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Editorial: Witnessing
10 July 2020
The martyrdom of Polycarp at Smyrna in A.D. 156 is deemed to be the earliest genuine record of the death of a Christian martyr that we possess. Remembering that martyr (martus and martureo Gk) are the root words for witness and to bear witness, and that his fate is still that of a number of Christians today, we may make Polycarp our starting point for this edition of Crucible. The account of his martyrdom is powerful and moving, and directs us immediately to the earliest understanding of ‘witness’ and ‘bearing witness’ in Christian theology and historiography. Here follow some brief extracts, starting as the 86 year old Polycarp enters the amphitheatre to face the final challenge which will result in his execution:
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