Polycrates of Ephesus (; el, Πολυκράτης; fl. c. 130 – 196) was an
Early Christian
Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewis ...
bishop at
Ephesus
Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built i ...
. Polycrates convened a synod to establish
Quartodecimanism
Quartodecimanism (from the Vulgate Latin ''quarta decima'' in Leviticus 23:5, meaning fourteenth) is the practice of celebrating Easter on the 14th of Nisan being on whatever day of the week, practicing Easter around the same time as the Passove ...
as the official position on Easter. His letter was written between 186-195 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 Easter 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
Melito of Sardis ( el, Μελίτων Σάρδεων ''Melítōn Sárdeōn''; died ) was the bishop of Sardis near Smyrna in western Anatolia, and a great authority in early Christianity. Melito held a foremost place in terms of bishops in Asia ...
, all of whom were Quartodecimans.
Despite Polycrates convening a synod in Ephesus to declare Quartodecimanism official, later the tradition died out, because
Nicea
Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and sev ...
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