Memorial Day of the Hieromartyr Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna

The Orthodox Church celebrates the Day of Remembrance of the Hieromartyr Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna on March 8 The bishop lived during the time of the first apostles and was the successor of their deeds The martyrdom of the saint, described by his disciples, became the first death of an apostolic husband recorded in writing As a child, Polycarp was adopted by a noble, pious woman who had a large estate and many servants The boy was brought up in the ideals of the Christian faith, and was kind and merciful to the poor Once, when his adoptive mother was away, the grown-up Polycarp remained to manage the affairs of the estate, but gradually distributed all the supplies from his mother’s estate When the woman returned, she was met by a servant with a complaint that her adopted son had emptied all the goods she had stored But the bins turned out to be full even beyond measure, so the Lord showed his mercy to the kind and pious young man After the death of his adoptive mother, Polycarp renounced wealth and began to serve people himself, leading a humble and chaste life His virtuous act was noticed by Bishop Vukol, who called the young man to serve in the temple There, Polycarp had the good fortune to approach the Apostle John the Theologian, who was still alive at that time The holy men followed together on their apostolic journeys After the death of Vukol, Polycarp becomes bishop of the See of Smyrna His successes in the rank of bishop were so significant that his followers called their bishop “the father of all Christians,” and his enemies “the seducer of Asia” for converting many pagans to the faith of Christ The successes of the first Christian men, in addition to admiration, caused much indignation among the pagans When persecution of Christians began in Rome, the pagans of Smyrna demanded the arrest of the bishop and his trial Polycarp came out with greetings to the people who had come to take him into custody, hospitably inviting them into the house and offering them refreshments He himself went away to pray, knowing what terrible torment was in store for him The court sentenced the Bishop of Smyrna to death by burning The executioners tried to nail him to a stake, but Polycarp, considering himself unworthy to receive wounds like Christ’s, humbly promised that he would not run away from the fire When the fire was lit, the Lord showed his miracle to everyone present; the holy martyr stood in the middle of the fire, but the flames did not touch him Then the pagans pierced the man sentenced to death with a sword, copious blood gushed from the wound of the holy man, extinguishing the flame The bishop's body was burned, but faithful followers of the Christian faith collected the ashes and remains of the saint with sorrow and respect in their hearts Folk signs associated Polycarp's day with the possible return of frosts and cold weather; it was believed that winter was again taking over There were other signs that made it possible to predict the weather: - thick fog indicated the coming stormy summer; - if a straw thrown into the snow fell into a snowdrift, the snow will certainly melt in a month; - the cattle lay down on the ground, which means they sensed an imminent blizzard; - loud singing of birds means quick warmth, but the peck of a woodpecker foreshadowed a prolonged cold spring; the cries of finches promised frosts