Christianity And The First Generation Polycarp - 1368 Words

As christianity began its transition from the original apostles onto the second generation Polycarp became one of the most instrumental figures in the development of the religion. Despite lacking formal education, Polycarp was christian since his childhood as he was said to be personally discipled by the apostle John. He became a bishop of the church and was widely regarded as a direct and humble teacher. During his lifetime he settled many issues surrounding christianity, such as clarifying the day in which to celebrate Easter, confronting many of the churches heretics and also successfully converted many people from gnosticism to christianity. For all his teachings and impact in the formative years of christianity Polycarp left just one†¦show more content†¦He would then become the first recorded martyr in the post-new testament church history. Polycarp is regarded as one of the most important people in christian history, the text The Martyrdom of Polycarp specifically gives him high praise as they proclaim his actions â€Å"courageous†, â€Å"apostolic† and even â€Å"prophetic† as his martyrdom â€Å"glorified God almighty† and in turn making his christian status immortal. A nod to his prophetic actions is illustrated in the text saying that â€Å"Every word which he uttered from his mouth both was fulfilled and will be fulfilled†. The Romans, who were polytheistic and were not open to differing beliefs, the punishment for which is execution. Despite being a christian his entire life it was not until Polycarp was eighty-six years old and was already a significant figure in the second generation of christian believers that the Romans set out to find him. However, it took longer than expected to find him, as he moved a few times before being betrayed by one of his peers. He was accused of not following roman religious customs, including praying, and offering sacrifices to Caesar. They brought him to the arena in Smyrna to persecute him. While in the arena the romans tried to persuade Polycarp to take the oath to Caesar and deny Christ but he refused. Subsequently they began threatening him, and considering his old age and the threat of death, they