| Easter in Christianity; also resurrection of Christ is an ancient Christian festival which is a very important festival of divine service. This festival is set in regard of Jesus Christ’s resurrection. At present its date in each particular year is calculated as per the moon/sun calendar (switch over festival).
In the 8th century, Rome accepts an east Easter. During these 500 years, Easter was celebrated as per an agreement between the Eastern and Western Churches.
In 1583 in the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Gregory XIII conducted a New Easter ritual, which was called Gregorian. Due to the change in the Easter ritual the entire Calendar was changed. In the result of the switch over to the more accurate astronomical dates, usually the Catholic Easter is celebrated earlier than by the Jews or on the same day and is before the Orthodox Church sometimes by more than one month.
In 1923, Constantinople patriarch Melety IV (Metaksasi) carried out an All Orthodox Church congress” with participation of representatives of the Greek, Romanian and Serbian Orthodox Churches, where the New Julian calendar, which is more accurate than the Gregorian, coincides with the Gregorian till in 2800 it was accepted. Eastern Churches have condemned this decision, and Alexandria conducted the manorial council, having decided that there is no necessity for the introduction of a new calendar. Russian and Serbian Churches, after the attempt of the change of the calendar, left the former because of the possible confusion in people.
In March 1924, Constantinople (already during Gregory VII) and the Ellad Churches switched over to the new style. The Romanian Church has accepted the "New Julian" calendar on the 1st of October 1924.
The indignations of the priesthood and people due to the innovations of Meleti forced him to submit his resignation on the 20th of September1923. On the 20th of May 1926, Meleti becomes the Pope and the patriarch of the Alexandria Church and takes the decision to accept the new calendar against the decision taken earlier by the council.
At the Moscow Meeting in 1948, the decision was taken to celebrate Easter and all switch over festivals by all Orthodox Churches as per the Alexandria style and Julian calendar, and the non-switch over festivals as per the calendar used by the given Church. In the same year, the Antiohiosk Orthodox Church has switched over to the New Julian calendar.
Today only Russian, Jerusalem, Georgian and Serbian Orthodox Churches, and also Athos use the Julian calendar fully. The Finnish Orthodox Church has completely switched over to Gregorian calendar. Other Churches celebrate Easter and other switch over festivals as per the old style, and Christmas etc. which are non-switch over - as per the new style.
In Great Britain the Easter act of 1928 has established the date of Easter on a fixed date: the first Sunday after the second Saturday of April. However the given decision has not come into force. In 1997 at a summit in Aleppo, Syria, the World council of Churches offered to fix the day of Easter as per the solar calendar (also the second Sunday of April) or to take a uniform decision for the entire Christian world based on the astronomical requirements. The reform was appointed to 2001, but not accepted by all members of council.
Practically all Easter traditions have arisen in divine service. Even the span of the Easter festivals is connected with talks after the Great fast, a time of abstention when all festivals including family were transferred onto the celebrating of Easter. The symbols of Easter become all that expresses Renewal (Easter brooms), Light (Easter fire), and Life (Easter eggs and hares).
In Easter as in the major festival of church year, an especially solemn divine service is conducted. It was formed in the first centuries of Christianity as the Epiphany.
In the Church from ancient times, there was a tradition for the Easter divine service to be at night; or in some countries (for example, Serbia) in the early morning at dawn. |
It's this time of the year again - Easter is upon us. Numerous Easter egg hunts will be organized in the United States and internationally. Bunny and eggs are the traditional symbols of this spring holiday, as they symbolize fertility. Easter was originally a day when pagans celebrated spring on the day of vernal equinox. "Eastre" was a pagan goddess of fertility, thus the holiday name.
