The life of St Polycarp of Smyrna
Polycarp himself wrote a number of letters to the churches, though only his letter to the Philippians has survived to our day.
When persecution reached Smyrna in his old age, his people persuaded him to go into hiding outside the city, but he was betrayed and the soldiers found him. He received them calmly, gave them a meal, and asked only for time to pray before he was led away. Brought before the proconsul and pressed to curse Christ and save his life, he refused, saying he had served Christ many years and been done no wrong by him. He was condemned to be burned alive, and when the flames failed to touch him, the executioner ran him through, and so he died, one of the earliest martyrs of the Church whose death was recorded in detail by those who witnessed it.
