Nicaea & Easter

May 29 in the Eastern churches is the fixed date in the "synaxarion" for commemorating the first Ecumenical Council, held at Nicaea in 325. It is also the commemoration of one the bishops in attendance, Alexander of Alexandria, who suffered the thorn of Arius in his side in the years leading up to the council. Arius was good at putting Arian doctrine to rhyme and music, which helped the doctrinal virus spread. While beating down Arius was the main business of Nicaea, the council also set the method for calculating the date of Easter and charged the Bishop of Alexandria (the city was known for its astronomical observatory) with sending at letter out each year announcing the date, based on the astronomical criteria set down by Nicaea.

Well as everyone knows, the date of Easter is still a matter of debate, even though Arianism is not. This year a meeting was held, not in Alexandria, but in L'viv, Ukraine, to address the topic. Here is a report from the conference:

On the 15th of May 2009, the Institute of Ecumenical Studies of the Ukrainian Catholic University in L’viv organized a seminar entitled, “A Common Date for Easter is Possible:  The 1997 Aleppo Consensus”. The meeting was organized in the framework of the Master Program of Ecumenical Studies of the Ukrainian Catholic University and the Ivan Franko National University of L’viv.

The participants of the seminar included:
-    From the World Council of Churches – Rev. Dr. Dagmar Heller, a professor from the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland, who was also one of the co-organizers of the Aleppo conference in 1997.
-    From the Roman Catholic Church – Rev. Dr. Milan Zust S.J., who came on behalf of the Pontifical Congregation for the Promoting of Christian Unity, Vatican City.
-    From the Ukrainian Orthodox Church -- Dr. Constantine Sigov, Director of the St. Clement’s Center, and chief editor of the journal, “Spirit and Letter”.

The representatives of the many L’viv Churches took part in the lively discussion.

          The main speakers of the seminar presented and analyzed the Aleppo document and discussed recommendations concerning what the document proposed for the establishment of a common method for calculating the date of Easter.  (The agreed basis of calculating the date of Easter was settled on preserving the dictates of the first Ecumenical Council in Nicea, calculating the astronomical date with the most precise, scientific method, and using the Jerusalem meridian as the basis for such calculations).  Also, the importance for seeking a common date for the celebration of Easter as the greatest of Christian feasts and the special role that the Aleppo consensus of 1997 plays toward this aim was greatly stressed.

The participants of the seminar believed that the recommendations from Aleppo are the most acceptable for all Christian Churches of both East and West.  They are convinced that using these recommendations for a common celebration of the solemn feast of the Resurrection of Christ could be a great common witness of the Holy Spirit action in the world and a common Christian witness of the Gospel to the world. 

The participants are also aware that the main problem is not merely in calculating the date of Easter, but the complex relations and lack of trust among different Christian denominations due to long division.  This is one of the main reasons why it is so difficult to accept the proposal that differs in method from those used both Eastern and Western traditions currently.  Therefore, great strides toward mutual understanding and reconciliation are still necessary.

The seminar sought to spread the good news concerning the consensus, which positively justified the efforts toward the common celebration of the feast of Easter previously in Aleppo.

The way in which Christians came to the consideration of having one, common date of Easter was indeed long and difficult.  From the beginning of the 20th century, voices for healing the divisions among the Churches were heard.  There was the desire to join together.  One of the important steps in such direction could be the common celebration of the most important of Christian feasts, Easter.  In the Christian West among Roman Catholics and Protestants, there was even a willingness to accept a fixed date of Easter on the second Sunday of April, only if that would be acceptable to all.  Such a solution was proposed to the Churches of the Christian East.  The commission of the Orthodox Churches, which was established for this very aim and held a 1977 meeting in Chambesy concerning this topic, decidedly refused this particular proposal of a ‘fixed date of Easter’ due to the fact that it would clearly contradict the ancient tradition for calculating the date.  All the participants of the commission confirmed the celebration of the date for the feast of the resurrection according to the rules of the Nicene council (the first Sunday after the full moon after equinox) and at the same time of using the assistance of modern technology in order to make this calculation.

Twenty years later, in 1997, the World Council of Churches by the welcome invitation of the Syrian Orthodox Church and with the cooperation of the Middle East Council of Churches, organized a consultation in Aleppo, Syria, where theologians of all present Churches came from the Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox traditions, accepted the decisions of the Orthodox conference and stated that the most acceptable and genuinely traditional method for obtaining and calculating the date of Easter would be in keeping the norms of the Nicene Council and celebrating Easter on the first Sunday after the full-moon of the vernal equinox in addition to using modern scientific data in order to precisely calculate this proposed date. The consultation recommended the use of the Jerusalem meridian as the basis for such calculations as it was the place of the paschal death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

The participants of the seminar in L’viv desire that all Christians be aware of the painful question of division in celebrating the solemn feast of Easter and to enthusiastically inform the Christian world concerning the consensus and the progress of which Christians have already made.  
They are deeply convinced that the recommendation of the decisions of the meeting in Aleppo which has been expected for almost a century, could become a real and concrete step on the way to the common celebration of Easter and at the same time, it could demonstrate to the world the Christian desire to give common witness to the living words of the Gospel, “that all may be one”.

In the coming years of 2010 and 2011, the dates for the celebration of Easter will once more coincide in both the Eastern and Western traditions.  The participants of the seminar encourage all Christians to join in the discussion of this issue and to put all their efforts to make this happy coincidence to be not merely an exception, but rather a rule.  The joint celebration of the solemn feast of Easter would therefore become another real step for renewal towards full communion.

Also:
Frequently asked questions about the date of Easter
Proposals from the Aleppo consultation
More information about the seminar (Ukrainian Catholic University website)

Comments

[Bill Daugherty]

This is a teeny-weeny baby step toward healing the division of the Church but I say let's take it while we all still agree on it. After 2011, they may have to start all over again until the next alignment of the dates. I'm not smart enough to even figure out when that will be.

[Peter Gardner]

2012