rogance of a Roman
prelate. [340:1] Because the Churches of Asia Minor celebrated the
Paschal feast in a way different from that observed in the metropolis,
[340:2] Victor cut them off from his communion. But this attempt of the
bishop of the great city to act as lord over God's heritage was
premature. Other churches condemned the rashness of his procedure; his
refusal to hold fellowship with the Asiatic Christians threatened only
to isolate himself; and he seems to have soon found it expedient to
cultivate more pacific councils.

At this time the jurisdiction of Victor did not properly extend beyond
the few ministers and congregations to be found in the imperial city. A
quarter of a century afterwards even the bishop of Portus, a seaport
town at the mouth of the Tiber about fifteen miles distant from the
capital, acknowledged no allegiance to the Roman prelate. [340:3] The
boldness of Victor in pronouncing so many foreign brethren unworthy of
Catholic communion may at first, therefore, appear unaccountable. But it
is probable that he acted, in this instance, in conjunction with many
other pastors. Among the Churches of Gentile origin there was a deep
prejudice against what was considered the judaizing of the Asiatic
Christians in relation to the Paschal festival, and a strong impression
that the character of the Church was compromised by any very marked
diversity in its religious observances. There is, however, little reason
to doubt that Victor was to some extent prompted by motives of a
different complexion. Fifty years before, the remarkable words addressed
to the apostle of the circumcision--"Thou art Peter, and upon this Rock
I will build my Church" [341:1]--were interpreted at Rome in the way in
which they are now understood commonly by Protestants; for the brother
of the Roman bishop Pius, [341:2] writing about A.D. 150, teaches that
the Rock on which the Church is built is the Son of God; [341:3] but
ingenuity was already beginning to discover another exposition, and the
growing importance of the Roman bishopric suggested the startling
thought that the Church was built on Peter! [341:4] The name of the
Galilean fisherman was already connected with the see of Victor; and it
was thus easy for ambition or flattery to draw the inference that Victor
himself was in some way the heir and representative of the great
apostle. The doctrine that the bishop was necessary as the centre of
Catholic unity had already gained c