A Source Book for Ancient Church History - Mirrors

182 A Source Book for Ancient Church History[163]letter addressed to Victor and the church of Rome, set forth thetradition which had come down to him as follows: “We observethe exact day, neither adding nor taking anything away. For inAsia, also, great lights have fallen asleep, which shall rise againon the day of the Lord's coming, when He shall come with gloryfrom heaven and shall seek out all the saints. Of these werePhilip, one of the twelve Apostles, who fell asleep at Hierapolis,and his two aged virgin daughters and his other daughter, who,having lived in the Holy Spirit, rest at Ephesus; and, moreover,John, who reclined on the Lord's bosom, and being a priest worethe sacerdotal mitre, who was both a witness and a teacher; hefell asleep at Ephesus; and, further, Polycarp in Smyrna, both abishop and a martyr.… All these observed the fourteenth day ofthe passover, according to the Gospel, deviating in no respect,but following the rule of faith. And I, Polycrates, do the same, theleast of you all, according to the tradition of my relatives, someof whom I have closely followed. For seven of my relatives werebishops, and I am the eighth. And my relatives always observedthe day when the people put away the leaven; I, therefore, am notaffrighted by terrifying words. For those greater than I have said,We ought to obey God rather than men.”… Thereupon 57 Victor,who was over the church of Rome, immediately attempted tocut off from the common unity the parishes of all Asia, withthe churches that agreed with them, as being heterodox. And hepublished letters declaring that all the brethren there were whollyexcommunicated. But this did not please all the bishops, andthey besought him to consider the things of peace, of neighborlyunity and love. Words of theirs are still extant, rather sharplyrebuking Victor. Among these were Irenæus, who sent lettersin the name of the brethren in Gaul, over whom he presided,and maintained that the mystery of the resurrection of the Lordshould be observed only on the Lord's Day, yet he fittingly57 From here text in Kirch, nn. 84 ff.