Martyrdom of Polycarp

Brief description:

This document seems to be an eyewitness account of the arrest, trial and murder (by the Roman authorities) of Polycarp, who was an overseer in Smryna. It is generally regarded as authentic, although it is reasonably possible that some aspects of the account, such as some of the miraculous elements, are later additions. This type of embellishment was commonly done to earlier martyr accounts by later (dishonest) editors seeking to make the stories sound more remarkable. Various dates have been proposed for this account ranging from the mid to late second century.

Suggested first translation(s):

An easy-to-read, modern English translation that is freely available is the one by Massey Hamilton Shepherd, Jr. from 1953 listed below. A more literal translation that is also in modern English and freely available is the anonymous one from 2013 listed below.

English translations:

• William Wake (translated ~1719)
  • The Genuine Epistles of the Apostolical Fathers… (published 1719) — facsimile
  • The Genuine Epistles of the Apostolical Fathers… (published 1810) — facsimile
• David Dalrymple (translated ~1776)
  • Account of the Martyrs at Smyrna and Lyons, in the Second Century (published 1776) — facsimile
• Temple Chevallier (translated ~1833)
  • A translation of the epistles of Clement of Rome, Polycarp, and Ignatius : and of the apologies of Justin Martyr and Tertullian (published 1833) — facsimile
    • second edition (published 1851) — facsimile
• Anonymous (translated ~1835)
  • The Epistles of Ignatius and Polycarp, with an Account of Their Martyrdom (published 1835) — facsimile
• Alexander Roberts/James Donaldson (translated ~1867)
  • Ante-Nicene Fathers volume 1 (published 1885)
    • read online
• Charles H. Hoole (translated ~1872)
  • The Apostolic Fathers (published 1872) — facsimile
• Joseph Barber Lightfoot (translated ~1885)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: Part II. Vol. I S. Ignatius. S. Polycarp. (published 1885/1889) — facsimile
  • The Apostolic Fathers: Part II. Vol. III S. Ignatius. S. Polycarp. (published 1885/1889) — facsimile
• Joseph Barber Lightfoot/J.R. Harmer (translated ~1891)
  • The Apostolic Fathers (published 1912) — facsimile
  • The Apostolic Fathers (published 1891) — text/HTML
• Bloomfield Jackson (translated ~1898)
  • St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna (published 1898) — facsimile
• Kirsopp Lake (translated ~1917)
  • The Apostolic Fathers, Volume II (published 1917) — facsimile
    • read online
• E. C. E. Owen (translated ~1927)
  • Some Authentic Acts of the Early Martyrs (published 1927) — facsimile
• Francis X. Glimm (translated ~1947)
  • The Apostolic Fathers, Volume 1 of The Fathers of the Church: A New Translation, The Catholic University of America Press (published 1947)
• James A. Kleist (translated ~1948)
  • The Didache, The Epistle of Barnabas, The Epistles and the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp, The Fragments of Papias, The Epistle to Diognetus, Volume 6 of Ancient Christian Writers (published 1948)
• Edgar J. Goodspeed (translated ~1950)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: An American Translation, Harper & Brothers. (published 1950)
• Massey Hamilton Shepherd, Jr. (translated ~1953)
  • Early Christian Fathers (published 1953)
    • read online
• William R. Schoedel (translated ~1967)
  • Polycarp, Martyrdom of Polycarp, Fragmants of Papias Volume 5 of The Apostolic Fathers: A New Translation and Commentary, Thomas Nelson & Sons (published 1967)
• Maxwell Staniforth/A. Louth (translated 1968/revised 1987)
  • Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic Fathers, Penguin (published 1987)
• Herbert Anthony Musurillo (translated ~1972)
  • The Acts of the Christian Martyrs, Oxford/Clarendon Press (published 1972) — facsimile
• Michael W. Holmes (translated 1989-2007)
  • The Apostolic Fathers in English, Baker Academic (various editions, published 1989-2006)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations of Their Writings, Baker Academic (various editions, published 1992-2007)
• Bart D. Ehrman (translated ~2003)
  • The Apostolic Fathers, Volume I, Harvard University Press (published 2003)
• Anonymous (translated ~2012 but revised since)
  • Testimony of Polykarpos (published 2012) — text/PDF
• Paul Hartog (translated ~2013)
  • Polycarp’s Epistle to the Philippians and the Martyrdom of Polycarp, Oxford University Press (published 2013) — facsimile/preview
• Rick Brannan (translated ~2017)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: A New Translation, Lexham Press (published 2017)
• Éric Rebillard (translated ~2017)
  • Greek and Latin Narratives about the Ancient Martyrs, Oxford Univeristy Press (published 2017) — facsimile