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Question 384

Good morning Pater...  What is your view on the idea of setting a universal fixed date for Easter/Pascha which has been proposed and has much support in all denominations...  The closest Sunday to the 25th March seems to be the date that keeps coming up...  I know the method for determining the date each year for both east n west and about the Julian & Gregorian calendars...  Putting that aside, what is your view on the fixed date proposal...    

 

 

Answer to Question 384

 

 I don't think a fixed date would be universally acceptable and the closest Sunday to the 25th March is far to early. But a universally accepted way for calculating the date for Pascha would be great, but first we have to agree on which calendar to use. As it is the celebration of Pascha (Easter) in the west has become almost non existent, so if they want to celebrate Pascha with us they must first show us how serious they are by doing away with their bunny rabbits and learning how to barbecue lambs  , then we can talk about dates. lol  

 

Same member

I agree.. But to be honest, we use the Gregorian calendar for everything except Pascha which we still use the Julian calendar... So wouldn't be easier for us to change to the Gregorian...  If we say the Gregorian isn't valid, then that means all our fasts n feasts except Pascha would be made invalid...  But I'm on the fence on the fixed date proposal tbh... But 100% for a universal Pascha...  Its only the Anglo Saxon and northern Germanic/Scandanavian Protestant world that do these bunnies n eggs nonsense...  I've been in Spain and France at Easter and also seen on different programs, that the Catholics take Pascha just as serious as us to be fair...

 

Reply

When the Church of Greece and Cyprus changed to the Gregorian Calendar, they agreed for the unity of the church that Pascha should continue to be calculated according to the Julian calendar so that all Orthodox Churches celebrate this most special feast on the same day. If we were to use the Gregorian calendar then we would be causing a split in the church.

 

Same member

I didnt mean just us... I meant all of the Orthodox church...

 

Reply

yes but the majority of Orthodox use the Julian calendar, the Greeks are a minority. They would say change back to the Julian calendar and at the same time heal the rift caused by the two calendars by uniting the New and Old Calendar churches