According toIrenaeus, it was during his pontificate that the aged Polycarp of Smyrna, a disciple ofJohn the Evangelist, visited Rome to discuss the celebration ofEaster with Anicetus. Polycarp and his Church of Smyrna celebrated the crucifixion on thefourteenth day of Nisan, which coincides withPesach (or Passover) regardless of which day of the week upon this date fell, while the Roman Church celebrated Easter on Sunday—the weekday ofJesus'sresurrection. The two did not agree on a common date, but Anicetus conceded to Polycarp and the Church of Smyrna the ability to retain the date to which they were accustomed. The controversy was to grow heated in the following centuries.[5]
The Christian historianHegesippus also visitedRome during Anicetus's pontificate. This visit is often cited as a sign of the early importance of theRoman See.[5]
Anicetus actively opposed theGnostics andMarcionism.[6] TheLiber Pontificalis records that Anicetus decreed that priests are not allowed to have long hair (perhaps because the Gnostics wore long hair).[4]
According to church tradition, Anicetus sufferedmartyrdom during the reign of EmperorLucius Verus, but there are no historical grounds for this account.[7] 16, 17 and 20 April are all cited as the date of his death, but 20 April is currently celebrated as hisfeast day.[1] Before 1970, the date chosen was 17 April.[7] TheLiber Pontificalis states he was buried in thecemetery of Callistus.[4]
^Campbell, Thomas (1907). "Pope St. Anicetus" inThe Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
^abcRaymond Davis (2000).Book of the Pontiffs (Liber Pontificalis) (Liverpool University Press - Translated Texts for Historians). Liverpool University Press (published January 1, 2001). p. 5.ISBN9780853235453.OL8283722M.
^abIrenaeus, cited in Eusebius,Historia Ecclesiastica, 5.24; translated by G.A. Williamson,Eusebius: History of the Church (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1965), pp. 232f
Duff, Eamon.Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes, Yale University Press, 2001, p. 13.ISBN0-300-09165-6
Maxwell-Stuart, P. G.Chronicle of the Popes: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Papacy from St. Peter to the Present, Thames & Hudson, 2002, p. 19.ISBN0-500-01798-0.
