The Martyrdom of St. Polycarp

By James T. Majewski ( bio - articles - email ) | Nov 12, 2019 | In Catholic Culture Audiobooks (Podcast)

Listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | RSS Feed | YouTube Channel

This is a listener-supported podcast! Thanks for your help!

“The uproar in the stadium was such that nobody could be heard at all.”

We first heard a letter addressed to Polycarp by St. Ignatius of Antioch, followed by a letter composed by Polycarp himself; now, we conclude with an authentic, firsthand account of St. Polycarp’s martyrdom on February 22, 156.

Among other things, the account attests to the veneration of saintly relics by early Christians. The letter puts forth a clear defense of the veneration of saints as distinct from the worship rendered solely to God.

Listen now and you’ll hear why the account remains as moving today as it was when the Christians at Smyrna first wrote it.

Mike Aquilina on St. Polycarp: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-5-st-polycarp-and-social-network/

Translation courtesy of Catholic University of America Press: https://www.hfsbooks.com/books/the-apostolic-fathers-walsh-grimm-marique/

Alternate Translation at CatholicCulture.org: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1627

Theme music: 2 Part Invention, composed by Mark Christopher Brandt, performed by Thomas Mirus. ©️2019 Heart of the Lion Publishing Co./BMI. All rights reserved.