Historical Context: The Paschal Controversy
In the late second century the Church was divided over the date on which Pascha should be observed. Bishops of the province of Asia, led by Polycrates of Ephesus, maintained the Quartodeciman practice of keeping the feast on the fourteenth of Nisan regardless of the day of the week. Others held that the mystery of the resurrection should be celebrated only on the Lord's Day, that is, on Sunday.
Eusebius of Caesarea records in his Church History (Book V) that synods were convened on the question in many regions — at Rome, in Pontus, in Gaul, and elsewhere. Among these was a gathering of the bishops of Palestine, over whom, in Eusebius's words, Theophilus of Caesarea and Narcissus of Jerusalem presided. A written statement of this Palestinian assembly was still extant in Eusebius's day.
The Palestinian synod joined the others in unanimous agreement that the resurrection of the Lord should be celebrated on no day but the Lord's Day. The Asian bishops under Polycrates continued to hold the older observance, so the dispute was not fully resolved by these synods.