www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Pope Revises Passover Date

The following also concerns unleaven bread, one of four topics at the general councils of Lyon and Florence. Those four topics were purgatory, papal supremecy, filioque and unleaven bread.

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http://www.zenit.org/english/

Under Documents go to:

Code: ZE07040628

Date: 2007-04-06 (April 6, 2007)

Benedict XVI's Holy Thursday Homily

"Jesus Is the New and True Lamb"

All the best,

Scott

Dear Scott,

The position of the Eastern Catholics is that we allow Latin Catholics to hold to their later doctrinal developments on purgatory, papal supremacy, the Filioque and unleavened bread as long as they do not deny the legitimacy of the original traditions as held from the beginning by the Eastern Churches (and the Western Churches when we were one Church for the first thousand years).

The Eastern Churches don't celebrate Passover, so whatever the West would like to do to its calculation etc. it would have to consult the greater Rabbinical authorities etc.



Alex

And let's remember that many devout Eastern Catholics, particularly among the Ukrainian Catholics and Maronites, have a stronger belief in doctrines such as purgatory and indulgences, than a great many Latin Rite Catholics.

At the risk of appearing dense, I listened to the Holy Father delivering this sermon, did not notice anything untoward or disedifying, and just read it again. There is nothing in it about the Pope revising the date of Passover, of all things!

Incidentally, the majority of Eastern Catholics continue to adhere to the canon which forbids us to celebrate the Christian Pascha before the Passover.

Fr. Serge

Fr. Serge,

By "revising the Date of Passover", Scott means that the Last Supper was not an unleavened bread Seder meal, as the East has always maintained according to the Gospel of John. Even the synoptics use the Greek term for leavened bread at the Last Supper.

Dear Theophilus,

Actually, this Pope is quite amazing with respect to the breadth of not only his knowledge (which is encyclopedic) but his understanding of things.

Alex

Dear Lawrence,

Actually, the UGCC is very much like the Anglican Church:

"Low and lazy" (my in-laws' parish)

"Middle and hazy" (nationalist parishes)

"High and crazy" (St Elias' in Brampton?)



Alex

You'll have to explain those better so I can understand which one my chosen parish is in.

Dr. Eric

Theophilus:

Thanks for your reply!

Several months ago, our priest, Father Sid Sidor attended a Catholic seminar put on by a Dr. John Martignoni an apologist from EWTN at Marian College in Indianapolis. Martignoni was defending unleaven bread. Father Sid objected explaining basicly the same thing the Holy Father did in his sermon. Martignoni said to Father Sid, "well, forgive me for my ignorance". Months later. the Holy Father delivers his Holy Thursday sermon.

Like Father Sid's encounter with EWTN's Martinoni, the Holy Father's sermon probably didn't sit well in Steubonville with Scott Hahn or Mike Aquilina.

All the best,

Scott

Rereading the Pope's homily, I didn't see that the Pope said the Last Supper was not a passover seder meal. He said that there is probability that Jesus celebrated the passover according to the Qumran community calendar, not the temple calendar.

Alfonsus,

The Pope said, "According to John, Jesus died on the Cross at the very moment when the Passover lambs were being sacrificed in the temple. The death of Jesus and the sacrifice of the lambs coincided. However, this means that he must have died the day before Easter and could not, therefore, have celebrated the Passover meal in person"

The then says, "We can now say that John's account is historically precise"

Which is what the East has always maintained against the apologists for unleavened bread.

Theophilus,

He could have celebrated the Passover because the Essene community and those that admired them kept Passover on a different calendar and celebrated Passover before the rest of the Jews. So Christ could have celebrated Essene Passover with the Apostles and then died on the cross as the priests were sacrificing lambs for their Passover which would occur Firday evening, the beginning of the Sabbath.

Fr. Deacon Lance

Fr. Deacon Lance,

I personally subscribe to the idea that the synoptics only imply a Seder and do not actually say that it is a Seder meal. There is only an implied contradiction with John. If the West wishes to follow a different allegory about the meal based on a vagueness in the synoptics, then fine with me.

The synoptics clearly indicate leavened bread at the Last Supper, but through linguistic gymnastics it can be shown that �artos� could maybe also mean a generic term for bread that may cover the use of unleavened bread. The synoptics say that preparations were made for Passover, and then the scene moves to the Last Supper. This may imply that the meal was the Passover meal, but it does not specifically say so. If you went to the store and cleaned the house on Wednesday "in preparation" for Thanksgiving, does it mean that you would not also eat a meal on Wednesday night?

Most normal Jewish meals were ritualized and followed the same basic outline of a Seder. Apparently there is also a tradition of consuming all of the remaining leaven in the house "in preparation" of Passover. There is also no lamb mentioned in the synoptics so it is obviously not the "Standard Seder" and the Pope's outline is just another support to the Eastern view based on John.

So when, according to the other evangelists, Jesus would have died?

The use of the Enochen calender (1 Enoch), within the Temple Scroll, the largest of the Dead Sea Scrolls, by the Zadok-Essenes. The method of inter-calculation between the Lunar and Solar. This calendar has been in use within the Ethiopian Orthodox.

"The moon brings on all the years exactly, that their stations may come neither too forwards nor too backwards a single day; but that the years may be changed with correct precision in 364 days. In three years the days are 1,092; . . . To the moon alone belong in three years 1,062 days . . . So that the moon has thirty days less than the sun and stars. . . . The year then becomes truly complete according to the station of the moons and the station of the sun . . ." .

In addition to the Temple scroll, you will find other aspects of the Gospels account of the last supper found within the DSS.

"And when the table has been prepared for eating, and the new wine for drinking, the Priest shall be the first to stretch out his hand to bless the firstfruits of the bread and new wine." (The Community Rule)

"And [when] they shall gather for the common [tab]le, to eat and [to drink] new wine, when the common table shall be set for eating and the new wine [poured] for drinking, let no man extend his hand over the firstfruits of bread and wine before the Priest; for [it is he] who shall bless the firstfruits of bread and wine, and shall be the first [to extend] his hand over the bread. Thereafter, the Messiah of Israel shall extend his hand over the bread, [and] all the congregation of the Community [shall utter a] blessing, [each man in the order] of his dignity. It is according to this statute that they shall proceed at every me[al at which] at least ten men are gathered together." (The Messianic Rule)

Another interesting aspect reviewing these materials, is found in the book of Acts, and the events of Pentecost.

Acts 2:13. Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

The Temple Scroll also observes / marks a new wine feast on Pentecost, very interesting if one considers the tradition location of the upper room is in the Essene quarter, its just another one of those bits of cultural information giving a richer historical backdrop to these events.

It seems the Orthodox church had it right all along, the flaw of Protestantism and modern Messianic Judaism embrace of rabbinical Judaism masoretic text. Comparison of the Greek LXX and Masoretic against the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Greek is more aligned with these ancient codex's by 70%.

I myself would never say Jesus was an Essene as some of these modern revisionists, rather one can find fault within all three main theological camps of the period (Sadducee's, Pharisees, and Essenes). Judea was a very fractured society following the Maccabees revolt, the Hasmonean dynasty, and finally Herod and Roman occupation. Jesus the Messiah, was not a member of anyone sect, rather the Messiah to all mankind.

In discussions with modern Rabbinical Jews over the years, the topic of marriage and Jesus comes up, and the usual party line a rabbi must be married, this is when I enjoy pointing to the celibate Jews of the Sons of Zadok, the Essenes. The gospels aren't silent to such Jews as these of the first century.

Matthew 19:11-12.
11Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."

I'm getting side tracked, the calendar is critical as is the canon texts, one most be remember the background of the Pharisees at the council of Jamnia, and the adoption of the Birkit Ha MININ, the later Masoretic texts, and Hillel II calendar.

In light of Qumran and Cairo Geniza, much is owed to the Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox churches in retaining these works within their respective canons, and liturgy.

Another interesting observation the Dead Sea Scrolls are discovered prior to Israel independence, then in 1967 the Messainic Seal of Jerusalem and related artifacts from the first congregation of James are discovered prior to Jerusalem under Israeli control.