Orthodox Christianity Expanded Observance: Pascha and Easter
| “And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty
and your faith is also empty” (1 Corinthians 15:14 NKJV). |
In Eastern Christian tradition, the Cross and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ finds its meaning and fulfillment in the Resurrection. All other feasts and commemorations—such as Christmas—are prelude to the overcoming of death, the “last enemy” (1 Cor 15:26). The Resurrection is the final victory that makes possible our everlasting life in Christ. This is precisely why the celebration of the Resurrection is the focal point of the Eastern Christian year, the “feast of feasts and festival of festivals.”
The hearts of the faithful Christians beat with joy for the Great Feast of Feasts, the Resurrection of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. Among Orthodox Christians of the English speaking world, the feast is commonly called “Holy Pascha”, while many of Western Christian traditions refer to the day in English as “Easter”. This year, the observances of the feast in the Orthodox tradition (April 19) and the Western Christian traditions (April 12) are separated by one week. Many wonder why there are two separate dates set aside for the Great Feast of the Resurrection and why Orthodox Christians refer to these feasts with different terms.
Why do we call the Orthodox feast “Pascha” and the Western feast “Easter”? The term Pascha is a Hellenized form of the Hebrew word pesach, the exact meaning of which is actually uncertain. As a verb, it is traditionally translated as “passed over.” In Exodus 12:5, the Angel of the Lord was instructed to bring death to the first-born of the Egyptians but “passed over” the Jewish homes marked by the blood of the yearling lamb that was slaughtered and eaten during the night. The Hebrew pesach is now the name of the Jewish commemoration of this event, in English: “Passover.” In the Christian tradition, Jesus Christ is the Passover Lamb, who gave himself up for the life of the world (1 Cor. 5:7). As He passed over from death to life in the Resurrection, Christians also “pass over” from death to life in Christ.
The word “Easter” derives from the Anglo-Saxon name of the early Spring month corresponding to our April: “Eostur” or “Eostre.” Since the the Feast of the Resurrection fell during this month, the feast of the Resurrection came to be commonly called Easter. Officially, it is called the Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord, in both Western (Catholic) and Eastern (Orthodox) Churches, both then and now.
For those who call themselves Christian, no matter what tradition, everyday is the time of the Resurrection. As an Orthodox hymn repeated on each of forty days after Pascha notes, "Today is the Day of Resurrection! Let us shine with the Feast! Let us embrace one another! Brethren, let us say: we will forgive all things in the Resurrection! And even to those who hate us, let us exclaim: Christ is Risen from the dead; trampling down death by death; and upon those in the tombs bestowing Life!”
Dating of Pascha / Easter
The dating of the celebration of the Feast of the Resurrection is a more complex matter. The date of the feast was standardized by the First Ecumenical Council held in Nicea in 325 A.D. The 318 bishops present stipulated that Easter/Pascha must be celebrated on the first Sunday following the first full moon that followed the vernal or Spring equinox (as calculated in Alexandria, Egypt, the leading scientific center of the day) according to the Julian calendar in use at the time. This calculation requires the use of both a solar and lunar cycle. It also resulted in the fact that the feast would not fall on the same day as the Jewish Passover (the night of the full moon following the vernal equinox) as observed at the time, but this does not seem to be the direct interest of the council participants. At any rate, there have been several means of calculating the observance of Passover in Jewish history. The main concern of the council was to fix a common date for Pascha among Christians corresponding, as best they could, to the historical narrative of the Lord’s resurrection.
Astronomers came to observe that the day of the Julian calendar set as the vernal equinox (March 21) did not consistently correspond to observations. It deviates from astronomical accuracy by about one day every 128 years. As this became more obvious, many felt there was a need for a more accurate calendar. In fact, the Byzantines briefly considered such an adjustment, but the fall of Constantinople (1452 A.D.) prevented any action. In 1582 A.D., Pope Gregory of Rome attempted to correct this error by dropping 10 days and establishing the Gregorian calendar. The new date of the vernal equinox, a key element in calculating Easter/ Pascha, no longer fell on the same day that it did in the Julian calendar. Pope Gregory’s reform was not immediately adopted, even in Western Europe (Great Britain and its colonies adopted it in 1752 A.D.). Many Eastern Europeans continued to observe the Julian calendar up until more recent times despite the eventual adoption by all nations in the West. As of this writing, there is a 13 day deviation between the Julian and Gregorian calendars, meaning the date assigned to the vernal equinox (March 21) in each are 13 days apart. Another complication is there are two means of calculating the date of the full moon.
In 1922 A.D., many Eastern Orthodox Churches adopted a “Revised Julian” calendar that agrees with the Gregorian calendar until the year 2800. It basically follows the Gregorian dates for all fixed feast days. Pascha and those feasts related to Pascha, such as Palm Sunday and Pentecost, continued to be dated according to the Julian calendar. This method was retained so that all Orthodox Christians would celebrate the Feast of Feasts on the same day as a sign of unity. (For various reasons, the Orthodox Church of Finland observes Pascha according to the Western calculation, the only Orthodox exception.)
Every few years the dates of the Western and Orthodox observances of the Resurrection coincide, as they will in 2010 and 2011, but they could be far apart as well, such as the five weeks in 2008. There is no regular pattern. Eventually, many years from now, due to the difference in calendars, they will no longer be able to coincide at all. In fact, due to modern astronomical advances and observations, the traditional reckonings of the vernal equinox and lunar phases in both East and West are now inaccurate according to the ancient rule, and additional adjustments will eventually need to be made if the intent of Nicea is to be followed. Discussions on this topic have been held between representatives of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.
