A common Easter?

(Wataninet) - Pope Francis has agreed to the proposal offered last yearbythe Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros IIto unify the date of Easter so that Churches all over the world would celebrate the Resurrection of Christ on the same date. The proposal has already been accepted by Mor Ignatius Aphrem II Patriarch of Antioch and Bartholomew I Patriarch of Constantinople.

The proposal comes within joint efforts by Pope Tawadros and Pope Francis to work towards unifying the Church. Pope Tawadros’s proposal suggested the second Sunday in April to celebrate Easter.

The date of Easter has not been constant throughout the years. Since the Nicene Council in AD325 it has been moving according to an annual four-to-five-week cycle that has to do with the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox.

Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 27, 2015 at 12:54 PM

    If the EP continues his extreme ecumenism with the heterodox Roman Catholics, it will not go very well. If he somehow agrees to a common date for Pascha, he will throw himself into schism and will be known as another Meletios Metaxakis.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Evangelical OrthodoxyOctober 27, 2015 at 3:34 PM

      You're drunk; let me walk you home.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousOctober 27, 2015 at 5:09 PM

      Hmmm....an ad hominem attack as a response? Way to go, buddy!

      You can be sure that the Holy Orthodox Church will allow the EP to go into schism before they follow him into heresy. Keep watching.....you will see. Quite frankly, I think it is doubtful the 2016 council will happen....thankfully.

      Delete
    3. KodratosOctober 28, 2015 at 6:39 AM

      Dear Brothers in Christ,
      We as Orthodox Christians need to stop this internecine fighting amongst ourselves. A statement such as that made above, that is, wishing that the 2016 Council should not happen makes absolutely no sense. Why would you be opposed to having a Council? is it not important that the Orthodox world finally show unity? Most of the non-Orthodox Christians believe that we are all of different faiths (Russian, Greek, etc). This is a scandal which is totally our own fault. We have been unable to be a true witness of Christ to the world, so how could we ever imagine that we could evangelize to this pagan world that we live in?
      The more important question that should be addressed about the "common date for Pascha" is why would the Church consider a fixed date for Pascha? Why should we abandon the ancient tradition that has been established and followed for close to 1700 years? If the Western Churches have abandoned that tradition, it is not the Eastern Church's problem. And perhaps more importantly, does having a common date for Pascha really demonstrate unity in faith, if in fact there are rifts in ecclesiology as well as hierarchical disorder?
      We as Orthodox need to hold our own leadership responsible for their irresponsible actions/statements that are made for political gains. We should remember what happened to those who adhered to the False Union of Florence in the not so remote history of the Church. St Mark of Ephesus demonstrated to us how we are to respond. As the saying goes: "Those who forget history, are apt to repeat the same mistakes as those who preceded us".
      Let's approach this Council of 2016 with brotherly love and faith, so that we can walk away as one body in Christ, able to witness to this unbelieving world that the Holy Spirit still guides us and continues to imbue life into Church founded by Christ!

      Delete
  2. AnonymousOctober 28, 2015 at 8:05 AM

    Dear brother in Christ,

    I am not "wishing" that a council will not happen. I gave my opinion that it will not happen. And I do not think that it should happen. If you listen to Fr. Patrick's interview on this blog, you will see that the ground is not fertile, and the Orthodox in this country are not yet prepared. It must happen organically....not forced administratively. Furthermore, it is very obvious that the EP would like to create some type of papal-like administrative universal jurisdiction. That is a complete non-starter.

    St Mark of Ephesus pray for us!

    ReplyDelete
  3. NavygunsOctober 28, 2015 at 3:40 PM

    Of course the original article gives no sources to prove that the EC is actually onboard with a fixed ate for Pascha. More likely he is onboard with the Romans returning to the historic and canonical practce that the Orthodox have never abandoned. It is not good to accuse a brother based on hearsay, which is what the original article actually is.

    ReplyDelete

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