Smyrna

Smyrna (modern İzmir, Turkey) was an ancient city of Ionia on the western coast of Asia Minor, about 40 miles north of Ephesus. It was one of the great cities of the Roman province of Asia, renowned for its beauty, its loyalty to Rome, and its thriving commercial harbor. The city had a large Jewish community and a strong imperial cult. Smyrna is the Greek word for myrrh, the fragrant resin used in embalming — a name some commentators have found symbolically resonant with the church's suffering.

Smyrna is one of the seven churches addressed in Revelation 2–3. The letter to Smyrna (Revelation 2:8–11) is notably one of only two letters (with Philadelphia) containing no rebuke. Jesus identifies himself as the First and the Last, who died and came to life — an encouragement for a church facing tribulation, poverty, and slander from those who call themselves Jews. He promises: Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. The early bishop Polycarp, martyred at Smyrna around 155 AD, is the most famous of the church's historical figures.