When soldiers found the 86-year-old bishop hiding in a farmhouse, he welcomed them with hospitality, offering food and praying for two hours—moving even his captors to tears. Led to the stadium, Polycarp faced a roaring crowd, fresh from the execution of eleven believers. Amid the chaos, a heavenly voice declared, “Be strong, Polycarp, and play the man!” (andrizou, Greek for “act like a man” or “be courageous”)…
