The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Polycrates of Ephesus
c. 130 – c. 196 · Bishop of Ephesus · Defender of the Quartodeciman usage · Ephesus
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Polycrates of Ephesus was
Bishop of Ephesus and spokesman of the churches of Asia when Victor of Rome pressed them to abandon their ancient Easter reckoning on the fourteenth of Nisan. His reply to Victor, preserved by Eusebius, is a proud roll-call of the Asian tradition — the apostle Philip and his daughters at Hierapolis, John “who reclined on the Lord’s breast,” Polycarp, Melito — “all these kept the fourteenth day… according to the Gospel, deviating in no respect.” “I am not affrighted by those who threaten me,” he wrote, “for those greater than I have said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” The dignity of his defiance kept the peace Victor nearly broke.
Also listed in bishops beyond the great sees.
Common questions
When did Polycrates live?
Polycrates of Ephesus is dated c. 130 – c. 196 in the archive, which places Polycrates in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
What did Polycrates write?
Polycrates of Ephesus has 1 catalogued writing in the archive: Letter to Victor of Rome (fragments).
Which early sources mention Polycrates?
Polycrates of Ephesus is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Eusebius of Caesarea and Jerome of Stridon. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Polycrates from?
The archive associates Polycrates of Ephesus with Ephesus.
Writings (1)
Letter to Victor of Rome (fragments)
c. 190We observe the exact day, neither adding nor taking away. For in Asia great lights have fallen asleep… Philip, one of the twelve apostles, and John, who reclined upon the bosom of the Lord.Read the interlinear source text →
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Ecclesiastical History V.24
c. AD 325I, therefore, brethren, who have lived sixty-five years in the Lord… am not affrighted by terrifying words. For those greater than I have said, ‘We ought to obey God rather than men.’Eusebius of Caesarea · V.24 · source text
On Illustrious Men 45
c. AD 392Polycrates, bishop of the Ephesians, with the other bishops of Asia, wrote a synodical letter against Victor, in which he follows the authority of the apostle John and of the ancients.Jerome of Stridon · On Illustrious Men 45 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
- Victor I of Rome
- Philip the Apostle
- Melito of Sardis
- Polycarp of Smyrna
- Thraseas of Eumenia
- Sagaris of Laodicea
- Papirius of Smyrna
- Abercius of Hierapolis
Events in this lifetime
- AD 135 · Bar Kokhba crushed; Aelia Capitolina, AD 135
- AD 144 · Marcion expelled at Rome, AD 144
- AD 156 · The New Prophecy erupts, AD 156
- AD 177 · Persecution at Lyon and Vienne, AD 177
- AD 180 · The Scillitan martyrs, AD 180
- AD 190 · The Quartodeciman controversy, AD 190
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Polycrates.