confirms that the new Easter heresies were principally located in the provinces
of Asia Minor, even if protopaschism also had deep roots in Syria where, as we
have seen, it was attributed by Epiphanius to the Audian heresy.
But even better evidence of the historical reality of these new heresies, at
least in Asia Minor, is a record of confessions extracted from repentant
heretics during Nestorius’persecutions in Philadelphia, Lydia, in 428– 31 CE,
which is included in the proceedings of the Council of Ephesus of 431CE.^173
The text begins with a statement concluding that ‘if anyone does not
celebrate the holy day of Easter according to the decree of the holy and
catholic Church, let him be anathema’(76. 11).^174 Then follows the record
of over ten confessions of self-professed, repentant Quartodecimans, em-
ploying an almost standard formula (in thefirst person): the repentant
Quartodeciman acknowledges belief in orthodoxy, approaches the catholic
Church, and anathemizes every heresy, especially the Quartodecimans and
those who do not celebrate the day of Easter as the catholic Church does
(76. 12–22, 25). One of the confessions anathemizes instead the Katharoi
and those, again, who do not celebrate the day of Easter as the catholic
Church does (76. 23);‘Katharoi’are identified in another confession (that,
however, does not mention Easter) with the Novatians (76. 26).^175 Although
highly formulaic, these confessions are the closest we get to first-hand
evidence of the actual existence of Easter heresies.
Some general comments arise. Firstly, the late fourth-century invention of
the names‘Quartodeciman’(Tessareskaidekatites) and (less common)‘Proto-
paschite’—whether genuine self-designations or terms created by their‘ortho-
dox’ opponents^176 —is highly significant. Although these names describe
specific observances with regard to the date of Easter, they functioned primar-
ily as heretical labels, in that they were used as designations of heresies. They
imply not only that after Nicaea calendar deviance had become heretical, but
also that calendar deviance had become significant enough to define Christian
groups as heresies. These names suggest that observance of Easter onluna XIV
or before the equinox was sufficient on its own to generate complete and self-
contained, albeit single-issue, heresies.^177
Secondly, the prominence of Asia Minor in many of these sources is worthy
of attention. Observance ofluna XIVhad ancient roots in Asia Minor, but not
observance of Easter‘with the Jews’, i.e. on the Sunday following the Jewish
(^173) E. Schwartz (1929) 100–5 (no. 76: 11–31), and the excellent article of Millar (2004).
(^174) Millar (2004) 120, arguing that it is probably an expression of Nestorius’views.
(^175) Ibid. 123–8.
(^176) See brief discussion Ibid. 129–30.
(^177) In time, however, Quartodecimanism might have adopted other, non-calendrical doc-
trines: according to Theodoret (above, n. 160), at least, Quartodecimans agreed with Novatians
in rejecting the notion of repentance.
420 Calendars in Antiquity