# Martyrdom of Polycarp 6.2

- Author: Anonymous
- Work: [Martyrdom of Polycarp](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/mart-pol/) (*Martyrium Polycarpi*)
- Date: ca. 156–160 (approximate)
- Source: Lake, LCL 25:318–320; Kirsopp Lake, ed. and trans., The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 2, LCL 25 (London: Heinemann; New York: Macmillan, 1913), 312–345 (Greek text: K. Lake, The Apostolic Fathers (LCL, 1912-1913), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Also in: PG 5:1033a–1033b (found by text match)
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-26
- Canonical URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/mart-pol/6/2/

Summary: Betrayed by his own household, Polycarp was sought by an official named Herod, in a story that echoes Christ's Passion.

## Greek text

ἦν γὰρ καὶ ἀδύνατον λαθεῖν αὐτόν, ἐπεὶ καὶ οἱ προδιδόντες αὐτὸν οἰκεῖοι ὑπῆρχον, καὶ ὁ εἰρήναρχος, ὁ κεκληρωμένος τὸ αὐτὸ ὄνομα, Ἡρώδης ἐπιλεγόμενος, ἔσπευδεν εἰς τὸ στάδιον αὐτὸν εἰσαγαγεῖν, ἵνα ἐκεῖνος μὲν τὸν ἴδιον κλῆρον ἀπαρτίσῃ Χριστοῦ κοινωνὸς γενόμενος, οἱ δὲ προδόντες αὐτὸν τὴν αὐτοῦ τοῦ Ἰούδα ὑπόσχοιεν τιμωρίαν.

## English translation (Claude)

For it was impossible for him to remain hidden, since those who betrayed him were members of his own household. And the police captain, who had been allotted the very same name, being called Herod, was in a hurry to bring him into the stadium, so that Polycarp might fulfill his own appointed lot by becoming a sharer with Christ, while those who betrayed him might undergo the punishment of Judas himself.

## Scripture references

- Matt 10:36: echo, medium confidence

## Translation notes

- “Police captain” (εἰρήναρχος): a city official responsible for public order, literally “ruler of the peace.”
- “The very same name”: the same as King Herod in the Gospel account of Jesus's death.
- “Who had been allotted the very same name” (ὁ κεκληρωμένος τὸ αὐτὸ ὄνομα): some older translations take this as a job title (“whose office is that of the Cleronomus”), but the Greek means that he happened to bear the same name as Herod.

## Citation (SBL)

Mart. Pol. 6.2 (PG 5:1033a–1033b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/mart-pol/6/2/).