Polycarp

Polycarp (; , ''Polýkarpos''; ; AD 69 - 155) was a Christian bishop of Smyrna. According to the ''Martyrdom of Polycarp'', he died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed to consume his body. Polycarp is regarded as a saint and Church Father in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Lutheranism, and Anglicanism.

Both Irenaeus and Tertullian say that Polycarp had been a disciple of John the Apostle, one of Jesus's disciples. In ''On Illustrious Men'', Jerome similarly writes that Polycarp was a disciple of John the Apostle, who had ordained him as a bishop of Smyrna. Polycarp is regarded as one of three chief Apostolic Fathers, along with Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch. Provided by Wikipedia