BIO:Polycarp 69-155 Polycarp was born in Smyrna and later became bishop

there. He was a disciple of the Apostle John and also a friend of
Ignatius. He was a very dedicated student of the Pauline Epistles and
the Gospel of John. He had very little to say about sacraments or
ritual. He maintained that each church was independent of any outside
human authority. He never re- ferred to the ministers as priests, and
he never taught that water baptism had anything to do with salvation.
As a very old man, he was arrested, tried and con- demned. When asked
to renounce his faith in Christ, he re- plied, “Eighty-six years have I
served Him, and He hath done me no wrong. How can I speak evil of my
King who saved me?” Polycarp was burned alive, and when the flames
refused to consume him, he was killed with the sword and then burned.

  Ruckman ’66