Dead guys who dominate: Polycarp

One of the letters that Ignatius sent on his way to Rome was to Polycarp, the young leader of the church in Smyrna (now Izmir in Turkey). In the letter, Ignatius encouraged Polycarp to take seriously his responsibilities as a minister and remain firm in his faith.

For over fifty years, Polycarp showed that he had listened to Ignatius’s advice. He served the church and preached the gospel unceasingly. His great pupil, Irenaeus, tells us that Polycarp was a gifted teacher, “a man who was of much greater weight, and a more steadfast witness of truth, than … all the heretics.” His teaching was extremely important and influential at a time when the church was working out what it should believe and fighting a range of false teachings.

When Polycarp was eighty-six, the Romans began and large-scale persecution of Christians in Smyrna. Germanicus, an elderly Christian in Smyrna, was one of the first to be tried. When he refused to deny Christ, he was thrown to wild animals for the Romans’ enjoyment. But the crowd wasn’t satisfied, and called for the church leader, Polycarp, to be executed as well.

Polycarp went into hiding, but he was soon found, and willingly went before the Roman authorities. When Polycarp refused to worship the emperor, the judge ordered him to cry, “Out with the atheists!” But Polycarp, turning and pointing at the crowd, replied, “Yes, out with the atheists!” Romans called Christians ‘atheists’ because they didn’t believe in the Roman gods, but Polycarp pointed out that it was the Romans who didn’t believe in God.

The judge threatened to burn him alive at the stake, but Polycarp just answered that while the judge’s fire would last only a few minutes, the eternal fire would never go out. “Eighty-six years I have served him, and he has done me no evil,” Polycarp said, “How could I curse my king, who saved me?”

As he was tied to the stake and kindling was piled around he feet, Polycarp pubicly thanked God that he was allowed to share in Christ’s sufferings. His godly example would inspire Christians for centuries to come.

Other dead guys who dominate: Ignatius