Condemned to die at the stake: Saint Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna

THE EPISTLE OF POLYCARP TO THE PHILIPPIANS

One of the earliest Christian martyrdom for which an eyewitness account survives is that of Saint Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna (today known as Izmir, in Turkey). Condemned to die at the stake because he would not recognize the divinity of the Roman emperor, he was put to death in the stadium at Smyrna in a.d. 155, when he was 86 years old. The manner of his death is described in a letter of unquestioned authenticity written by members of the church in Smyrna:

When he had offered up the Amen and finished his prayer, the firemen lighted the fire. And a mighty flame flashing forth, we to whom it was given to see, saw a marvel, yea, and we were preserved that we might relate to the rest what happened. The fire, making the appearance of a vault, like the sail of a vessel filled by the wind, made a wall round about the body of the martyr; and it was there in the midst, not like flesh burning but like gold and silver refined in a furnace. For we perceived such a fragrant smell, as if it were the wafted odor of frankincense or some other precious spice.

So at length the lawless men, seeing that his body could not be consumed by fire, ordered the executioner to go up to him and stab him with a dagger. And when he had done this there came forth a quantity of blood so that it extinguished the fire, and all the multitude marvelled that there should be so great a difference between the unbelievers and the elect.

After Saint Polycarp died the fire was lit again, and his body was cremated.

(Herbert Thurston, The Physical Phenomena of Mysticism, pp.171, 222-23)

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Tricky Tuesday: A Holy Mystery - Saint Francis the Fire Handler

For some saints' immunity to fire seems to be a special mark of grace, while for a few less exalted men and women the same immunity seems a natural and habitual thing. One saint who handled fire as easily as other men handle a shovel or a walking stick was Francis of Paola, who died in 1507.

Jusepe de Ribera — St. Francis of Paola (detail), c. 1640.

Francis was born of Italian peasant stock, and many of the stories about him are set in ordinary, workaday situations. Once, for example, he came into a blacksmith forge just as the smith was finishing a shoeing job, to inquire about some work he needed to be done. Would there be enough iron left over, Francis asked. The smith indicated a large scrap of red-hot iron that remained, and Francis, without more ado, bent over and picked it up. “By your leave,” he said to those screaming at him in horror to stop, “I am just holding it to warm myself.”

An illustration of Saint Francis

An illustration from an old book depicts the humble Saint Francis of Paola, who often used his miraculous immunity to fire in mundane ways. He was canonized in 1519.

On another occasion Francis seems to have conferred his immunity to fire on someone else. A lime kiln used in the construction of new monastic buildings near Paterno Calabro had been fired and seemed in danger of collapse. The entrance was perhaps too small for Francis himself to enter, for he instructed a small monk to go into the furnace and prop up the ceiling with a stick. The monk did as he was bidden, suffered no injury, and the kiln was saved. (In this case, Saint Francis must have extended his immunity not only to the monk but to the stick used as a prop.)

Another example of the way that Francis applied his unworldly immunity to worldly tasks occurred when he helped some men in the process of making charcoal. They had covered their stack of wood with earth so ineptly that flames were breaking through in several places. While the men fetched more earth to plug the holes, Francis used his bare feet to control the flames.

It was not, however, such stories as these that first brought Francis to the attention of church officials but his reputation for leading a life of extreme austerity and deprivation. In due course two church dignitaries were sent to examine and test him.

“It is quite easy for you to do these things,” they told him, “because you are a peasant and used to hardship. But if you were of gentle blood you would not be able to live in this way.”

Francis replied: “It is quite true that I am a peasant, and if I were not, I should not be able to do things like this.” A large fire was blazing nearby. He reached into it with both hands and scooped up some burning sticks and red coals. Holding them, he said to the canon: “You see, I could not do this if I were not a peasant.”

The canon then prostrated himself on the ground and sought to kiss Francis’s hands and feet, but the saintly peasant would not allow it.

Source: Herbert Thurston, The Physical Phenomena of Mysticism, pp.174-75

#cures #immunities #phenomena #mysticism #saintfrancis #St.Francis #St.FrancisofPaola #dailystrange #trickytuesday