Viktor I.

Saint Victor I († 199 in Rome ) was Bishop of Rome from 189 until his death in 199.

Viktor I is considered an energetic bishop and became known for the Latinization of the Roman Church, which at that time was still dominated by Greek influences. Presumably he came from North Africa .

Life

Easter date

The name of this bishop is particularly associated with the Easter dispute over the date of Easter , which had been the subject of controversy since Anicetus .

Easter was celebrated by the communities in Asia Minor, the so-called Quartodecimaneans , on the 14th of the Jewish month of Nisan ( Passover ), and in the western church on the following Sunday. The motives are unclear - possibly the interest in standardization, possibly also the propaganda of a certain blast against the Western Easter date or the endeavor to avoid the date of the Passover. The latter possibility seems to be particularly probable, since the then still young Christian church wanted to distance itself clearly from its Jewish origin.

Viktor held synods in many congregations that joined him, with the exception of the congregations in Asia Minor. Viktor excluded these congregations from the church and with this excommunication aroused multiple indignation. It is considered the first authoritative measure of the papacy. Irenaeus of Lyons in no way denied Viktor's right to do so, but refused the excommunication, since the occasion was only liturgical , not dogmatic . Viktor relented, avoiding the danger of a schism .

Theodotus of Byzantium

Viktor I vigorously opposed the doctrine of emerging monarchianism that Christ was an ordinary person until his baptism. He subsequently excommunicated the money dealer Theodotus of Byzantium , the leader of this group, and the writer Florinus.

His Catholic feast day is July 28th. Viktorsberg is named after him .

literature

• Josef Rist:  VICTOR I .. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 12, Bautz, Herzberg 1997, ISBN 3-88309-068-9 , Sp. 1334-1337.
• Johann Peter Kirsch :  Pope St. Victor I . In: Catholic Encyclopedia , Volume 15, Robert Appleton Company, New York 1912.
• András Handl: Viktor I (189? -199?) Of Rome and the establishment of the “monarchical” episcopate in Rome. In: Sacris Erudiri: a Journal on the Inheritance of Early and Medieval Christianity, Volume 55, (2016), pp. 7-56.

Web links

Commons : Victor I  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Victor I. in the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints
• Complete works of Migne Patrologia Latina with table of contents

predecessor	Office	successor
Eleutherus	Bishop of Rome (the term Pope was first used after 384) approx. 189–199	Zephyrinus