—a--6' Che '^-JL— Dotre Dame Scholastic DlSC£-9VASI-5£mP(5R- VICTV/RV/S- • VIV£ ^VASI- CRASMORlTVRyS VOL. XLV. NOTRE DAME, INDIANA, APRIL 7, 1912. No. 26. Matting. jVyiANY a seed and many a bud, that has slept through the Winter grey. Is awaiting the angel Spring to roll the stone away. Many a bird, that has- flown afar to her nest in the sunnier South, Is hasting home with a song entombed in her sealed "mouth. Christ, the King Who lives! they await the Dawn to arise with You— The seed, the bud, every bird that glides 'neath stretches of blue. C. R. L. Some Early History of Easter. MAURICE J. NORCKAUER, I4. N the early history of the Roman sects of the Gnostics, and exerted an influence Catholic Church the sects that on their era similar to that exercised at the rose up against the "Spouse of present time by such sects of 5^ Protestantism Christ" were almost as numerous as Methodists, Baptists, Christian Scientists as the sects of Protestantism and the like. today. The Church has had to The times were often troublesome, but contend with heretical adversaries almost con­ undoubtedly God wished them so, for troubles tinually since the day it was founded. An served but to unite the faithful in a closer adventurer into the realm of early Church bond of unity. Through the providence of history is astonished at the marvellous things God they gave the Church the necessary oppor­ he encounters there. He meets with heresies tunity of defining her position in regard to and schisms far more threatening then, than matters of ecclesiastical and liturgical discipline. Socialism is now; yet the names of these Even among the faithful followers of the Church, heresies and sdiisms are never met with any sectional differences, arose, and in order to more. Were it not for the records of history maintain her divine characteristic of univer­ we would never know such sects existed as sality, the Church, through her head, had to Prodidans, Cainites, Secundians, Ptolemaitans, settle these differences, and to make many Ophites, Sethians, Marcosians, Colorbasians, obso^ances general and uniform. Archontiques and Antitactes. These were all Early in the second century a discussion 402 THE NOTRE DAME SCHOLASTIC arose concerning the proper date for the cele­ celebrating the Jewish, not the Christian bration of Easter. This was only one of the Passover, which, they said, "should be kept diflficult questions .which the early Church had uniformly [on the 14th day of Nisan " (Alzog). to answer, but it demonstrates how action The Churches of the East and of the West— taken by the Popes has obviated any future but not the Ebionistic-Quartodecimans—^were difficulty. Easter occurs only on Sunday, and willing to accept the decree, of Rome, whenever that it is a movable feast; that is, a feast it should be given, but until such a time, whose date of celebration is changeable. Yet they both tried to secure the sanction of their not many of us have ever inquired how the own custom. date of the Easter festival is determined, and Apparently the matter would have been how it came to be thus determined. settled quickly and satisfactorily had it not Easter is one of the oldest Christian festivals. been that St. Polycarp, a man of tremendous Alzog, in his "Universal Church History," influence among the Oriental Churches, was says: "The Christian Pasch, or Easter, was in favor of the stand taken by the Eastern at first intended to commemorate and keep Church. Darras, the historian, gives a very alive in the Church two great ideas: the clear account of this phase of the discussion. death of Christ, and His resurrection." The St. Polycarp recognized that unity and harmony controversy concerning Easter had to do simply should exist between the two sections, and with the date of celebration, and "it did not went to Rome to confer with Pope Anicetus. regard the object of the feast—^the redemption "St. Anicetus and St. Polycarp had a friendly through the death of Christ—^nor the liturgical discussion upon the question on which the celebration" (Brueck's "History of the Cath­ two Churches were divided. The Pope con­ olic Church). The first open disagreement sidered it of the highest importance to persuade seems to have occurred during the reign of St. Polycarp to abandon his ancient custom, Pope St. Pius I. who ruled the Church from knowing the powerful effect of his example 140 to 155. Dr. Oechtering informs us: "He upon the Asiatic bishops. His predecessors (Pius I.) insisted that Easter be celebrated on had labored to remove, by degrees, the Judaic Sunday." Already, then, a spirited contest observances introduced into the Church by must have been in progress. But it was during the Jewish converts, and their efforts had the pontificate of St. Anicetus (155-166) that been crowned with success. This one point the controversy first became general, and alone remained to be cleared up. But the opposition between the Churches of the East authority of St. John, and the inviolable attach­ and of the West assumed a hostile aspect. ment which St. Polycarp cherished for his There were "so many conflicting opinions venerated master, overshadowed in his, mind that the pagans reproached the Christians all the arguments of this sovereign pontiff. for their internal dissensions, and ridiculed St. Anicetus then regarded it as a duty to leave their quarrels." The Churches of Asia Minor the matter on its ancient footing, and to tol­ wished to commemorate the death of Christ erate, even in Rome, their accustomed obser­ on the 14th day of Nisan (March-April), and vance by Asiatic visitors to that city to celebrate the festival of Easter on the i6th The Easter controversy was not again renewed day of the same month, no matter on which until the pontificate of St. Victor, toward day of the week the i6th fell. Whereas the the close of this century." Churches of the West, together with the Church The "Histoire Xiteraire de la France," of Rome, intended that Easter should be afSrms that St. Anicetus and St. Polycarp celebrated on the first Sunday after the 14th parted in peace, £uid other histories affirm it. day of Nisan. These Churches of Asia Minor The "Histoire" says, "ils se separerent en and of the West were always within the pale paix; et cette paix ^toit commune h. toutes of the Church, and were loiown as "Quarto- les Eglises qui c^^broient la. Pdque bii le decimans." But there was another sect of quatorzi^me jour de la lune, ou le dimanche Ebionites who wanted to celebrate the feast d'apr^." (They, separated in peace; and of the Pasch on the 14th day of Nisan with the this peace was common to all the Churches Jews, because the Mosaic law-was still binding. which celebrate the Pasdi on the 14th day This sect, knowii as the " Ebionistic-Quarto- of the moon, or the Sunday after.) decimans," was heretical. TKey were really Popes Sotenis and Eleutherius did not TtiE NOTRE DAME SCHOLASTIC 403 disturb this order of affairs during their pon­ The Resurrection. tificates, thus giving a tacit consent to Pope Anicetus' ruling. But while Pope St. Victor was on the throne of Peter, the controversy JOSEPH M. WALSH, . '14. was again started. At the Synod of Aries (314), the decree was passed that Easter "should be PRING was near at hand, the celebrated on the selfsame day. and at the snows of the long winter were same time in every region of the earth." decomposing into their elements This, of course, was. a long step forward and adding to the streams which toward the final settlement of the question, had long since broken their icy yet it remained for the Council of Nice to give bonds. - The kindly housewife no the final word. The Synod of Aries left a longer scattered crumbs for the loop-hole and was not conclusive, since it did snow birds, for the snow had already disappeared not state the day or the time definitely enough. from sufficient feeding groimd to satisfy the At the Council of Nice, however, the final beggars of the air. But though the buds were decision was passed that "the Easter festival dormant and the robin kept to his southern should be celebrated on the first Sunday after home. Nature was awakening at the breath the spring full-moon." Those who would not of spring, and all earth was making ready to comply with this ruling were to be henceforth begin life anew. treated as heretics, and the appellation " Ouarto- Gazing out of his studio window, George decimans" was given them. At last, after Harlin saw the signs of this revival and felt more than half a century of disagreement, the spirit of the time strike a distant memory the unity of the Christian world was made in his soul—a memory of the time when he intact. was a youngster; when he loved and adored It is hard for us at the present day to realize her, living, whom he had forgotten, dead—^his how trying this long controversy was to the mother. His mind recalled the last Lenten infant Church, but as the "Histoire de la season she ispent on earth; he saw himself France" says:—"Dieu ne permet point de a happy, care-free boy of seven, trotting mal qu'il n'en sache tirer un plus grand bien; joyously by her side to morning mass—" Pshaw! et cela est de 'ordre de sa souveraine sagesse." Mass.