LUX VERITAS

Apocrypha · Chapter 15 of 22

Martyrdom of Polycarp 15

Acts of the Martyrs

Chapter 15 — Polycarp is not injured by the fire.

2When he had pronounced this amen, and so finished his prayer, those who were appointed for the purpose kindled the fire.

3And as the flame blazed forth in great fury, we, to whom it was given to witness it, beheld a great miracle, and have been preserved that we might report to others what then took place.

4For the fire, shaping itself into the form of an arch, like the sail of a ship when filled with the wind, encompassed as by a circle the body of the martyr.

5And he appeared within not like flesh which is burnt, but as bread that is baked, or as gold and silver glowing in a furnace.

6Moreover, we perceived such a sweet odour coming from the pile, as if frankincense or some such precious spices had been smoking there.

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About Martyrdom of Polycarp

The eyewitness account of the death of the bishop of Smyrna in the stadium, with the answer that endured: eighty-six years I have served Christ, how can I blaspheme him now?