A question of no small importance arose at that time. For the parishes of all Asia, as from an older tradition, held that the fourteenth day of the moon, when the Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should be observed as the feast of the Saviour\u2019s passover, on which day they should end their fast, whatever day of the week it should be. But the churches in the rest of the world observed the practice which, from apostolic tradition, has prevailed to the present time, of terminating the fast on no other day than on that of the resurrection of our Saviour.<\/p>\n
Synods and assemblies of bishops were held on this account, and all, with one consent, through mutual correspondence drew up an ecclesiastical decree, that the mystery of the resurrection of the Lord should be celebrated on no other but the Lord\u2019s day, and that we should observe the close of the paschal fast on this day only. There is still extant a writing of those who were then assembled in Palestine, over whom Theophilus, bishop of C\u00e6sarea, and Narcissus, bishop of Jerusalem, presided. And there is another of those assembled at Rome, which bears the name of Bishop Victor; also of the bishops in Pontus over whom Palmas, as the oldest, presided; and of the parishes in Gaul of which Iren\u00e6us was bishop, and of those in Osrho\u00ebne and the cities there; and a personal letter of Bacchylus, bishop of the church at Corinth, and of a great many others, who uttered the same opinion and judgment, and cast the same vote.
\n…
\nBut the bishops of Asia, led by Polycrates, decided to hold to the old custom handed down to them. In a letter addressed to Victor and the church of Rome, he set forth the tradition: \u201cWe observe the exact day; neither adding, nor taking away. For in Asia also great lights have fallen asleep, … Among these are Philip, one of the twelve apostles, who fell asleep in Hierapolis; … and John, who was both a witness and a teacher, who reclined upon the bosom of the Lord, and, being a priest, wore the sacerdotal plate. He fell asleep at Ephesus. And Polycarp in Smyrna, who was a bishop and martyr; and Thraseas, bishop and martyr from Eumenia, who fell asleep in Smyrna… All these observed the fourteenth day of the passover according to the Gospel, deviating in no respect, but following the rule of faith. And I also, Polycrates, the least of you all, do according to the tradition of my relatives, seven of whom were bishops; and I am the eighth … For those greater than I have said \u2018We ought to obey God rather than man.'”
\n…
\nThereupon Victor, who presided over the church at Rome, immediately attempted to cut off from the common unity the parishes of all Asia, with the churches that agreed with them, as heterodox; and he wrote letters and declared all the brethren there wholly excommunicate. But this did not please all the bishops. And they besought him to consider the things of peace, and of neighborly unity and love. Words of theirs are extant, sharply rebuking Victor.<\/p>\n
Among them was Iren\u00e6us, who, sending letters in the name of the brethren in Gaul over whom he presided, maintained that the mystery of the resurrection of the Lord should be observed only on the Lord\u2019s day. He fittingly admonishes Victor that he should not cut off whole churches of God which observed the tradition of an ancient custom. \u201cWhen the blessed Polycarp was at Rome in the time of Anicetus, and they disagreed a little about certain other things, they immediately made peace with one another, not caring to quarrel over this matter. For neither could Anicetus persuade Polycarp not to observe what he had always observed with John the disciple of our Lord, and the other apostles with whom he had associated; neither could Polycarp persuade Anicetus to observe it as he said that he ought to follow the customs of the presbyters that had preceded him. But though matters were in this shape, they communed together, and Anicetus conceded the administration of the eucharist in the church to Polycarp, manifestly as a mark of respect. And they parted from each other in peace, both those who observed, and those who did not, maintaining the peace of the whole church.\u201d Thus Iren\u00e6us, who truly was well named, became a peacemaker in this matter, exhorting and negotiating in this way in behalf of the peace of the churches.<\/p>\n
— Eusebius Pamphilius: Church History. V.XXIII-XXV. NPNF201.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A question of no small importance arose at that time. For the parishes of all Asia, as from an older tradition, held that the fourteenth day of the moon, when the Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should be observed as the feast of the Saviour\u2019s passover, on which day they should end their fast, whatever day of the week it should be. But the churches in the rest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11,16,25],"tags":[191,111],"class_list":["post-21856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eusebius","category-irenaeus","category-polycarp","tag-easter","tag-passover"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":444,"url":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/origen-feasts-of-the-christian-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":21856,"position":0},"title":"Origen: Feasts Of The Christian Life","author":"Nemo","date":"January 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"We ourselves are accustomed to observe certain days, as for example the Lord\u2019s day, the Preparation, the Passover, or Pentecost. To the perfect Christian, who is ever in his thoughts, words, and deeds serving his natural Lord, God the Word, all his days are the Lord\u2019s, and he is always\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Origen"","block_context":{"text":"Origen","link":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/category\/origen\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1368,"url":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/origen-on-the-spiritual-meaning-of-the-passover\/","url_meta":{"origin":21856,"position":1},"title":"Origen on the Spiritual Meaning of the Passover","author":"Nemo","date":"May 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"We eat the flesh of the Lamb, with bitter herbs, and unleavened bread, when we repent of our sins and grieve with the sorrow which is according to God, a repentance which operates for our salvation, and is not to be repented of; or when, on account of our trials,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Origen"","block_context":{"text":"Origen","link":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/category\/origen\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21926,"url":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/teaching-and-travel-of-the-apostles\/","url_meta":{"origin":21856,"position":2},"title":"Teaching and Travel of the Apostles","author":"Nemo","date":"January 9, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"In the year three hundred and thirty-nine of the kingdom of the Greeks, in the month Heziran, on the fourth day of the same, which is the first day of the week, and the end of Pentecost\u2014on the selfsame day came the disciples from Nazareth of Galilee, where the conception\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Church Fathers"","block_context":{"text":"Church Fathers","link":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/category\/church-fathers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":676,"url":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/clement-of-alexandria-mystery-of-the-eucharist\/","url_meta":{"origin":21856,"position":3},"title":"Clement of Alexandria: Mystery of the Eucharist","author":"Nemo","date":"January 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The holy Apostle Paul says, preserving the prophetic and truly ancient secret from which the teachings that were good were derived by the Greeks: \u201cHowbeit we speak wisdom among them who are perfect; but not the wisdom of this world, or of the princes of this world, that come to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Clement of Alexandria"","block_context":{"text":"Clement of Alexandria","link":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/category\/clement-of-alexandria\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":988,"url":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/tertullian-on-the-resurrection-of-the-flesh\/","url_meta":{"origin":21856,"position":4},"title":"Tertullian: On the Resurrection of the Flesh","author":"Nemo","date":"January 12, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Creation of Man Imagine God wholly employed and absorbed in it\u2014in His hand, His eye, His labour, His purpose, His wisdom, His providence, and above all, in His love, which was dictating the lineaments (of this creature). 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