« No Child Left Behind Act of 2001HomeFeeling sorry for God »

Pope Victor, Constantine: Excommunication, Antisemitism

Religious Intolerance

Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus today. There was no small nastiness in the early church in deciding when Easter should be celebrated.

Pope Victor

Victor, in the meantime, polled the leading bishops in other regions, and they unanimously reported that they observed Easter on Sunday. Only the province of Asia differed in its practice. The Catholic Encyclopedia states: “Victor, who 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 universally prevailing 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.”

Constantine the first Christian emperor.

In his letter to all those throughout the empire who had not attended the Council of Nicea, Constantine wrote concerning the keeping of Easter: “It appeared an unworthy thing that in the celebration of this most holy feast we should follow the practice of the Jews. . . . Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd. . . . It is most fitting that all should unite . . . in avoiding all participation in the perjured conduct of the Jews.”

Easter isn’t even mentioned in the Bible, except as a mistranslation.