VICTOR
408
VICTOR
meni du Chant Liturgique, etc.. tr BouB (Rome, Tournai, 1904),
264-5, gives corrpoted text: " It became quite aa celebrated as tlie
Media vita of Notker. ... In Germany it has maintained a
glorious popularity even down to our own times through the
hymn Christus ist erstanden. " Wagner adds that he published
in the Gregoriusblatt (1896), no. II sq.. two imitations "which
could be sung to the triumphant and much-loved melody of
Wipo". JOHNER, A New School of Gregorian Chant (New York,
1906), 115: "The melody is imbued with a spirit of triumphal
joy . . . The jubilant scimus Christum surrexisse . . . should
be sung with emphasis and solemnity, tempo moderate, not
dragged." The tr. of Leeson, omitted from the hist. ed. of
Hymns Ancient and Modern (London, 1909), is given by Ould,
Book of Hymns (Edinburgh, 1910). Bates, The English Re-
ligiotis Drama (New York and London, 1893), omits "vidi" and
has "vos" for "suos". Courthope, History of English Poetry, I
(London and New York, 1895). 394-5, omits "vidi" and has
"vos" for "suos", dates the beginning of modern drama from the
use of the " Victimse paschali laudes" in the Sepulcri Officium and
the representations thence developed. Thompson in Duffield,
The Latin Hymn Writers and Their Hymns (New York, 1889),
thinks the undoubted poems of Wipo do not "show the fine ear
for rhythm which the author of the VictimEe paschali laudes must
have possessed. The sequence was one of those Easter hymns in
which Luther took such delight. ... He calls this a ' very beau-
tiful hymn*, especially finding delight in the second verse Mors et
Vita ,* . , ". See also Easter — The Easter Office and Mass.
H. T. Henry.
Victor I, Saint, Pope (189-198 or 199), date of birth unknown. The "Liber Pontificalis " makes him a native of Africa and give.s his father the name of Fehx. This authority, taking the "Liberian Catalogue" as its basis, gives the years 186-197 as the period of Victor's episcopate. The Armenian text of the "Chronicle" of Eusebius (Leipzig, 1911, p. 223) places the beginning of Victor's pontificate in the seventh year of the reign of the Emjieror Commo- dus (186-87) and gives it a duration of twelve years; in his "Church History" (V, xxii, ed. Schwarts, Leipzig, 1902, p. 486) Eu.sebius transfers the beginning of the pontificate to the tenth year of the reign of Commodus (189 or 190) and makes it last ten years. During the closing years of the reign of Commodus (lSO-192) and the early years of Septimius Severus (from 193) the Roman Church enjoyed in general great external peace. The favourable opinion of the Christians held by Commodus is ascribed to the influence of a woman named Marcia. According to the testimony of Hippolytus ("Philosophumena", IX, 12) she had been brought up by the presbyter Hyacinthus, was very favourably inclined towards the Christians, perhaps even a Christian herself (Hippolytus, loc. cit., calls her (piXiBeot God-loving). One day she summoned Pope Victor to the imperial palace and asked for a Ust of the Roman Christians who had been condemned to forced labour in the mines of Sardinia, so that she might obtain their freedom. The pope handed her the list and Marcia, having received from the emperor the required pardon, sent the presbyter Hyacinthus to Sardinia with an order of release for the Christian confessors. CalUstus, afterwards pope, who had been among those deported, did not return to Rome, but remained at Antium. where he received a monthly pension from the Roman Christians. Irena-us ("Adv. Haereses, IV, XXX, 1) points out that Christians were em- ployed at this period as oflncials of the imperial Court. Among these officials was the imperial freedman Prosenes, whose gravestone and epitaph have been preserved (De Rossi, "Inscriptiones christ. urbis Roma;", I, 9, no. 5). Septimius Severus, also, during the early years of his reign, regarded the Christians kindly, so that the influence of Christian ofTicials continued. The emperor retained in his palace a Christian named Proculus who had once cured him. He protected Christian men and women of rank against the excesses of the heathen ral)ble, and his son Caracalla had a Christian wet nurse (TertuUian, "Ad Scapulam", IV). Christi.anity made great advances in the capital and also found adherents among the families who were distinguished for wealth and noble descent (Eusebius, "Hist, eccl.", V, xxi).
Internal di.s.sensions during this era affected the
Church at Rome. The dispute over the celebration
of Easter (see Easter — Easier Conlrovcrsy) grew
more acute. The Christians at Rome, who had
come from the province of Asia, were accustomed to
observe Easter on the 14th day of Nisan, whatever
day of the week that date might happen to fall on,
just as they had done at home. This difference
inevitably led to trouble when it appeared in the
Christian community of Rome. Pope \'ictor decided,
therefore, to bring about unity in the observance of
the Easter festival and to persuade the Quartodeci-
mans to join in the general practice of the Church.
He wrote, therefore, to Bishop Polycrates of Ephesus
and induced the latter to call together the bishops of
the province of Asia in order to discuss the matter
with them. This was done; but in the letter .sent by
Polycrates to Pope Victor he declared that he firmly
held to the Quartodeciman custom observed by so
many celebrated and holy bishops of that region.
Victor called a meeting of Italian bishops at Rome,
which is the earliest Roman synod known. He also
wrote to the leading bishops of the various districts,
urging them to call together the bi-shops of their
sections of the country and to take counsel with
them on the question of the Easter festival. Letters
came from all sides: from the synod in Palestine, at
which Theophilus of Ca>sarea and Narcissus of Jerusa-
lem presided; from the synod of Pontus over which
Palmas as the oldest presided; from the communities
in Gaul whose bishop was Irena-us of Lj'ons; from the
bishops of the Kingdom of Osrhocne; also from indi-
vidual bishops, as Bakchylus of Corinth. These
letters all unanimously reported that Easter was
observed on Simday. ^'ictor, who acted throughout
the entire matter as the head of Catholic Christen-
dom, now called upon the bishops of the province of
Asia to abandon their custom and to accept the
universally prevaiUng practice of always celebrating
E.aster on Sunday. In case they would not do this
he declared they would be excluded from the fellow-
ship of the Church.
This severe procedure did not please all the bishops. Irenteus of Lyons and others wrote to Pope Victor; they blamed his severity, urged him to maintain peace and unity with the bishops of Asia, and to entertain affectionate feelings toward them. Irenoeus reminded him that his predecessors had indeed always maintained the Sunday observance of Easter, as was right, but had not broken off friendly relations and communion with bishops because they followed another custom (Eusebius, "Hist, eccl.", V, xxiii- XXV.) We have no information concerning the fur- ther course of the matter under Victor I so far as it regards the bishops of Asia. All that is known is that in the course of the third century the Roman practice in the observance of Easter became gradually universal. In Rome itself, where Pope Victor natu- rally enforced the observance of Easter on Sunday by all Christians in the capital, an Oriental named Bla.s- tus, with a few followers, opposed the pope and brought about a schism, which, however, did not grow in importance (Eusebius, loc. cit., V, xx). Pope Victor also had difficulties with a Roman priest named Florinus, who probably came from Asia Minor. As an official of the imperial court, Florinus had become acquainted in Asia Minor with St. Polycarp, and later was a presbyter of the Roman Church. He fell into the Gnostic heresy and defended the false learning of Valentine. St. Irena-us wrote two trea- tises against him: "On the Monarchy |of God] and that (>od is not the .Vuthor of I'A-il", and "On the Ogdoad". Irena"us also cvilled \'ictor's attention to the dangerous writings of Florinus, who was probably degraded from his jiriestly functions by the pope and exi)elled from the Church (Eusebius, "Hist, eccl.", V, XV, 20).
During the pontificate of Victor a rich Christian,
