Victor Africa

Born [date unknown] in Africa

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Deborah Talbot [send private message]

Biography

Pope St Victor I Africa is Notable.

Victor was born in Africa.^[1][2]

His consecration as Bishop of Rome is not known. The Vatican lists it as 186 or 189.^[1]

During his pontificate he dealt with the Quartodeciman Controversy, a dispute regarding the dates for the feast of the Passover. See Wikipedia for more details.

The date of his death is based on several conflicting documents. The Vatican says either 197 or 201.^[1]

Flocknote Popes in a Year ^[3] tells us:

The Liber Pontificalis (“Book of Popes”) lists Pope St. Victor I as following St. Eleutherius as Bishop of Rome. Church historian Eusebius, writing around 325 AD, also confirms Victor as 14th pope.

Pope St. Victor I is traditionally remembered as the first African pope, though we’re unsure of his date of birth. St. Jerome (writing in the 5th Century) mentions that Victor wrote several letters teaching the universal Church, thus using his authority as bishop of Rome.

One of those letters may have been correcting a false teaching proposed by a heretic named Theodotus, who attempted to preach that Christ was adopted by God and simply endowed with the Holy Spirit at his baptism. St. Victor, though he didn’t have the Nicene Creed to go off of, knew that Christ was instead “begotten, not made; consubstantial with the Father." As a result, he laid the doctrinal smackdown and excommunicated Theodotus for teaching error.

Pope Victor I was known for having a bit of a fiery personality, and also for seeking to unite the Church on when it celebrated Easter. Here’s the backstory: Most of the Church celebrated Easter on Sunday, the day of the week on which Christ rose from the dead. Others, however, celebrated Easter on the 14th day of Nisan, a month in the Hebrew calendar, which could fall on any day of the week. You'll recall St. Polycarp's disagreement with Pope St. Anicetus on this front.

There was a bit of tension and controversy, since the churches celebrating this “quartodeciman” practice (14th day; “quarto” = 4; “deci” = 10) did so because it was the practice of St. John the Apostle. Wanting to unite the Church, but apparently not wanting to deal with sass, Victor threatened to excommunicate those who didn’t cooperate and celebrate Easter on Sunday.

Thankfully, St. Irenaeus wrote the pope a letter saying, “Hey. Take a breath.” because there was no doctrinal issue at stake. The pope reconsidered, and the Church was united in its celebration of Easter soon after Victor’s pontificate.

Pope St. Victor I is credited with helping release a future pope, St. Callixtus I, from slavery. Taking advantage of a period of peace between Christians and the Roman Empire, Pope St. Victor was a catalyst in the pardon of many Christian prisoners from the mines of Sardinia, thanks to the Christian mistress (Marcia) of the Roman emperor Commodus.

Galen, the prominent Greek doctor and philosopher, published The Art of Curing, a work on pathology, and Pharmacologia, a work on medicines.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Vatican
2. ↑ Wikipedia Pope Victor I
3. ↑ Flocknote Popes in a Year
   SOURCES (and further reading)
   - John, E. (1964). The Popes: A concise biographical history. New York: Hawthorn Books.
   - Pope St. Victor I - http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15408a.htm
   - Pope St. Victor I - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Victor_I
   - 190s A.D. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/190s