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The Eastern Orthodox Easter
Are there more than one Easter?

In most years a large number of Christians celebrate Easter on a Sunday other than the one Protestants and Catholics recognize.

The Eastern Orthodox method of calculating the date of Easter is based upon the older Julian calendar, whereas Protestants and Catholics adopted the "modernized" Gregorian calendar beginning in 1582. Simple math will tell you that the Orthodox churches have the weight of tradition on their side!

For a great article on the different dates of Easter, how these differences came about, and recent attempts to resolve them.

There have been numerous attempts to resolve these differences over the years. One such proposal would be to celebrate Easter on a fixed date each year. April 15th has been proposed. But that runs against the strongly felt tradition of celebrating Easter on a Sunday, thus making it a "moveable feast," as it has been for nearly two thousand years. There are other, more complicated, proposals for reconciling the dates of Easter being considered by the World Council of Churches, but thus far no agreement has been reached.


For more information about the major families of Christianity. What they are, who they are, where they are. With statistics, charts and maps to give you a clear picture of the wider Christian community. The Families of Christianity

For more on Eastern Orthodox Christianity

For more on Easter

Easter Prayers

Charles Henderson

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The Rev. Charles P. Henderson is a Presbyterian minister and author of Faith, Science and the Future, published in 1994 by CrossCurrents Press. He is also the author of God and Science (John Knox / Westminster, 1986) which he is now rewriting to incorporate more recent developments in the conversation taking place between scientists and theologians. He has also written widely for such publications as The New York Times, The Nation, Commonweal, The Christian Century and others.

For further information about Charles Henderson.