The first church at Rome seemed to be causing the other orthodox bishops of the world quite a bit of anxiety. This was from the time of St. Paul to the time of the lovely bishop Polycarp, or the years 60 A.D. to 150 A.D. Since the time of St. Paul that church had kept adding more and more of the pagan ways and dogmas.

There was trouble in almost every christian group because the "enemy" of pure christianity was trying to disrupt the work of God.

At Polycarp�s time the chief wrong doctrine of that once orphaned church at Rome was the switching from the old feast of the pasch (or passover) to the feast of the goddess of Spring that came about the same time.

The feast of Astair or Ishtar evolved into what we now call Easter. One might reason that any certain day one wished to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord made very little difference to God. This might be true: however it was not the actual change that disturbed the more consecrated bishops. The underlying motive for the change was detected by spiritual bishops who could see the tendency in the hearts of the more popular bishops to please the public. What ever the crowd wanted, "That was the custom." And the pagan crowd wanted pagan feasts and ceremonies.

But Christianity and the Gospel that Christ died to establish did not come from the people. It came from God. The Jewish prophecies foretold Christ�s coming and ministry.

There was no excuse for changing from the old feast of the Passover to the feast of Astarte.

It was only in the first church of Rome that this occurred because that church had been off the doctrines of the apostles since the time of Claudius.

This backslidden first church of Rome was not the repository of the true apostolic teaching of the fathers. It had lost them and taken pagan customs.

Bishop Polycarp was one of the bishops who had the closest contact with the Lord because he sat at the feet of the apostle St. John who had leaned on the breast of Jesus. John could ask Jesus questions that the other apostles wanted to know. Polycarp also probably knew Mary, Christ�s mother, whom Jesus gave to John at the cross.

In early life, Polycarp was chosen head over the church at Smyrna. Polycarp was born shortly after St. Paul dropped out of sight, and lived to see the rise of Montanus.

NOTE: Montanus might have been saved as the result of Polycarp�s ministry. We think Montanus might have seen the martyrdom of Polycarp when he came to see the annual pagan festival at Smyrna.

This beloved bishop was so filled with the Holy Ghost that he could detect the slightest variance from the true Gospel. He was very wise because he would not even talk with Marcion and Valentinian who were the great Roman leaders of false doctrines at that time. He had the Scriptures which were written in his day.

We hear so much emphasis these days on the fact that the Bible was not written in the first century. (They refer to the New Testament) They say the Church was the only repository for the oracles of God. This is true, but it depended on the fundamental doctrines that the churches were keeping.

There was a lovely epistolary communion between the different church bodies and these epistles were circulated among the Christians and later collected into the New Testament epistles that we have today.

When Polycarp heard about the change of the feast of Pasch that was actually practiced by Anicetus the bishop of the first church of Rome, Polycarp decided even though he was nearly 90 years old, to go to Rome and have a talk with this bishop. This journey was more than 1500 miles by land and sea and it would have seemed impossible had not the different Christian churches along the route insisted that he spend some time with them. A wonderful revival came to every city where Polycarp stopped. Healing and miracles accompanied the preached Word.

He had many Christian young men who insisted on going with him and attending his every need. They carried his books and prepared his food and bed. They vied with each other to see who would be the one to wait on him.

People brought the sick from great distances so Polycarp could pray for them. Miracles and wonderful healings accompanied his ministry. His reputation preceded him. Masses of people were waiting for him in every province he entered.

It was a joy for Polycarp to see the Lord working miracles. It renewed his body and spirit and he seemed not to tire even though the pressure was great.

It seemed as if Jesus were again walking the earth with Polycarp. The Christian people of Greece were happy and jubilant when he entered their provinces.

When this wise man got to Rome he went to the bishop of the second church at Rome. Here he quietly ministered and many sick were healed and demons cast out.

Polycarp had heard of the images in Anicetus� church, and the sun worship. He found the congregation utterly absorbed in the old pagan practices.

He would have left, but he wanted to talk to the bishop of that first church of Rome to see if he could convince him of the errors of that assembly; so he attended the worship.

As the service continued, the Eucharist was served. Polycarp sat in front with Anicetus. He watched the members of the congregation come in, take a candle and light it, then place it before a statue of St. Peter, prostrating themselves.

The table was set with all round dishes, and the bread was a round wafer in honor of the sun god.

The wine that symbolized the shed blood of Christ was poured out as a libation and the bishop drained the cup by drinking the last portion. After service, Polycarp spoke kindly to Anicetus about turning back to the apostles� teachings concerning the Lord�s supper, but Anicetus said, "We are too far gone to turn back."

Polycarp quietly withdrew and called a council of the second and third churches of Rome. God spoke these words to Polycarp: "Ephriam is married to his idols, let him alone." (Hosea 4:17)

The council inaugurated a mighty revival and soon the city of Rome was alive with the electrifying news that people were being healed and the dead even raised.

Rome had never seen such a revival and did not witness another from that time. Polycarp was responsible for bringing back the straying Valentinians and the Marcionites to the Gospel paths they had missed.

It gave the evangelical churches such a lift that they had to form new groups of churches in outlying districts.

A full copy of the Holy Scriptures was gotten and carefully kept as a guide for the evangelical churches but the first church of Rome decided to make her own rules or dogmas and let the Scriptures go.

The time came for Polycarp to return to Smyrna.

The whole Roman Empire was very conscious of this new religion and the pagans and Jews were very revengeful. They were angry because the people were leaving the temples and not sacrificing to the gods.

PLINY�S LETTER TO TRAJAN, FROM BITHYNIA, ca. A.D. 112:

"The method I have observed towards those who have been denounced to me as Christians is this: if they confess it I repeated the question twice again, adding the threat of capital punishment; if they still persevered, I ordered them to be executed.

"Those who denied they were or had ever been Christians, who repeated after me an invocation to the Gods, and offered adoration, with wine and frankincense, to your image, which I had ordered to be brought for that purpose, together with those of the Gods, and who finally cursed Christ-none of which acts, it is said, those who are really Christians can be forced into performing - these I thought proper to discharge.

"Persons of all ranks and ages and of both sexes are and will be involved in the prosecution. For this contagious superstition is not confined to the cities only, but has spread through the villages and rural districts; it seems possible, however, to check and cure it. It is certain at least that the temples, which had been almost deserted, begin now to be frequented; and the sacred festivals, after a long intermission, are again revived; while there is a general demand for sacrificial animals, which for some time past have met with but few purchasers."

Loeb Classical Library

For this they blamed Polycarp. They said, "You have told your people not to sacrifice to our gods."

The Jews also hated him because he had taken away many of their members.

In Smyrna it was the time of the bloody gladiatorial combats. Ten of the saints of Philadelphia had been dragged to Smyrna to battle the wild beast in the arena during the pagan festival. Thousands were gathered at Smyrna and the life of Polycarp was demanded. At first he was urged by his church to hide, but finally he offered himself a willing sacrifice because the lives of many of his purest members would be taken if he did not show himself. The wicked Jews and pagans ran around and gathered much wood and soon the beloved Polycarp was burned to death. The pagans would not allow his disciples to have his corpse because they said the disciples would claim he had revived and raised from the dead like the Master (Christ) at Jerusalem. So they flayed the flesh from the bones, then ground the bones to powder and cast the ashes over a running stream.

That little church at Smyrna had peace for a while, but at the time the flames were leaping upon the body of Polycarp God was raising up a pagan priest from Phrygia who would take up the torch of Christianity and carry on. He was Montanus.