At the transition from early Christianity to the Old Church, the Martyrdom of Polycarp heralds the new literary genre of martyr accounts, which will be richly inherited thereafter. With an inner-church intention, the Martyrdom of Polycarp emphasizes the parallel between the suffering of the Lord and that of the martyr, in order to counter an enthusiastic longing for martyrdom and to cultivate an appropriate veneration of martyrs. This first comprehensive commentary on the earliest surviving independent early Christian martyr account particularly highlights the kerygmatic-edifying and inner-church polemical intention of the writing. In addition to the form of the writing, its theological intention is also made clear. Formally, the Martyrdom of Polycarp is not simply structured as a protocol of events; content-wise, Polycarp's behavior is portrayed as being in accordance with the Gospel.