Quote from Polycrates…
n“We observe the
exact day; neither adding, nor taking away… Among these are Philip, one of the twelve
apostles, ... and, moreover, John,
who was both a witness and a teacher,
who reclined upon the bosom of the Lord,... And Polycarp in Smyrna, who was a bishop and martyr... All these observed the fourteenth day of the passover
according to the Gospel,
deviating in no respect, but following the rule of faith. And I also, Polycrates, the least of you all,
do according to the
tradition of my relatives… And my relatives always observed the day when the people put away the leaven… For those greater than I have said ‘We ought to obey God rather than man’.”
- Eusebius. Church History, Book V, Chapter 24. Translated by Arthur Cushman
McGiffert.