22 Facts About Polycarp

Polycarp is regarded as a saint and Church Father in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Lutheranism, and Anglicanism.

In On Illustrious Men, Jerome similarly writes that Polycarp was a disciple of John the Apostle, who had ordained him as a bishop of Smyrna.

Polycarp is regarded as one of three chief Apostolic Fathers, along with Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch.

Hans von Campenhausen is one scholar who holds the view that Polycarp is the real author.

Irenaeus reports that Polycarp was converted to Christianity by apostles, was consecrated a presbyter, and communicated with many who had seen Jesus.

Polycarp writes that he had had the good fortune, when young, to know Polycarp, who was then far advanced in years.

Polycarp followed the Eastern practice of celebrating the feast on the 14th of Nisan, the day of the Jewish Passover, regardless of the day of the week on which it fell, while Anicetus followed the Western practice of celebrating the feast on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox.

Anicetus allowed Polycarp to celebrate the Eucharist in his own church, which was regarded by the Romans as a great honor.

Polycarp occupies an important place in the history of the early Christian Church, was called "the most admirable Polycarp one of these [elect], in whose times among us he showed himself an apostolic and prophetic teacher and bishop of the Catholic Church in Smyrna" by his contemporaries.

Jerome wrote that Polycarp was a "disciple of the apostle John and by him ordained presbyter of Smyrna".

Polycarp was an elder of an important congregation that was a large contributor to the founding of the Christian Church.

Polycarp is from an era whose orthodoxy is accepted alongside Catholics by the ancient Eastern Orthodox Churches and Oriental Orthodox Churches, and widely by mainstream Protestants, Church of God groups, Sabbatarians.

Polycarp's role was to authenticate orthodox teachings through his connection with the apostle John: "a high value was attached to the witness Polycarp could give as to the genuine tradition of old apostolic doctrine" "his testimony condemning as offensive novelties the figments of the heretical teachers".

The Martyrdom of Polycarp is one of the earliest, if not the earliest, accounts of the veneration of the relics of a saint and the annual commemoration of a saint on the date of his or her death:.

Relics of Polycarp are under the main altar of the church of Sant'Ambrogio della Massima.

The right arm of St Polycarp had been kept at the Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos-Saint Polycarp, in Ampelakiotissa near Nafpaktos, Greece, for over 500 years.

Polycarp's soteriology is not clear; he does cite Ephesians 2:8 to say salvation is by grace rather than works, though later exhorts his readers to do good works.

Polycarp could have believed that works are mere results of saving grace or that they are necessary to keep salvation and that they have meritorious value, thus we cannot know if he was a monergist or a synergist.

Polycarp highlighted the sinlessness of Jesus, defended the doctrine of the Incarnation and the death of Christ on the cross, and clearly opposed docetism.

Polycarp outright denied the teachings of Marcion, claiming he was the firstborn of Satan.

Polycarp refers to multiple books of the New Testament as scripture, including: Matthew, Acts, 1 John, Philippians, Jude, 1 Peter, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Romans and others.

Polycarp appears to make heresy a more serious issue than immorality.