Irenaeus of Lyons wrote in a letter: “Neither could Anicetus [of Rome] persuade Polycarp not to observe what he had always observed with John the disciple of our Lord and the other apostles with whom he consorted; nor yet did Polycarp persuade Anicetus to observe it, for he said that he ought to hold to the custom of the elders before him. ”
यु. १५५ में, स्मुरना का पॉलीकार्प, एशियाई कलीसियाओं का एक प्रतिनिधि, इसकी और अन्य समस्याओं की चर्चा करने रोम गया ।