Polycarp

Saint Polycarp of Smyrna
Mosaic of Saint Polycarp inside the monastery of Hosios Loukas.
Martyr, Church Father and Bishop of Smyrna
Born	AD 69
Died	AD 155 (aged 85-86) Smyrna, Roman Empire
Venerated in	Catholic Church, Church of the East, Oriental Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Lutheran Church, Anglican Communion
Feast	23 February (formerly 26 January)
Attributes	Wearing the pallium, holding a book representing his Epistle to the Philippians
Patronage	Earache Sufferers
Influences	Clement of Rome,[1] John the Apostle
Influenced	Irenaeus
Major works	Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians

Polycarp (/ˈpɒlikɑːrp/; Greek: Πολύκαρπος, Polýkarpos; Latin: Polycarpus; AD 69 – 155) was a Christian bishop of Smyrna.^[2] According to the Martyrdom of Polycarp, he died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed to consume his body.^[3] Polycarp is regarded as a saint and Church Father in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Lutheranism, and Anglicanism.

Both Irenaeus^[4] and Tertullian^[5] say that Polycarp had been a disciple of John the Apostle, one of Jesus's disciples. In On Illustrious Men, Jerome writes that Polycarp was a disciple of John the Apostle and that John had ordained him as a bishop of Smyrna.^[6] Polycarp is regarded as one of three chief Apostolic Fathers, along with Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch.