Polycrates of Ephesus (; ; fl. c. 130 – 196) was an
Early Christian
Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and be ...
bishop at
Ephesus
Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...
. Polycrates convened a synod to establish
Quartodecimanism as the official position on Easter. His letter was written between 186 and 195 AD.
Quartodeciman controversy
When
Pope Victor wanted to set an official practice of Easter on the whole Christian world, to celebrate Easter on Sunday, Polycrates writing in the name of the entire Asian church, argued that the apostles taught to celebrate the Passover (Holy Communion) on the 14th day of Nisan. In his letter, he appeals to the authority of
Polycarp of Smyrna,
Thraseas of Eumenia,
Sagaris,
Papirius and
Melito, all of whom were Quartodecimans.
Despite Polycrates convening a synod in Ephesus to declare Quartodecimanism official, later the tradition died out, because
Nicaea
Nicaea (also spelled Nicæa or Nicea, ; ), also known as Nikaia (, Attic: , Koine: ), was an ancient Greek city in the north-western Anatolian region of Bithynia. It was the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...
declared Easter to be celebrated on a Sunday.
Notes
External links
Entry on Polycrates at ''Early Christian Writings''*
Polycrates: Unity or Truth', "Religion and Spirituality", Spring 2005.
{{Authority control
2nd-century bishops in Roman Anatolia
2nd-century Christian saints
2nd-century Romans
Bishops of Ephesus