Easter belongs to Christ, not to people deciding where it falls on a calendar, Pope Francis says. Determining which is the correct date to celebrate Christ’s Resurrection has been the subject of ecumenical debate for hundreds of years. The Gregorian calendar points to one set of rules, the Julian calendar points to another. It’s a Read more
Before culture war issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage, vaccines or pronouns, there was the battle over calendar reform, a battle that shows signs of ending. There is once again renewed hope that ongoing ecumenical dialogue between the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Roman Catholic Church will resolve an ancient rift. That rift Read more
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed into law a bill moving the official observance of Christmas Day to Dec 25 from Jan 7, when Moscow and the Russian Orthodox Church mark the holiday. Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, approved the measure — which also adjusts the dates of the Day of Ukrainian Statehood and the Read more
The present system of calculating the leap year was designed around fixing the date of Easter. While the concept of the leap year has been around since ancient times – the ancient Jewish calendar added a leap month every 19 years for example – the current calendar year has its origins in the Catholic Church. Read more
In a letter to Pope Francis, the patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church Tawadros II has proposed making one date for Easter celebrations for all Christian Churches. Differences in Easter dates are based on differences between the Julian calendar, which eastern churches follow, and the Gregorian calendar of western churches. Finding one Easter date for Read more