Most likely well after May 19th ...
A Movable Holiday
Easter is not only a movable holiday but a multiple one. In most years Western Christian churches and Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate Easter on different dates. In 2013, for example, Easter was celebrated on March 31 by Western churches and May 5 by Orthodox churches. But in 2011, the two celebrations occurred on the same date, April 24.
Easter is not only a movable holiday but a multiple one. In most years Western Christian churches and Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate Easter on different dates. In 2013, for example, Easter was celebrated on March 31 by Western churches and May 5 by Orthodox churches. But in 2011, the two celebrations occurred on the same date, April 24.
The theological inconsistency of two
Easters has remained a thorny problem for the Christian Church.
The
Formula
The formula for Easter—"The first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox"—is identical for both Western and Orthodox Easters, but the churches base the dates on different calendars: Western churches use the Gregorian calendar, the standard calendar for much of the world, and Orthodox churches use the older Julian calendar.
That much is straightforward. But actually calculating these dates involves a bewildering array of ecclesiastical moons and paschal full moons, the astronomical equinox, and the fixed equinox— and that's in addition to the two different calendar systems.
When Is The Full Moon?
The two churches vary on the definition of the vernal equinox and the full moon. The Eastern Church sets the date of Easter according to the actual, astronomical full moon and the actual equinox as observed along the meridian of Jerusalem, site of the Crucifixion and Resurrection.
Passover
The Eastern Orthodox Church also applies the formula so that Easter always falls after Passover, since the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ took place after he entered Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. In the Western Church, Easter sometimes precedes Passover by weeks.
The Western church does not use the actual, or astronomically correct date for the vernal equinox, but a fixed date (March 21). And by full moon it does not mean the astronomical full moon but the "ecclesiastical moon," which is based on tables created by the church. These constructs allow the date of Easter to be calculated in advance rather than determined by actual astronomical observances, which are naturally less predictable.
The formula for Easter—"The first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox"—is identical for both Western and Orthodox Easters, but the churches base the dates on different calendars: Western churches use the Gregorian calendar, the standard calendar for much of the world, and Orthodox churches use the older Julian calendar.
That much is straightforward. But actually calculating these dates involves a bewildering array of ecclesiastical moons and paschal full moons, the astronomical equinox, and the fixed equinox— and that's in addition to the two different calendar systems.
When Is The Full Moon?
The two churches vary on the definition of the vernal equinox and the full moon. The Eastern Church sets the date of Easter according to the actual, astronomical full moon and the actual equinox as observed along the meridian of Jerusalem, site of the Crucifixion and Resurrection.
Passover
The Eastern Orthodox Church also applies the formula so that Easter always falls after Passover, since the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ took place after he entered Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. In the Western Church, Easter sometimes precedes Passover by weeks.
The Western church does not use the actual, or astronomically correct date for the vernal equinox, but a fixed date (March 21). And by full moon it does not mean the astronomical full moon but the "ecclesiastical moon," which is based on tables created by the church. These constructs allow the date of Easter to be calculated in advance rather than determined by actual astronomical observances, which are naturally less predictable.
Reconciling
East and West
A meeting organized by the Council of World Churches (in Aleppo, Syria, March 5–10, 1997) proposed a solution thought to be favorable to both East and West: both methods of calculating the equinox and the paschal full moon would be replaced with the most advanced astronomically accurate calculations available, using the meridian of Jerusalem as the point of measure. Since that meeting, however, no further progress has been made and the problem remains.
A Fixed Holiday
Since the beginning of the 20th century, a proposal to change Easter to a fixed holiday rather than a movable one has been widely circulated, and in 1963 the Second Vatican Council agreed, provided a consensus could be reached among Christian churches. The second Sunday in April has been suggested as the most likely Easter date - April 14th in 2013.That would make Pentecost fall on June 2nd. At the earliest.
A meeting organized by the Council of World Churches (in Aleppo, Syria, March 5–10, 1997) proposed a solution thought to be favorable to both East and West: both methods of calculating the equinox and the paschal full moon would be replaced with the most advanced astronomically accurate calculations available, using the meridian of Jerusalem as the point of measure. Since that meeting, however, no further progress has been made and the problem remains.
A Fixed Holiday
Since the beginning of the 20th century, a proposal to change Easter to a fixed holiday rather than a movable one has been widely circulated, and in 1963 the Second Vatican Council agreed, provided a consensus could be reached among Christian churches. The second Sunday in April has been suggested as the most likely Easter date - April 14th in 2013.That would make Pentecost fall on June 2nd. At the earliest.
The Eastern Orthodox church calendar for 2013 has Pentecost on June 23rd, and all parties agree that the weight of the evidence favors the Eastern Orthodox method.
This means that Pentecost for 2013 has not actually arrived yet.
Unfortunately, we aren't privy to the date which The Almighty prefers. And He is the only One who knows.
Just sayin'....
(I'm not letting go of this. You know how I am :-)
Royal Heir
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