quickly after the apostles were gone, early church fathers appealed to apostolic tradition to establish contradictory views. For example, in a dispute concerning the date of Easter arising in the second century, both sides appealed to apostolic tradition to ground their view.24 Eusebius records a letter from Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus, claiming that their position on the date of Easter was handed down to them from the apostles, and then records the response from Victor, bishop of Rome, who on the same basis sought to excommunicate churches holding to this position but was restrained by
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