Disciple of John, Apostolic Father. His martyrdom in Smyrna marked the early Church

Today, when remembering Saint Polycarp (69-155), a great Father of the Church, history shows us that Christ and His Gospel are always a contradiction sign for the world. So did Saint Polycarp understand it and lived by it. He was born in Smyrna, in present-day Turkey, which became a Roman province in Asia Minor, and he died a martyr in this city, having been a Bishop of the local Church. Polycarp, whose name means "abundant fruit", had met the apostle John and had been his disciple. —He wrote a letter to the Christians in Philippi (Greece) to encourage them to live by following Jesus Christ: “Wherefore, girding up your loins serve the Lord in fear and truth, as those who have forsaken the vain, empty talk and error of the multitude”.