Quartodecimanism (from the Vulgate Latin quarta decima in Leviticus 23:5, meaning fourteenth) is the name given to the practice of commemorating the death of Christ on the day of Passover, the 14th of Nisan according to biblical dating, on whatever day of the week it occurs. The Quartodeciman controversy in the Church was the question of whether to celebrate Easter on Sunday (the first day of the week), or at the time of sacrifice of the Passover lamb.

History

Early Christianity

thumb|Saint Polycarp was a Quartodeciman. The Quartodecimans claimed that their traditions are inherited from the Apostles [[John the Apostle|John and Philip, while western churches claimed that their views of Easter have been inherited from Paul and Peter. Quartodecimanism was popular in Asia Minor, Jerusalem and Syria, however it was rejected by churches in other regions. Polycarp, like other Asiatics, kept Easter on the fourteenth day of the month of Nisan. According to Eusebius, Polycarp claimed that his practice came from the apostle John. Some of the Montanists were also Quartodeciman. Montanism brought Quartodeciman practices to the west, for example Blastus was a Roman Montanist who was also a Quartodeciman. It is unclear if the Ebionites were Quartodeciman, however they probably observed Passover in addition to other Jewish festivals. The Didascalia likely drew from a Quartodeciman source. Some Novatians that spread into the east were Quartodecimans.

By the 4th century the influence of Quartodecimans declined; later they would even be persecuted.

The opponents of Quartodecimanism argued that it is a form of Judaizing.

Quartodeciman controversy

The Quartodeciman controversy arose because Christians in Jerusalem and Asia Minor observed Easter on the date of Passover, the 14th day of the first month of the Hebrew calendar (Nisan), regardless of the day of the week on which it occurred, while the churches in and around Rome celebrated Easter on the Sunday following first Full Moon following the vernal equinox, calling it "the day of the resurrection of our Saviour". The difference became an ecclesiastical controversy when the practice was condemned by synods of bishops.

Background

Of the disputes over the date when the Lord's Supper (Eucharist) should be celebrated, disputes known as Paschal/Easter controversies, the quartodeciman is the first recorded.

In the mid–2nd century, the practice in Asia Minor was for the pre-Paschal fast to end with a feast held on the 14th day of Nisan, when the barley was ripe after the new moon near the Jewish lunar month of Nisan (no matter the day of the week on which it occurred), the date on which the Passover sacrifice had been offered when the Second Temple stood, and "the day when the people put away the leaven". Those who observed this practice were called quartodecimani, Latin for "fourteenthers", because of holding their celebration on the 14th day of Nisan.

The practice had been followed by Polycarp, who was a disciple of John the Apostle and bishop of Smyrna (c. 69 – c. 155) - one of the seven churches of Asia, and by Melito of Sardis (d. c. 180). Irenaeus says that Polycarp visited Rome when Anicetus was its bishop (c. 68–153), and among the topics discussed was this divergence of custom, with Rome celebrating the Easter always on Sunday. Irenaeus noted:

But neither considered that the disagreement required them to break off communion and initiate a schism. Indeed, "Anicetus conceded the administration of the Eucharist in the church to Polycarp, manifestly as a mark of respect. And they parted from each other in peace, both those who observed, and those who did not, maintaining the peace of the whole church."

Sozomen also wrote:

A modern source says that the discussion between Polycarp and Anicetus in Rome took place within the framework of a synod.

The rejection of Bishop Anicetus' position on the quartodeciman by Polycarp, and later Polycrates' letter to Pope Victor I, has been used by Orthodox theologians as proof against the argument that the Churches in Asia Minor accepted the Primacy of the Bishop of Rome and the teaching of Papal supremacy.

Jehovah's Witnesses and Bible Students celebrate the Memorial of Christ's death on Nisan 14, as it begins at sunset,

Sources

Further reading

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