- Feb 5, 2002
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After hearing from certain bishops, the pope decided to tamp down on the liturgy. Whereas his predecessors were fine with two different forms of celebration, the pope now insisted that everyone should celebrate in the same way. The pope’s motives seem to have been good: fostering liturgical unity in the Church and weeding out division among Catholics. But it was instead quickly received as a threat to Tradition. After all, the liturgical practice in question was “from an older tradition,” indeed an ancient one dating back to the time of the apostles. Almost overnight, schism or excommunication suddenly seemed possible.
Of course, the pope I’m describing is Pope Victor I (reigned c. A.D. 189-199), and the controversy was the so-called Quartodeciman controversy, about when to celebrate Easter.
If you’re not familiar with the controversy, it starts with a calendaring problem. At the time of Christ, Jews used two calendars: their own lunar calendar and the Julian calendar (the predecessor of the Gregorian calendar), used throughout the Roman Empire.
Continued below.
www.catholic.com
Of course, the pope I’m describing is Pope Victor I (reigned c. A.D. 189-199), and the controversy was the so-called Quartodeciman controversy, about when to celebrate Easter.
If you’re not familiar with the controversy, it starts with a calendaring problem. At the time of Christ, Jews used two calendars: their own lunar calendar and the Julian calendar (the predecessor of the Gregorian calendar), used throughout the Roman Empire.
Continued below.
The Pope vs. Tradition?
Have you ever heard of a pope setting himself against a venerable tradition of the Church? It did happen...in the second century.
