www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West One Easter date for all time?

In consulting the table, one will see that Pascha 2005 as reckoned by the Gregorian calendar is March 27, which means the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25, falls on Holy and Great Friday. Next year's typikon will certainly make for an interesting Holy and Great Week.

My guess is that this time next year no new ground will have been broken on this issue, and that all churches, jurisdictions, etc. will continue to decide the date of Pascha as they currently do. Even the modified calendar in use by many Orthodox caused major upheavals within the Orthodox world, spawning accusations of heresy by old calendarists, and the creation of additional splinter groups. As a Ruthenian in the U.S., I would like to see us return to the calendar once used by our ancestors in Europe (and still in use in some places outside the U.S.), but I figure political pressures are too significant for that to happen.

I seem to remember that in 1961 Annunciation coincided with Good Friday. It coincided with Holy Thursday sometime in the early seventies; I don't remember when right offhand. It coincided with Pascha in 1990, which was loads of fun. All this, of course, refers to the Julian Calendar.
Christ is Risen!
Incognitus

Dear Friends,

I remember one time when I was an Altar Server when the Annunciation fell on Great Friday itself!

The Annunciation seemed to "overshadow" the sorrow of Great Friday and "take over!"

Alex

Christ is Risen!
Truly He is Risen!

Was the last Kyrio Pascha in 1990 or 1991? I don't have a calendar for that, but I thought it was 1991 for some reason. (I am probably wrong, and it is of no matter.

Gaudior, historically.

Gaudior is correct; 1991 is the last Kyriopascha
Incognitus

It could be easily achieved.

Have the jews determine the date.

Since Jesus celebrated Passover, Easter Sunday should be the first Sunday after the Tuesday of Passover.

Christ is Risen!
Truly He is Risen!

Dear Little Green Coat,

Doing so has historically created problems in the past, as djs has posted, when on some ocassions the Jews had Passover twice in one year, owing to miscalculations! Clearly, we need to resolve the issue ourselves, as Nicea decided.

Gaudior, with humble bow.

CHRISTOS VOSKRES!

"...Have the jews determine the date..."

They already have, the 15th day of Nisan, when God told them to take a lamb and to make sacrifice and to mark their doors and lintels with it's blood so the Angel of Death should pass-over their houses....

The problem is that the date of Passover as celebrated by that Jews has not been consistent. Passover is the 15th of Nissan, but the calendar as used by Jews today is not the same as the calendar used in Our Lord's time.

In (circa) A.D. 358 Rabbi Hillel II modified the Jewish calendar to make it conform more to the solar year: More info [angelfire.com] .

Even in our Lord's time, not all Jews celebrated Passover at the same time. The Essenes, for example, used some sort of strange solar calendar that would have had them celebrating Passover earlier than everyone else (some have speculated that at the Last Supper was celebrated when the Essenes were celebrating Passover).

I won't claim to understand all of these issues, but I don't think that simply using the first Sunday after 15 Nissan is without its problems.

Jason, who is, sadly, not hopeful that we'll have a common date for Pascha anytime soon

I may be showing my ignorance here, but that hasn't stopped me before.

I don't see why this should be a problem. I do think it is important to celebrate Easter together, but it is not important the exact way it is determined. So why can't the Pope just decide that the Catholic Church will use the same method as the Orthodox, so that we will be united on this? I can't see too many Catholics being very upset about the change, and we have to submit to the Pope in something like this anyway, so even if some were upset, it would be moot. Since the Orthodox don't have one leader to submit to, it is easier if the Catholic side would make the change.

I think the value of a united Easter celebration is more important the the details of how the date is determined.

Again, apologies if I am displaying my ignorance.

Dear Francis:

At the risk of being branded as Rome- or Latin-bashing, I would think that the reason the Rome will never accept (or, more accurately, go back to) the the "Orthodox" recogning of Pascha is that it is based upon a calendar that was done away with (in the Latin Church) by order of the Pope.

By going back to the Orthodox recogning, it may be percieved by some as an admission against Papal infallibility.

It's a ridiculous argument, to be sure, but, IMHO, I am sure that there are those out there that would jump all over it.

Put me in with those who say that Pascha should be based upon the Jewish Passover. In this day and age, Passover always coincides with "springtime" on the Julian and Gregorian calendars, so issues of any inaccuracies of the Jewish Lunar calendar are moot.

Yours,

hal

As long as we're voting, put me down in favor of the Pascha/Passover date.

-Tim

It would be an ignorant Catholic that would think Papal Infallibility would be affected by changing the dating of Easter. That being said, maybe you are right.

Clearly the setting of the date of Easter does not fall under the confines of Papal Infallibility. I would hope that the Holy Father is not bound to inaction by the misconceptions of some Catholics. My guess is that it is more of an attitude on both sides of "why should we change? they are the ones who are wrong!" In my opinion, each side should be falling all over themselves to be the first to "give in" on matters not essential to faith and morals (and I would say the dating of Easter is one of those "non-essential" matters).

Church leaders . . . Silly . . . They could all just consult me and I would tell them when to celebrate Pascha . . . That would simplify things.

As a matter of fact, I don't see why they don't. They must not like Yankee fans.