06 — The Theology of Martyrdom
The theology the Martyrdom of Polycarp carries: the confession “Eighty-six years I have served Him, and He has done me no wrong; how then can I blaspheme my King?” (Mart. Pol. 9.3), the refusal to revile Christ or swear by Caesar, the fire and the sword — and the earliest clear Christian evidence for the cult of relics and the martyr’s “heavenly birthday.” These files draw the theology out of the narrative established in Section 05.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostolic Father)
Polycarp’s martyrdom is not only an event but a teaching. His answer to the proconsul became the classic confession of the martyr; his prayer at the stake is shaped like a eucharistic thanksgiving; and the Smyrnaeans’ care for his bones and their resolve to keep the anniversary of his death “in gladness and joy” is the earliest datable seed of the liturgical calendar of saints and of the doctrine — articulated already in the letter — that distinguishes the worship due to Christ alone from the love and honor given His martyrs. This section treats the confession and the cult in turn.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| Eighty-Six Years | The “eighty-six years” exchange (9.3) and what it implies; the refusal to revile Christ, swear by Caesar’s fortune, or say “Caesar is Lord”; the theology of confession versus apostasy; the fire and the sword (the threats of ch. 11, the prayer at the stake of ch. 14, bound not nailed in ch. 13); martyrdom as the cup of Christ and an acceptable sacrifice. |
| Relics and the Birthday of a Martyr | Chs. 17–18: the gathering of the bones “more precious than gold”; the earliest evidence of the cult of relics; the “heavenly birthday” (dies natalis) and the founding of the annual martyr-commemoration; the worship-of-Christ versus love/honor-of-the-martyrs distinction, the proto-statement of the Orthodox doctrine of veneration. |
See Also
- The Martyrium Polycarpi — the narrative behind the theology
- The Account Assessed — the source-critical reading of the same text
- Veneration — the cult that grew from the “birthday of a martyr”
- Apostolic Succession — the tradition the martyr-bishop guarded
- The Church Fathers — the patristic theology of martyrdom and veneration
References
- The Martyrdom of Polycarp. Trans. in Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers, 3rd ed.; Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers Part II; Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1.
- Eusebius of Caesarea. The Ecclesiastical History (4.15). Trans. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Vol. 1.
- Lightfoot, J. B. The Apostolic Fathers, Part II: S. Ignatius, S. Polycarp. 2 vols. London: Macmillan, 1885.
- Holmes, Michael W. The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.