He was a disciple of Saint John the Evangelist and a friend of Saint Ignatius of Antioch. His authority is particularly evident in the fact that he traveled to Rome to speak with Pope Anicetus as a representative of the Christians in Asia Minor regarding the Quartodeciman controversy over the date of Easter.
Although the Bishop of Smyrna and the Bishop of Rome did not reach an agreement on a unified date for celebrating Easter, Polycarp’s visit to Rome was not in vain. There, he successfully refuted the Gnostics and helped prevent false teachings from spreading among the faithful.
He was at least eighty-six years old when he was arrested. The judges tried to persuade him to renounce his faith, interpreting his steadfastness as mere stubbornness. When he refused, he was sentenced to be burned alive in the stadium of Smyrna. His martyrdom took place on February 22 (or February 23 if it was a leap year), during the proconsulship of Statius Quadratus. The exact year is debated, with estimates ranging from 155–156 to 168–169.
His martyrdom was recorded in a letter written by a certain Marcion immediately after his death. The Christians of Smyrna sent this letter to the community in Philomelium (Phrygia), making it a highly valuable document for historical, hagiographical, and liturgical reasons. Another important early Christian text is the letter that Polycarp himself wrote to the Christians of Philippi (Phrygia).
As we see, his feast has now been restored to its proper date, leaving behind January 26, which had been used in the Roman liturgy since the 13th century due to a mix-up with Saint Polycarp of Nicaea.
