Who he was
Victor came from Roman Africa, according to the Liber Pontificalis, and led the Church in a time of relative peace under the Emperors Commodus and Septimius Severus. At the request of Marcia, a woman at the imperial court, he gave a list of Christians condemned to the mines of Sardinia, and they were set free.
What he is remembered for
He is remembered for settling the Easter question: he held the first known Roman synod and pressed the churches of Asia to keep Easter on a Sunday, threatening to cut them off, until St Irenaeus urged him to keep the peace. He also condemned the false teaching of Theodotus. St Jerome called him the first Latin writer in the Church.
He is honoured by the Church as Saint. Read his page in the dictionary of saints.
Sources
All popes · Home · All saints