“Polycarp was instructed not only by the apostles and conversed with many who had seen Christ but was also appointed bishop of the church in Smyrna by the apostles in Asia. I saw him in my early youth, for he tarried a long time and when quite old departed this life in a glorious and most noble martyrdom. He always taught those things which he learned from the apostles and which the Church had handed down and which are true. To these things the churches in Asia bear witness, as do also the successors of Polycarp even to the present time.” Irenaeus: (Against Heresies 3:3:4 [inter A.D. 180-199]).
© Evangelization Station, 2025