Pope Victor I

Saint Victor I
Birth name	Victor
Papacy began	189
Papacy ended	199
Predecessor	Eleuterus
Successor	Zephyrinus
Born	??? Roman Africa
Died	199 Rome, Italy
Other popes named Victor

Pope Saint Victor I was bishop of Rome (from about 189 to 199 C.E.). Having been born in the Roman Province of Africa, he was the first African pope.

Victor is best known for his role in the Easter controversy, in which he attempted unsuccessfully to require that all Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus on Sunday, rather than in relation to the Jewish calculation of Passover, which could fall on any day of the week. He was also actively involved in ridding the Roman church of Gnosticism and other heresies, including Adoptionism and possibly Montanism.

According to Jerome, Victor was the first Christian author to write theological works in Latin. Before Victor's time, Rome celebrated the Mass in Greek, and he may have been the first Roman bishop to use a Latin liturgy. Latin masses, however, did not become widespread until the latter half of the fourth century.

Biography

The Roman province of African in the first part of the second century CE

Victor's date of birth is unknown. The Liber Pontificalis identifies him as a native of Africa and gives his father's name as Felix. The dates of his reign as bishop of Roman are a matter of some confusion. Liber Pontificalis gives the years 186-197 as the period of Victor's episcopate. The Armenian text of the "Chronicle" of Eusebius, however, places the beginning of Victor's pontificate in the seventh year of the reign of the Emperor Commodus (187) and gives it a duration of 12 years. In Eusebius' Church History (V, xxxii), however, Eusebius places the beginning of Victor's pontificate in the tenth year of Commodus and makes it last ten years.

A time of peace

During the closing years of the reign of Commodus (180-192) and the early years of Septimius Severus (from 193), the Roman Church enjoyed in general a time of external peace, from which Pope Victor and his flock benefited in comparison earlier times of persecution.

The Emperor Commodus was favorably disposed toward Pope Victor and the Roman Christians, apparently because of the influence of his mistress, Marcia.

The favorable opinion of the Christians held by Commodus is ascribed to the influence of a woman named Marcia, reportedly his mistress and later one of his assassins. According to the testimony of Hippolytus (Philosophumena, IX, 12) Marcia had been brought up by the presbyter Hyacinthus, was very positively inclined toward the Christians, and was perhaps even a Christian herself. One day she summoned Pope Victor to the imperial palace and volunteered to help gain the freedom of the Roman Christians who had been condemned to forced labor in the mines of Sardinia. The pope provided her a list of these sufferers, and Marcia, after receiving the required document of pardon from the emperor, sent Hyacinthus to Sardinia with an order of release. The future Pope Callistus who had been among those deported, did not return to Rome, but remained at Antium, where he received a monthly pension from the Roman Christians. Irenaeus ("Adv. Haerses", IV, xxx, 1) points out that Christians were employed at this period as officials of the imperial court. Among these officials was the imperial freedman Prosenes, whose gravestone and epitaph have been preserved.

Septimius Severus, during the early years of his reign, also regarded the Christians kindly, so that the influence of Christian officials continued. The emperor retained in his palace a Christian named Proculus who had once cured him. He protected Christian men and women of rank against the excesses of the pagan populace, and his son Caracalla had a Christian wet nurse (Tertullian, "Ad Scapulam", IV). Christianity thus made great advances in the capital during Victor's episcopate and also found adherents among the families who were distinguished for wealth and noble descent (Eusebius, "Hist. eccl.", V, xxi).

Easter controversy

While the external situation of the Roman church thus prospered internal dissensions during this period greatly affected the church. The dispute over the celebration of Easter in particular grew more acute. The Roman Christians who had come from the province of Asia (also called Phrygia, in today's western Turkey) were accustomed to observe Easter on the fourteenth day of Jewish month of Nisan—whatever day of the week that date might happen to fall on—just as they had done at home. This tradition led to trouble when it was noticed by native Christian community of Rome.

Irenaeus of Lyons agreed with Victor on the date of Easter, but scolded him for his harsh attitude toward eastern Christians who wanted to celebrated the holiday on the fourteenth day of Nisan.

Pope Victor decided to bring about unity in the observance of the Easter festival and to persuade the "Quartodecimans" to join in the general practice of the Roman church. He wrote, therefore, to Bishop Polycrates of Ephesus and persuaded him to call together the bishops of the province of Asia in order to discuss the matter with them. This was done, but the result was not to the pope liking. In the letter sent by Polycrates to Victor he declared that he firmly held to the Quartoceciman custom observed by so many celebrated bishops of that region.

Victor then called a meeting of Italian bishops at Rome, which is the earliest Roman synod known. He also wrote to the leading bishops of the various districts, urging them to call together the bishops of their sections of the country and to take counsel with them on the question of the Easter festival. Letters came from all sides: from the synod in Palestine, at which Theophilus of Caesarea and Narcissus of Jerusalem presided; from the synod of Pontus over which the venerable Palmas presided; from the communities in Gaul whose bishop was Irenaeus of Lyons; from the bishops of the Kingdom of Osrhoene; and also from individual bishops, such as Bakchylus of Corinth. These letters unanimously agreed with Victor that Easter was observed on Sunday.

The first major split between eastern and western Christianity had thus begun. Victor, who believed that he acted throughout the entire matter as the head of Catholic Christendom, now called upon the bishops of the province of Asia to abandon their custom and to accept the practice of always celebrating Easter on Sunday. In case they would not do this, he declared they would be excluded from the fellowship of the Church.

This severe procedure did not please even some of those who agreed with Victor on the main point. Irenaeus of Lyons and others wrote to Pope Victor criticizing his harshness and urging him to maintain peace and unity with the bishops of Asia. Irenaeus reminded him that even though his predecessors had maintained the Sunday observance of Easter, they had not never broken off friendly relations and communion with bishops because they followed another custom (Eusebius, "Hist. eccl.", V, xxiii-xxv.)

In Rome, Pope Victor enforced the observance of Easter on Sunday by all Christians in the capital. Am eastermer named Blastus, with a number of followers, refused to go along with this policy. The schism in Rome did not grow in importance, however (Eusebius, loc. cit., B, xx). Beyond this, in terms of the wider course of the Easter controversy under Victor I little is known. However, in the course of the third century, the Roman practice in the observance of Easter became gradually universal.

Other chanllegnes

Victor also had difficulties with a Roman priest named Florinus. As an official of the imperial court, Florinus had become acquainted in Asia Minor with Saint Polycarp, and later became a presbyter of the Roman Church. He allegedly fell into the Gnostic heresy and defended the teaching of Gnostic leader Valentinus. Irenæus wrote two treatises against him: "On the Monarchy [of God] and that God is not the Author of Evil", and "On the Ogdoad". Irenaeus called Victor's attention to the writings of Florinus, who was forbidden to practice his priestly functions by the pope and may have been expelled from the Church altogether (Eusebius, "Hist. eccl.", V, xv, 20).

During the pontificate of Victor a rich Christian, Theodotus the Leather-seller, came from Constantinople to Rome and taught Christ, rather than being the Incarnation of God from his birth, was a man endowed by the Holy Ghost with supernatural power when he was baptized by John the Baptist. The pope condemned this this teaching as heresy and excluded Theodotus from the Church. Theodotus, however, would not submit. Together with his adherents, formed a separate congregation, which maintained itself for several years at Rome.

Victor may also have been the pope who first opposed the Montanists. Tertullian reports ("Ad Praceam", 1) that a Roman bishop, whose name he does not give, had initially declared his acceptance of the prophecies of Montanus, but had been persuaded by a certain Praxeas to withdraw his support. Some believe that Tertullian, who himself joined the Montanists in later life, meant Pope Eleutherius.

Promoter of Latin

Jerome calls Pope Victor the first Latin writer in the Church (Chronicon, ad an. Abr. 2209). He mentions small treatises written by him in Latin. However, besides the letters touching the Easter controversy none of Victor's actual works is known.

It may have been during Victor's administration that the canon of scripture used at Rome, and which has been partially preserved in the Muratorian Fragment, was drawn up. The question of whether he promoted the use of Latin in the Roman liturgy is an open one.

External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia: Pope St. Victor I

Roman Catholic Popes
Preceded by: Eleuterus	Bishop of Rome Pope 189–199	Succeeded by: Zephyrinus

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