gather there in joy and gladness, and celebrate the birthday of his martyrdom, both in remembrance of those who have already fought the contest, and for the training and preparation of those who will do so in the future.<br><br>(19.1) Such was the story of the blessed Polycarp. Although, together with those from Philadelphia, he was the twelfth to be martyred in Smyrna, he alone is remembered by all and is everywhere talked about, even by the pagans …'<br><br>Text: Hartog 2013. Translation E. Rizos.