Polycarp of Smyrna
Approx. 69 AD — February 23, 155 AD · Feast day: February 23
Polycarp of Smyrna was a bishop who had sat at the Apostle John's feet and who died at eighty-six refusing to deny the Christ he had served his whole life. When the Roman governor offered him freedom at the cost of a single renunciation, Polycarp replied: 'Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?'