Orthodox Easter is Upon Us
Blessed Pascha!!!
So why do the Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter seven weeks later than Catholics and Protestants this year???
A great question. Note that the Orthodox have celebrated Easter in the same week as the Jewish Passover.
This question was one of the hottest of topics 1000 years ago. Now it cannot hold a candle to a discussion of the latest television mini-series or sporting event.
It is difficult to explain why the dates differ. It has to do with phases of the moon and the spring equinox. Suffice it to say that the Eastern Church marks “Pascha” in a fashion that well preserves the crucial connection between Passover and the Death of Jesus Christ, and for that we all owe the East a great debt of gratitude.
This brief comment showed up in a Florida newspaper this weekend:
The world’s 200 million-plus Eastern Orthodox Christians will celebrate Sunday as Easter, when Jesus resurrected, more than a month after believers in other churches.The Eastern churches calculate the date for Easter under a formula no longer used by Western churches.At most Orthodox churches, the Resurrectional Service starts before midnight tonight. In one highlight, the pastor carries a lighted candle in the darkened sanctuary to proclaim, “Come, receive light from the light that is never overtaken by night.”The flame is passed on to his congregants’ candles. Then the pastor and choir sing hymns outside the church and return for the Pascha, the Easter liturgy.
— JAMES D. DAVIS
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-flortho26sbapr26,0,4309705.story
