Pope St. Anicetus

St. Anicetus was the pope from 155-166.  He succeeded Pius and was a Syrian from Edessa. Anicetus was a notable enemy of the heresies of his era, and during his reign a controversy arose between the Eastern and Western Churches. St. Polycarp, then rather advanced in age, came to confer with Anicetus, and spent two years, from 160-162, discussing a difference of opinion about the date of Easter. The Eastern Church celebrated Easter on the fourteenth day of Nissan (in the Jewish calendar), no matter what day of the week upon which it fell. The Western Church celebrated Easter on a Sunday. The two men did not come to an agreement on this issue, called “the Paschal Controversy.” Anicetus also received St. Hegesippus, one of the first Christian historians, a man who had lived in the time of the Apostles. Other great political and philosophical leaders also visited Pope Anicetus. His cult was suppressed in 1969. His feast is celebrated on April 17.