Western Christians are in the throes of preparing for Easter (Mar 23rd this year) and Orthodox Christians have just begun Lent. Pascha is April 27 this year. Why is there such a discrepancy? When I first joined the Orthodox Church, it was very puzzling to me and something that few of the lay people of the Church could explain other than “it has to do with Passover.” Which is not entirely untrue – but there’s more to it than that.
Here is a technical explanation of why Orthodox Pascha is usually not at the same time as Easter for everyone else. For those not wanting to read the whole thing, here’s the relevant part [excerpted from a now defunct article on goarch.com]:
“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.”
So now you know! The good news is that typically, Orthodox Christians get to buy all their Pascha shwag at huge discounts! Heh, there is nothing better than chocolate bunnies for 75¢!
Actually, if you’re interested in comparative religion at all, it’s an interesting subject to read about how the Christian church became fractured in the first place as well as these pesky questions:
1. Why do Orthodox Christians cross right to left?
2. What’s up with icons rather than statues?
3. Why is Lent so severe for Orthodox and lax for Western?
Oh, and there’s much more. I read all this way back when I converted to the Orthodox church in the early 90s. I no longer practice, but I’m still Orthodox “on paper.” The story of the Orthodox Church is an interesting read if you’re into it.
The date for Western Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon, after the Vernal Equinox. Orthodoxy adds one more stipulation – Easter must also be after Passover. This makes sense since Christ went to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover – the Last Supper was a Seder. This year in 2008 Western Easter was March 23 but Passover began April 19. Orthodox Easter was on April 27.
Um, yah, Kathryn, I know that (being orthodox on paper and all). That’s what this post is about and the technical explanation is cited. But thanks for the extra info – I’m sure it will help clarify if anyone hits this post for information!