The Quartodeciman Controversy: From Passover to Easter What does history say about how and when the idolatrous pagan festival of Easter came to replace the Passover service ordained by God? A series of extensive quotes tell this story—commonly referred to as the “Quartodeciman Controversy.” Several sources are quoted so that the story of how the counterfeit Easter came to replace Passover will be perfectly clear. This problem—Passover versus Easter—became so pivotal, as a test of the power of the great church that wished to stamp out the “little flock,” that eventually disobedience brought the death sentence upon any who continued to keep either God’s Sabbath or His true festivals. Make no mistake! Whether one keeps God’s Passover or celebrates the pagan Easter is serious! First notice the following by Eusebius (a well-known historian of the early Church) from his work, Ecclesiastical History, Book V, chapters XXIII and XXIV: “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, on which day the Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should be observed as the feast of the Saviour’s passover…the bishops of Asia, led by Polycrates, decided to hold to the old custom handed down to them. He himself, in a letter which he addressed to Victor and the church of Rome, set forth in the following words the tradition which had come down to him: “We observe the exact day; neither adding, nor taking away. For in Asia also great lights have fallen asleep, which shall rise again on the day of the Lord’s coming, when he shall come with glory from heaven, and shall seek out all the saints. Among these are Philip, one of the twelve apostles…and, moreover, John, who was both a witness and a teacher, who reclined upon the bosom of the Lord…and Polycarp in Smyrna, who was a bishop and martyr; and Thraseas, bishop and martyr from Eumenia…the bishop and martyr Sagaris…the blessed Papirius, or Melito…All these observed the fourteenth day of the passover according to the Gospel, deviating in no respect, but following the rule of faith.” The 1967 New Catholic Encyclopedia states, “Quartodeciman, a term used to describe the practice in the early Church of celebrating Easter on the 14th of Nisan (die quarta decima), the day of the Jewish Passover (Ex. 12:6). Quartodecimanism, prevalent in Asia Minor and Syria in the 2nd century, emphasized the death of Christ, the true Paschal victim (Jn. 18:28; 19:42), while Roman practice emphasized the observance of Sunday as the day of the Resurrection. Implicit in these two positions is the disputed chronology of Holy Week. As Christianity separated from Judaism, gentile Christians objected to observing the principal Christian feasts on the same day as the Jewish Passover. “Roman efforts to induce the Quartodecimans to abandon their practice were unsuccessful. On a visit to Rome (c. 155), St. Polycarp of Smyrna amicably discussed the question with Pope Anicetus without, however, reaching agreement. Pope Victor (189-198) sought unity through a series of synods held in both East and West; all accepted the Roman practice except the Asiatic bishops. When Victor attempted coercion by excommunication, St. Irenaeus of Lyons intervened to restore peace (Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 5.23-25). During the 3rd century Quartodecimanism waned; it persisted in some Asiatic communities down to the 5th century” (Vol. 12, p. 13). The following very lengthy statement from the Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition, well summarizes and details the story of how Easter slowly came to replace the Passover by A.D. 325 within visible, organized “Christianity”: “Although the observance of Easter was at a very early period in the practice of the Christian Church [false], a serious difference as to the day for its observance soon arose between the [true] Christians of Jewish and those of Gentile decent, which led to a long and bitter controversy…The Jewish Christians…(observed) the 14th day of the moon at evening…without regard to the day of the week. The Gentile Christians (Roman Catholics)…identified the first day of the week with the resurrection, and kept the preceding Friday as the commemoration of the crucifixion, irrespective of the day of the month. “Generally speaking, the Western Churches (Roman Catholic) kept Easter on the 1st day of the week, while the Eastern Churches [including the remnant of the true Church] followed the Jewish rule [the true Christian Passover]. “Polycarp, the disciple of John the Evangelist (last of the 12 apostles), and bishop of Smyrna, visited Rome in 159 (sic) to confer with Anicetus, the bishop of that see, on the subject, and urged the tradition which he had received from the apostles of observing the 14th day. Anicetus, however, declined. About forty years later (197), the question was discussed in a very different spirit between Victor, bishop of Rome, and Polycrates, metropolitan of proconsular Asia. That province [embracing churches founded through the apostle Paul, like Antioch and all of those identified in Revelation 2 and 3 as the true Church] was the only portion of Christendom which still adhered to the Jewish usage. Victor demanded that all should adopt the usage prevailing at Rome. This Polycrates firmly refused to agree to, and urged many weighty reasons to the contrary, whereupon Victor proceeded to excommunicate Polycrates and the Christians who continued the [correct] Eastern usage. He was, however, restrained (by counsel from other bishops) from actually proceeding to enforce the decree of excommunication…and the Asiatic churches retained their usage unmolested. We find the Jewish usage (the true New Testament Passover) from time to time reasserting itself after this, but it never prevailed to any large extent.
Posted on: Fri, 16 Aug 2013 09:05:57 +0000
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