Polycarp 3/5 Martyrdom of Polycarp 1

The Apostle John, author of the Gospel of John and Revelation, was a "pillar" of the church in Jerusalem, and later moved to Ephesus for the rest of his ministry. During the reign of the tyrannical Roman Emperor Domitian (A.D. 81-96), he was exiled to the nearby island of Patmos, where he wrote Revelation about A.D. 95. Upon the emperor's death he returned to Ephesus to resume his episcopacy and to write his Gospel about A.D. 96. The last remaining of the Twelve Apostles, John was nearly a hundred when he died about A.D. 96-100. (The Epistle of Ignatius to Polycarp was written within a decade of St. John's death.)
It was this last of the Twelve Apostles who ordained Polycarp bishop of Smyrna, a city north of Ephesus. When St. Ignatius passed through Smyrna on his way to martyrdom, Polycarp was perhaps no more than thirty-five. The Epistles of Ignatius were collected by Polycarp, a fact mentioned by Irenaeus, Origen, Eusebius, Jerome, Athanasius, Theodoret, and other ancients.
After a lifetime of exemplary ministry, Polycarp was martyred at the age of eighty-six. This Epistle of the Smyrneans is the first example of Christian Martyrology.

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• Martyrdom
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• Polycarp
• Ignatius
• Apostolic
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• Apocrypha

[Apocryphile1970]

You know, I hate to say it, but no one really knows. The actual oldest gospel fragment found so far is from John. It's really true with all the gospels. I've seen dates as early as the '40s for some of them and as late as the '90s for others. People do a LOT of 'educated guessing.'

[NateDawg832]

I read the description on the right and it says that John wrote revelations in AD 95. My father told me they wrote it in AD 70. I dont know which is the right date, but just wanted to say that.