In a 2nd century letter from the Church at Smyrna to the church at Philomelium witnesses to the martyrdom of Polycarp, Bishop at Smyrna, described what happened the day of Polycarp’s martyrdom, February 23, 156 a.d. Polycarp, according to church tradition, had been discipled by the apostle John. Years after John’s death Polycarp finds himself confronted by the Roman proconsul …
