Calculating Easter

visionary · Apr 7, 2012

Calculating the date of Easter: according to the Holy Canons and the Fathers of the Early Church, the Pascha of Christ will never precede or coincide with the Jewish Passover. It will always follow the Jewish Passover and be celebrated on Sunday. (We apologize that although this photo is attractive for its simplicity, it is not fully accurate. A more complete explanation of how the date of Pascha is calculated can be found in the informational brochure published by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese.

See: http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/faithandlife/pasch.pdf

Standing Up · Apr 7, 2012

Since Nicea, there's been many many years when the two coincided. What was the penalty for that?

zeke37 · Apr 7, 2012

the early church fathers did not celebrate easter.
they knew it was passover, not easter.
easter was heathen back then...and not even in the greek manuscripts

KyrieEleison87 · Apr 7, 2012

zeke37 said:
the early church fathers did not celebrate easter.
they knew it was passover, not easter.
easter was heathen back then...and not even in the greek manuscripts

While it was not called "Easter," the holiday in Greek was (and still is) called Pascha. The ECFs most certainly did celebrate it and regarded it as the commemoration of the Resurrection of Christ. It is true that there were some Christians that held on to a tradition of celebrating Pascha on the same day as the Jewish Passover, but I don't think they were at all in the majority, and the Church pretty early on settled that by declaring that Pascha should always be celebrated on a Sunday (whereas Passover occurs on different days of the week depending on the year), because that is the day Christ rose.

Rick Otto · Apr 7, 2012

quote=KyrieEleison87;60208882]It is true that there were some Christians that held on to a tradition of celebrating Pascha on the same day as the Jewish Passover, but I don't think they were at all in the majority,

Do you mean the "Quartodecimens that claimed St. John the apostle taught Polycarp to celebrate it on Nisan 14?

...and the Church pretty early on settled that by declaring that Pascha should always be celebrated on a Sunday (whereas Passover occurs on different days of the week depending on the year), because that is the day Christ rose.

What does "settling on" mean... that the Quartodecimens agreed to Sunday? How does the church settle on Easter Sunday & some (the majority?) call it Pascha? Shouldn't we call it the same thing if we should celebrate it on the same day?

And what IS "the same day"?
Same day of the week?
Same day it happened according to the calendar it happened on?
How can the "same day" on a not-the-same calendar be the same day He rose?

visionary · Apr 7, 2012

KyrieEleison87 said:
While it was not called "Easter," the holiday in Greek was (and still is) called Pascha. The ECFs most certainly did celebrate it and regarded it as the commemoration of the Resurrection of Christ. It is true that there were some Christians that held on to a tradition of celebrating Pascha on the same day as the Jewish Passover, but I don't think they were at all in the majority, and the Church pretty early on settled that by declaring that Pascha should always be celebrated on a Sunday (whereas Passover occurs on different days of the week depending on the year), because that is the day Christ rose.

Passover Lamb that Yeshua is was sacrificed on Passover and resurrected on First Fruits which is always on sunday.

KyrieEleison87 · Apr 7, 2012

Rick Otto said:
Do you mean the "Quartodecimens that claimed St. John the apostle taught Polycarp to celebrate it on Nisan 14?

I do.

What does "settling on" mean

It means having an Ecumenical Council and settling the issue authoritatively.

... that the Quartodecimens agreed to Sunday?

Well they either agreed to it in obedience to the Church or they remained in error, yes.

How does the church settle on Easter Sunday & some (the majority?) call it Pascha? Shouldn't we call it the same thing if we should celebrate it on the same day?

Pascha and Easter are synonymous; they just come from different etymologies (Pascha is Greek, Easter is Germanic, I believe)

And what IS "the same day"?

Sunday.

Same day of the week?

Yes, because Sunday is when Christ rose from the dead.

Same day it happened according to the calendar it happened on?

How can the "same day" on a not-the-same calendar be the same day He rose?

Click to expand...

If Jesus rose from the grave on the Sunday after Passover, then celebrating the Resurrection annually on the Sunday that follows Passover seems pretty logical, does it not (particularly since Passover occurs on different days of the week each year)? Yes I realize there are issues with exactly what calendar one uses to determine exactly when Passover is, but that's secondary to the more fundamental concept addressed by the Church at Nicaea.

Rick Otto · Apr 7, 2012

What concept was more fundamental than what the apostles taught?

Trogool · Apr 7, 2012

I just... don't understand how people can get so worked up over this issue.

Woven Variations - by Austin Wintory, featuring Tina Guo - YouTube

KyrieEleison87 · Apr 7, 2012

Rick Otto said:
What concept was more fundamental than what the apostles taught?

When did the Apostles teach us to always celebrate Pascha on Passover irrespective of the day of the week?

Rick Otto · Apr 7, 2012

Polycarp told Anicetus that St. John taught him to celebrate the resurrection on Nisan 14. You didn't know that?

KyrieEleison87 · Apr 7, 2012

Rick Otto said:
Polycarp told Anicetus that St. John taught him to celebrate the resurrection on Nisan 14. You didn't know that?

And Bishop Anicetus ALSO claimed that the practice of celebrating Pascha on Sunday was an apostolic tradition. It was also the tradition inherited by all Christians outside Asia Minor. You didn't know that?

Rick Otto · Apr 7, 2012

KyrieEleison87 said:
And Bishop Anicetus ALSO claimed that the practice of celebrating Pascha on Sunday was an apostolic tradition. It was also the tradition inherited by all Christians outside Asia Minor. You didn't know that?

No. In fact I know different.
Anicetus only cited either elders or presbyters, I can't remember which, but he certainly didn't cite an apostle as far as I'm aware.
Which apostle did Anicetus refer to?

visionary · Apr 7, 2012

Both the feast of First Fruits and Pentecost are always held on Sunday.

KyrieEleison87 · Apr 7, 2012

Rick Otto said:
No. In fact I know different.
Anicetus only cited either elders or presbyters, I can't remember which, but he certainly didn't cite an apostle as far as I'm aware.
Which apostle did Anicetus refer to?

The fact that Anicetus did not refer to one Apostle by name does not invalidate his claim to be adhering to an "apostolic" tradition. In fact MOST of the traditions the early Church accepted as apostolic did not come just from ONE Apostle; they came from "the Apostles" collectively.

What church/denomination are you part of, exactly?

GuardianShua · Apr 8, 2012

The goddess Easter was always celebrated by the Pagans on spring equinox.

Rick Otto · Apr 8, 2012

The fact that Anicetus did not refer to one Apostle...

That's what I thought. No apostle.
So we redefine "apostolic" tradition?
No apostle need be tied to any tradition. They are all "apostolic" if we can find one early church it happened in?

What church/denomination are you part of, exactly?

Why?

Trogool · Apr 8, 2012

Rick Otto said:
That's what I thought. No apostle.
So we redefine "apostolic" tradition?
No apostle need be tied to any tradition. They are all "apostolic" if we can find one early church it happened in?
Why?

I think it's funny that you're willing to believe Saint Polycarp, but not Pope Saint Anicetus. Gotta love those double standards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYgUwrH-X_c

GuardianShua · Apr 8, 2012

visionary said:
Both the feast of First Fruits and Pentecost are always held on Sunday.

I wonder if the first fruits came from Sodom and Gomorrah? ^_^

Trogool · Apr 8, 2012

GuardianShua said:
The goddess Easter was always celebrated by the Pagans on spring equinox.

*stares blankly and indifferently and hands GuardianShua a Girl Scout cookie*

And the Saturnalia was December 17th.

Calculating Easter

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On and on

IMO...

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