6,138
edits
Changes
no edit summary
St. [[Irenaeus of Lyons]], a disciple of Polycarp, relates how and when he became a Christian and in his letter to Florinus stated that he saw and heard him personally in lower Asia; in particular he heard the account of Polycarp's intercourse with [[Apostle John|John the Evangelist]] and with others who had seen [[Jesus Christ]]. Irenaeus also reports that Polycarp was converted to Christianity by [[apostles]], was consecrated a [[bishop]], and communicated with many who had seen Jesus. He repeatedly emphasizes the very old age of Polycarp. The ''Martyrdom'' has Polycarp himself give his age on the day of his death as 86 years.
The date of Polycarp's death is disputed. [[Eusebius of Caesarea]] dates it to the reign of Marcus Aurelius, ''circa'' 166-167. However, a post-Eusebian addition to the treatise ''The Martyrdom of Polycarp'' <ref>"It was the second day of the first fortnight of Xanthicus, seven days before the kalends of March, when our blessed Polycarp died his martyr's death two hours after midday on the Greater Sabbath." </ref> dates his death to Saturday, [[February 23]] in the proconsulship of Statius Quadratus—which works out to be 155 or 156. These earlier dates better fit the tradition of his association with Ignatius and John the Evangelist.
==Hymns==
==References==
* ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'', 1958 edition, vol. 18, pp 178-180
<references />
==External links==
