Saint Polycarp of Smyrna in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

Saint Polycarp was a disciple of John the Theologian and Evangelist together with Saint Ignatius the God-bearer. After Boukolos, the most holy Bishop of Smyrna, he was ordained by the bishops, for the blessed Boukolos had foretold his entry into the priesthood. He was arrested during the persecution of Decius and was brought before the proconsul. He endured his martyric contest through fire and became the worker of sublime miracles. For even before his ordination he filled, by his prayer, the grain stores of the woman who had raised him — stores which he had previously emptied in order to provide for the needs of the poor. Moreover, after his elevation to the priesthood he halted the force of a wildfire; and by his supplication to the Lord he brought rain down upon the parched earth, and again stopped it when it rained without ceasing.

The Christ-centeredness of the life of Saint Polycarp is the principal element highlighted by the hymnography of his feast. Making use of his very name — Polycarp (“much-fruited”) — the Hymnographer sees the Saint as the richly-fruited ear of grain that sprang up from the seed planted in the earth by Christ, and also as the richly-fruited branch extending from Christ the Vine. Already in the first stichera of Vespers we hear: 

“When the Fruit of the Virgin and life-originating Seed fell to the earth, then He caused you to spring forth as a richly-fruited ear of grain.”  

“When the true Vine that was hung upon the wood of the Cross was lifted up, then He extended you as a heavily-laden branch, cut by the sickle of august martyrdom.” 

February: Day 23: Holy Hieromartyr Polycarp of Smyrna

 

February: Day 23:
Holy Hieromartyr Polycarp of Smyrna
 
(How Were the Sufferings of the Holy Martyrs for Christ Alleviated?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Hieromartyr Polycarp, whose memory is celebrated today, was a disciple of the Apostle John the Theologian, who also ordained him Bishop of Smyrna. When the persecution of Christians began, the pagans demanded the death of Polycarp. The proconsul tried to save Polycarp’s life, but the crowd cried out: “Burn Polycarp alive!” The proconsul gave in. The people immediately began to collect firewood and brushwood from the surrounding baths and shops, and in an instant the fire was ready. The Jews worked harder than anyone. Polycarp himself took off his outer clothing. They wanted to chain him to the fire with iron chains, but he said: “This is not necessary, He who gave me the will to suffer for Him will also give me the strength to remain motionless on the fire.” They fulfilled the wish of the holy elder, and he himself went up to the fire; but then a miracle occurred that amazed everyone: the flames surrounded the holy elder, converging above him like a vault, and his body remained unharmed. Then the leaders ordered him to be pierced with a long spear, and so much blood flowed from the wound that the fire went out. All this aroused the amazement of the pagans. The Jews, noticing that the Christians wanted to take the body of Polycarp, asked the proconsul to burn the body. The proconsul's consent was given. But the Christians collected the bones and kept them as a sacred relic; and on the day of his martyrdom they gathered and solemnly celebrated the memory of the Martyr, giving us an example of honoring the life and death of the holy saints of God.

Encyclical for Pentecost and the Arrival of the Relic of Saint Polycarp in Nafpaktos

Beloved children in the Lord,

Today we celebrate the great day of Pentecost, on which the Holy Spirit came to the holy Apostles and made them glorious members of His Body, which is why the Church is the Body of Christ, while the Apostles became members of the Body of Christ.

This is indeed a great day, during which we celebrate the mystery of the Triune God, as Christ revealed to us. The Triune God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - have one essence, one energy, one nature, but they are Three Persons. In the Divine Liturgy we sing that we worship "Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Trinity, one in essence and inseparable."

The holy Apostles blessed the Christians, baptized them, imparted to them the Body and Blood of Christ for their sanctification. However, because the first Christians were multiplying, therefore the holy Apostles ordained other Bishops, who are their successors, so that the Christians would be blessed and sanctified.

On the Illustrious Saint Polycarp (St. Jerome)

 By St. Jerome

(On Illustrious Men, 17)

Polycarp, a disciple of the apostle John and by him ordained bishop of Smyrna, was the leader of all Asia, where he saw and had as teachers some of the apostles and of those who had seen the Lord.

He, on account of certain questions concerning the day of the Passover, went to Rome in the time of the emperor Antoninus Pius, while Anicetus was bishop of the Church in that city. There he led back to the faith many of the believers who had been deceived through the persuasion of Marcion and Valentinus, and when Marcion met him by chance and said "Do you know us" he replied, "I know the firstborn of the devil."