LIVINGSTONE THOMPSONLIVINGSTONE THOMPSON
EASTER IS the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus and is by far the most important of Christian celebrations.
Although the historicity of the account we have in the Bible has been questioned, belief in the resurrection of Jesus is a foundational pillar of the Christian faith.
It is because of the importance that is placed on Easter that a large section of the Christian community gathers each Sunday for worship. In a certain sense, the resurrection is celebrated each Sunday. This practice has been since the earliest years of the Christian Church.
However, one of the questions that baffle many people is how is it that all Christians do not observe Easter on the same date. The fact is that, prior to the Council of Nicea (325 AD), Christians in general would celebrate Easter on the 14 Nissan, whichever day that was, when Jews celebrate the Passover.
They regarded the slaying of the paschal lamb and the later exodus out of Egypt as a prototype of the crucifixion of Jesus and the assurance of salvation for believers. However, some Christians always frowned upon the practice of following the Jewish festival.
The desire of the early Christians to demarcate the Christian faith from its Jewish past, led to differences within the Christian community, which caused considerable strain between East and West from around the year 222.
DETERMINING EASTER
When the Council of Nicea was convened, 100 years later, one of the controversies to be settled between the Eastern and Western parts of the Church was the issue of a common date for Easter, which was not dependent on the Jewish Passover Festival.
Following positions that were already put forward years before, the Council of Nicea decided to date Easter on the Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring Equinox, which is the time in the year when the days begin to lengthen. (Europe and America still institute Daylight Saving Time near this time of year).
The early Church Fathers gave biblical and theological justification for determining Easter in this way.
The determination of the Spring equinox was based on the solar calendar developed in the days of Julius Caesar (46 B.C.) This old-style calendar proved to be rather inaccurate because the date of the Spring equinox on the calendar constantly fell out of harmony with the actual event.
At present, Spring on the Julian Calendar occurs some two weeks before the Equinox on March 21. By attempting to bring about a correction of this anomaly, a new calendar, called the Gregorian Calendar, was introduced in 1582.
Christians in Europe adopted the use of the Gregorian calendar and this resulted in Easter on the Gregorian calendar being different from Easter on the Julian Calendar. This is the reason Easter Orthodox Christians, which follow the Julian Calendar, usually celebrate Easter on a different day from Roman Catholics and Protestants. Probably the only exception to this is in Finland, where the Orthodox Churches have the permission to observe Easter the same time as Roman Catholics and Protestants do.
We in Jamaica may not realise that throughout the years, there have been failed attempts to bring about a common observation of this important Christian Festival.
One such attempt was in 1975 when Cardinal Willebrand, representing the Pope, asked the World Council of Churches and the World Christian Communions whether a common date could not be observed as of 1977, a year in which the two calendars coincided.
The Roman Catholic proposal was for Easter to be celebrated on the Sunday after the second Saturday in April.
The proposal was considered premature and so came to nought because the others were not ready to move in that direction.
In more recent times, the proposal has been made in the Middle East for the date of Easter to be a movable one, as is the case with Christmas, which may fall on any day of the week. This proposal, if accepted, would recover the pre-Nicean practice when Easter was observed on the 14 Nissan.
However, to ask Christians in the East to change their tradition, albeit for a more accurate calendar, is analogous to asking Christians in the West to end the celebration of Christmas on December 25.
The self-understanding of the churches is in fact linked to their liturgical calendar, which to some extent determines the shape and content of their worship. The change will, therefore, not come easily.
CONTROVERSY CONTINUES
Once again this year the celebrations will be especially significant for leaders of the churches worldwide because for the second time in three years, there is another coincidence of dates and both calendars have Easter falling on April 11. This coincidence will occur again in 2007, 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2017.
The recurring coincidence has been seen by some as special opportunities being given by God for the churches to get their act together. However, the churches have their traditions to protect and will not yield ground simply because it makes practical sense.
So while Christians all over the world solemnly observe Easter on April 11 this year, the controversy over which calendar to follow for the dating of this important event continues.
The failure of Christians to resolve this simple question of tradition and history will only serve to weaken the plausibility structure of the Christian story. This intransigence of Christians is also evident in the refusal of some churches to recognise the baptismal rites of others, to recognise the ministries of others and to share with others in Holy Communion.
The problem of the date of Easter, then, is a typical problem of the church. It came about through human decision-making not by divine decree.
Livingstone Thompson is the president of the executive board of the Moravian Church in Jamaica.
