The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Victor I of Rome
d. c. 199 · Bishop of Rome · First Latin-writing pope · Africa → Rome
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Victor I of Rome was
Fourteenth bishop of Rome, an African and, by tradition, the first to write and celebrate in Latin — the beginning of the Latinization of the Roman church. He pressed the Quartodeciman churches of Asia to keep Easter on the Roman Sunday and, when they refused, attempted to cut them off from communion — the first assertion of Roman disciplinary reach over other churches, which Irenaeus and others sharply rebuked as a breach of the peace Anicetus had kept. His threat was not carried through, but the precedent was set.
Also listed in the bishops of Rome.
Common questions
When did Victor I die?
Victor I of Rome is dated d. c. 199 in the archive, which places Victor I 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 Victor I write?
Victor I of Rome has 1 catalogued writing in the archive: Latin opuscula, with the paschal letters. All are lost, known only from later citation.
Which early sources mention Victor I?
Victor I of Rome is named in 4 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Hippolytus of Rome, Eusebius of Caesarea, The chronographer of 354 and Jerome of Stridon. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Victor I from?
The archive associates Victor I of Rome with Africa, Rome. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Writings (1)
Latin opuscula, with the paschal letters
The first Latin works of a Roman bishop — all lostVictor wrote, on the paschal controversy, certain other small works. (after Jerome, On Illustrious Men 34)Lost — known only from later citation.
Primary-source mentions (4)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Refutation of All Heresies IX.12 (the Callistus narrative, 'Victor being then bishop')
c. AD 225Marcia, being desirous of performing some good work, summoned the blessed Victor, who was at that time bishop of the Church, and inquired of him what martyrs were in Sardinia.Hippolytus of Rome · Refutation IX.12 · source text
Ecclesiastical History V.24
c. AD 325Thereupon Victor, who presided over the church at Rome, immediately attempted to cut off from the common unity the parishes of all Asia… But this did not please all the bishops.Eusebius of Caesarea · V.24 · source text
Liberian Catalogue (Chronography of 354)
c. AD 354On Illustrious Men 34
c. AD 392Victor, thirteenth bishop of Rome, wrote, on the paschal controversy, certain other small works.Jerome of Stridon · On Illustrious Men 34 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
- Eleutherus of Rome
- Irenaeus of Lyon
- Polycrates of Ephesus
- Theodotus the Cobbler
- Theophilus of Caesarea
- Palmas of Amastris
- Emperor Commodus
- Marcia
- Blastus of Rome
- Bacchylus of Corinth
- Theodotus the Banker
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 2 places the sources put Victor I, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.