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First Council of Ephesus
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First Council of Ephesus

Christianity
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The Other Ephesian Councils
  • Second Council of Ephesus (431)
  • Third Council of Ephesus (449)
Quick Facts
Date:
190 - 449
Location:
Anatolia
Participants:
history of early Christianity

First Council of Ephesus, (190), Christian council held in Asia Minor by the early church in an attempt to establish the date of Easter. Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus, convened the synod to establish the 14th of Nisan (the date of the Jewish Passover) as the official date of Easter (see Jewish calendar). Pope Victor I, preferring a Sunday as more convenient and desiring uniformity, repudiated the decision and separated those who disagreed from Rome. Indeed, fixing the date on which the Resurrection of Jesus was to be observed and celebrated became a major controversy in which an Eastern and a Western position can be distinguished. The dispute was not definitively resolved until the 8th century. See also Paschal controversies.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello.