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

Brethren,

No need to be scandalized, because if I remember correctly, it had nothing to do with the Orthodox formula, but more to do about when the formula really is--something about counting the wrong vernal equinox at the time of implementation of the Gregorian calendar....

It was a few years ago, and that was all my husband and I could remember the good Bishop saying infront of the parish..it was long and convuluted, and terribly confusing! :rolleyes:

As for *me* being a Bishop, well, unless I have converted to the Episcopalian Church, I don't think that would be possible! :p :p :p

(...and even if I were Episcopalian, I would have no desire WHATSOEVER to be a priest or Bishop--I have enough to be accountable for as a sinful and unworthy lay person; I would *dread* having to account for the responsibilities of a priest or Bishop.)

In Christ,
Alice

Hi! I'm sorry for the Palm-Sunday pesimism.

However, it's real that many Byzantine Catholics do celebrate according to the Western Paschalion, even those that are very Eastern like the Melkites and most Byzantine Catholics of the Ruthenian Church.

In some way I also believe the Gregorian Calendar to be better, but it's very divisive among the Orthodox (and not only that, I have seen Mexican Calendars from before the Independence who have both dates mentioned). And againt in favour of the Roman Church, the Revised-Calendar is probably less functional than the whole Julian one as it eliminates one fasting time considered to be important (the apostles fast).

However, the truth is that because of the divisions and problems within the Orthodox Churches (the Romanian Church adopted the Western Paschalion for some years in the 1920's and almost no priest agreed to follow it) the Churches are very unlikely to make such ecumenical gesture (adopting the Western Paschalion).

It would be much easier for the Pope to do so. While many other Ecumenical signs have been ignored (unfortunately) this one would probably be the greatest in the eyes of all Orthodox Christians.

Michael asks "Are there any Byzcath parishes following the Julian Calendar?" - Yes, and they number in the thousands; this is counting Ukraine (including Transcarpathia) and other places where the innovation has not reared its ugly (and divisive) head.

The Melkites in Egypt and some other places continue to follow the traditional Paschalia.

Every year we go through this - for the life of me, I don't understand the alleged "problem". We of all people are supposed to believe in pluralism, but the pressure from the New Calendarists is utterly unrelenting. Fortunately, so is the resistance from those of us who aren't having any.

That the Roman Catholics and Protestants use a different calendar doesn't disturb me in the least; why should it? Is anyone on the forum disturbed because the various liturgical traditions use different systems for determining what Scripture lessons should be read?

I would be mildly pleased if Pope Benedict XVI restored the traditional Paschalion to the Western Church - but only mildly, because, as I just said, if the West wants to use the innovation, that doesn't really bother me.

So a blessed Holy Week to all those who are in the midst of it, and a most joyful and radiant Pascha this coming Sunday!

Incognitus

Dear Incognitus,

Same to you!

I too am very ecumenical! If the West wants to use the later, uncanonical Paschal calculation, that's no sweat off my brow!

I'm easy! The West too is serving the Lord - they're doing it their way and we're doing it . . . His Way!

Alex

I remember, when I was in Poland (in the 1970's and 1980's) the UCC followed the Julian method in reckoning Pasca. In most places. I believe, maybe I am wrong, that the Parish in Szczecin celebrated according to the Gregorian model.

Dating Pascha in the Orthodox Church
Dr. Lewis J. Patsavos, Ph. D.

The long-awaited common celebration of Pascha on April 15, 2001 by all Christians has come and gone. It was in 1990 when this coincidence last occurred and will be in 2004 when it occurs again. In anticipation of this common observance by all Christians, much was said and written. What was stressed was the need to keep alive the momentum of the occasion. Unless we all understand the significance of this event, it will remain nothing more than a peculiarity of the calculations related to the date of Pascha. In one sense, that is what it is. But in another sense, it is the convergence of all that we as Christians in the East and West profess regarding the centrality of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ as the cornerstone of our faith.

Nothing challenges the credibility of this fact to non-believers more than the scandal of our division on this point of celebration. In the ardent desire to address this problematic and troubling reality, the following contribution is offered�..

Almost from the very beginning of the existence of the Christian Church, the issue regarding the date of our Lord�s death and resurrection presented variations. Although the New Testament relates these events to the Jewish Passover, the details of this relationship are not clear. On the one hand, the tradition of the synoptic gospels identifies the Lord�s last supper with His disciples as a passover meal. This would place the death of our Lord on the day after Passover. On the other hand, the tradition of the gospel of St. John situates the death of our Lord at the very hour the paschal lambs were sacrificed on the day of Passover itself. This variation in the interpretation of the scriptures led to two different practices. The one observed Pascha on the day of Passover, regardless of the day of the week. The other observed it on the Sunday following Passover. By the 4th century, the latter practice prevailed throughout the Church universally; nevertheless, differences continued to exist.

In response to this ongoing problem, the First Ecumenical Council convened at Nicaea in 325 took up the issue. It determined that Pascha should be celebrated on the Sunday which follows the first full moon after the vernal equinox-the actual beginning of spring. If the full moon happens to fall on a Sunday, Pascha is observed the following Sunday. The day taken to be the invariable date of the vernal equinox is March 21. Hence, the determination of the date of Pascha is governed by a process dependent on the vernal equinox and the phase of the moon.

Another factor which figures prominently in determining the date of Pascha is the date of Passover. Originally, Passover was celebrated on the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Christians, therefore, celebrated Pascha according to the same calculation-that is, on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. The correlation between the date of Pascha and the date of Passover is clear. Our Lord�s death and resurrection coincided with Passover, thereby assuring a secure point of reference in time. This assurance lasted, however, only for a short time.

Events in Jewish history contributing to the dispersion of the Jews had as a consequence a departure from the way Passover was reckoned at the time of our Lord�s death and resurrection. This caused the Passover to precede the vernal equinox in some years. It was, in fact, this anomaly which led to the condemnation reflected in Canon 1 of Antioch (ca. 330) and Canon 7 of the Holy Apostles (late 4th century) of those who celebrate Pascha �with the Jews.� The purpose of this condemnation was to prevent Christians from taking into account the calculation of Passover in determining the date of Pascha.

Most Christians eventually ceased to regulate the observance of Pascha by the Jewish Passover. Their purpose, of course, was to preserve the original practice of celebrating Pascha following the vernal equinox. Thus, the Council of Nicaea sought to link the principles for determining the date of Pascha to the norms for calculating Passover during our Lord�s lifetime.

Despite the intervention of Nicaea, certain differences in the technicalities of regulating the date of Pascha remained even thereafter. This resulted occasionally in local variations until, by the 6th century, a more secure mode of calculation based on astronomical data was universally accepted. This was an alternative to calculating Pascha by the Passover and consisted in the creation of so-called �paschal cycles.� Each paschal cycle corresponded to a certain number of years. Depending upon the number of years in the cycle, the full moon occurred on the same day of the year as at the beginning of the cycle with some exceptions. The more accurate the cycle, the less frequent were the exceptions. In the East, a 19-year cycle was eventually adopted, whereas in the West an 84-year cycle. The use of two different paschal cycles inevitably gave way to differences between the Eastern and Western Churches regarding the observance of Pascha.

A further cause for these differences was the adoption by the Western Church of the Gregorian Calendar in the 16th century. This took place in order to adjust the discrepancy by then observed between the paschal cycle approach to calculating Pascha and the available astronomical data. The Orthodox Church continues to base its calculations for the date of Pascha on the Julian Calendar, which was in use at the time of the First Ecumenical Council. As such, it does not take into account the number of days, which have since then accrued due to the progressive loss of time in this calendar.

Practically speaking, this means that Pascha may not be celebrated before April 3, which was March 21, the date of the vernal equinox, at the time of the First Ecumenical Council. In other words, a difference of 13 days exists between the accepted date for the vernal equinox then and now. Consequently, it is the combination of these variables which accounts for the different dates of Pascha observed by the Orthodox Church and other Christian Churches.

Specifically with regard to this year�s date of Pascha, the following observations are made. The invariable date of the vernal equinox is taken to be April 3 (March 21 on the Julian Calendar). Pascha must therefore be observed on the Sunday following the full moon which comes after that date. According to the 19-year Paschal cycle, the first full moon which comes after April 3 this year is on May 1 (April 18 on the Julian Calendar) - the day assigned to the Jewish Passover as calculated originally. In reality, this full moon falls on April 27, a discrepancy left uncorrected in the paschal cycle. As already stated, the provision of the First Ecumenical Council calls for Pascha to be observed on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Since May 1, for the reasons stated above, is taken to be the date of that full moon, the following Sunday, May 5, is the day on which Pascha is observed this year.

If anything, this review of the complexities surrounding the issue of the date of Pascha underscores the compelling need to revisit it with patience and openness. This was the spirit which predominated at the most recent consultation on the matter held in Aleppo, Syria in 1997. One of its conclusions was that the present differences in the calendars and lunar tables (paschal cycles) employed rather than to differences in fundamental theological outlook. In view of the fact that both the Julian and Gregorian modes of calculation diverge from the astronomical data, it behooves us to return to the norms determined by the Council of Nicaea. Although the council did not itself undertake a detailed regulation of the paschal calculation, it did in fact respect available contemporary science regarding the vernal equinox and the phase of the moon. We can do no less today.

October, 2001


Dr. Lewis J. Patsavos,
Professor of Canon Law Holy Cross School of Theology

Orthodox-Catholic, my friend. If the East is so perfect and the West used to be exactly 100% like the east, then why do we use different names to specify the western and the eastern part of Europe? We could just say Christians under Byzantine rite and that would be enough.

You are too orthodox. Now it is up to you to realise if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

"...we're doing it His way!".
Okay that takes the Line of the Year award... :p

Just to avoid misunderstandings, I do believe that the Eastern rite and paschalion is 100% orthodox and it really does it His way, but so does the Western rite and paschalion...

The Church is like a coin. It has TWO SIDES...
Stop staring at the side named Eastern, thinking how beautiful it is and start looking at the side named Western too. You might then notice how beautiful it also is...

I tend to view the dates being observed as irrelevant - at least it is to me. I know others get their underwear tied in knots over it. But it's like the date for Christmas. It has no link to the actual date when the event occurred. In both east and west, the dates are not actual anniversary dates. They probably are both wrong.

Both dates wrong! What a cheek! You will be saying there is no Easter Bunny next.

I am quiet content to juggle 2 Christmases and 2 Easters.

ICXC
NIKA

Yes, there is an Easter Bunny, and he's made of the highest quality dark chocolate. :p

Yes indeed, and what a hoot.

The threads always begin with the idea that the West should change its reckoning, followed by the usual, (necessarily) unsupported claims that the Western reckoning is uncanonical, violative of the Nicea I, connected to astrology, etc. We even were treated this year to the idea that the Old Calendar comes to us from the Apostles, and the suggestion that Nicea settled an invariant date for the vernal equinox.

Then to top it all, that most "subtle argument", that these threads amount to utterly unrelenting pressure from New Calendarists.

What a hoot.

Yes the NCs are at work down here. Lucky people just wont have it. I blame all these modernist Canadian SSMIs who have turned up down here with all their RC ideas.

Not a fan of the SSMI.

XB
BB

Dear Pavel Ivanovich,

"Not a fan of the SSMI". Since I hold the same opinion may I join you society and participate in your activities?

Dear djs,
If you really think that the only pressure for the adoption of the calendar innovation is the occasional discussion on this forum, then I congratulate you on your charming naivete.
If you really believe that there is nothing scholarly to be said in favour of the traditional ecclesiastical calendar, I suggest you learn more about the Typicon and about the calendar.

Incognitus

Another member of the Society here

Pass the Chocolate please - I'm in dire need of it