The Martyr: Forty Days in Antioch

Polycarp is dead. The execution and martyrdom of the aged Bishop shocks the Christian community of ancient Antioch-the Roman Empire's easternmost metropolis. Philo, a twenty-one-year-old Christian man, is stunned and sickened by the brutal death of the righteous Polycarp. His faith is further challenged by his disturbing and puzzling encounters with diverse groups that call themselves "Christian" yet deny the reality of Christ's resurrection. Gnostics, Marcionites, Ebionites, and others are competing for the hearts of Christians throughout the empire-with Antioch becoming a hotbed for dissenters.To steady his faith, Philo turns for comfort and direction to a small group of close friends each of whom harbors his own fears and secrets. But in the midst of their quest for truth, the group is confronted with the greatest terror early Christians can face: One of them must deny Christ before Roman authorities or suffer a martyr's fate. The group members face this horrifying dilemma together-and together they seek reprieve and escape. The Martyr plants the reader in the center of the second century controversies that nearly destroyed the ancient Christian church. It reveals what it may have been like to live when the "truths" about Jesus had not been settled, how leaders managed to keep the church from disintegrating, and how individual Christians preserved their personal faith amid intense persecution and mortal threats.