When Is The REAL Date Of Easter??

Jesus' Resurrection Mosaic From Byzantine Era

Easter was celebrated Sunday, April 8th in 2012.  Easter falls on different dates each year, based on what you believe.  You may not know that the Eastern Orthodox Church and Catholic Church celebrate Easter on different dates.

In case you don't know who the Eastern Orthodox Church is, they are the church that sprung up in Constantinople after the East-West split in the Roman Empire in 285 A.D.  This church does not recognize the Papal Supremacy and has their own leaders and hierarchy.  Thus, they created their own set of standards based on the first Seven Ecumenical Councils. 

The First Council Of Nicea

 

 

The first of these Councils, which met to determine all of the unanswered questions was the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.  At this council, one major issue resolved was the date of Easter.  Early Christians had always set Easter to a Sunday falling during the month of Nisan on the Jewish Calendar.  Some Christians believed the Jewish leadership was setting Nisan at the wrong time, so they wanted a more universal way to determine Easter.

The council decided that it should be set to one specific day for every Christian to celebrate.  The council did not designate that Easter must always be a Sunday.  They would base this date on their own idea of when the "real" month of Nisan is in their own estimation, no longer relying on what Jewish leaders laid out as their month time-line.

Later on, the date was affixed by Roman Catholics to always fall on Sunday.  It occurs on the first Sunday after the Paschal Moon.  The Paschal Moon is the first full moon occurring after the Equinox marking the beginning of Spring.  Protestants also choose to use this date for Easter.  People who are not religious in the US also celebrate secular forms of the holiday on this date.  The Eastern Orthodox Church has a different set of standards, which causes their Easter date to differ from the Roman Catholic date.

Paschal Full Moon 2012

 

 

I have problems with this because I read the Bible for myself and it's pretty clear when it should be or at least a more accurate time to celebrate Easter.  I think the idea of celebrating Easter on a different date each year is inaccurate to say the least.  Here is what I would use to determine when Easter should be celebrated if you want it to be historically accurate.

As you may know, dates on a calendar fall on different days each year.  I was born on Tuesday, August 7th, 1984, but my birthday is not on a Tuesday every year.  So, Easter should not be on a Sunday every year if it is going to be celebrated on it's actual day.

Determining a "fixed" date of Easter requires just looking at a calendar and understanding how old calendars and new calendars line up.  When was Jesus born?  Well, Jesus was born about 4 BC and this is the best guess most scholars can come up with.  Most scholars base this date on the date of a general understanding of the time frame of what is written in Luke.  However, some things Luke mentions occurred in different years, sometimes even 40 years apart.  So, who knows what the exact year is?

Nativity Priming On Textile From Byzantine Empire

 

 

If we just use this 4 BC date and say "ok, that's accurate enough" then we will say that Jesus died in 30 A.D., another date most scholars use.  If Jesus died in 30 A.D., then we can give an accurate date of Jesus death based on that year's Passover celebration.  That year, Passover was celebrated from April 7th-April 14th on today's calendar.  This means that Jesus was put to death on either April 13th(if you are a Thursday crucifixion believer) or April 14th(if you are a Good Friday believer), since he was crucified at the end of Passover week.

The amazing coincidence is that this exact Passover actually fell from Friday-Friday and would have Jesus having resurrected on a Sunday.  This would "work" with the events as unfolded in the Gospels, especially how it's laid out in Mark from Chapter 10 to Chapter 15.  I think it gives a good solid foundation for a fixed date.

If we use this, then Easter would always fall on April 16th.  This would be hard to enact, but it is a lot more accurate than using moon phases and whatnot.  Just read the bible, enact the real date after calendars are aligned.  To me, instead of this: "Accordingly, Gregorian Easter can fall on 35 possible dates—between 22 March and 25 April inclusive. It last fell on 22 March in 1818, and will not do so again until 2285. It fell on 23 March in 2008, but will not do so again until 2160. Easter last fell on the latest possible date, 25 April, in 1943 and will next fall on that date in 2038. However, it fell on 24 April, just one day before this latest possible date, in 2011 and will not do so again until 2095. The cycle of Easter dates repeats after exactly 5,700,000 years, with 19 April being the most common date, happening 220,400 times or 3.9%, compared to the median for all dates of 189,525 times or 3.3%.", we could just use that fixed date.  It would not be on Sunday every year.  There wouldn't be a "Good Friday" since that would no longer always be Friday. 

Maybe it makes things easier or more convenient to follow the system in place now.  However, as a person who is really interested in correct history, the accurate date of history is highly important to me.  Making Easter April 16th every year would be the way to do so.  It would not have to follow any lunar cycles or Passover dates, it would just be the day it happened.  I have read why Easter is when it is based on councils, decrees, etc. I know that the exact year of Jesus birth and therefore death are highly debated.  I guess the date of Easter will never change to a fixed format, but at least there's something to think about in all this as a fan of historical accuracy.


<><>My Sources<><>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passover
http://www.judaismvschristianity.com/Passover_dates.htm
http://amazingdiscoveries.org/S-deception_Jesus_day_died_Mark_crucifixion
http://nasb.scripturetext.com/mark/10.htm
http://www.space.com/15180-easter-date-paschal-full-moon.html
http://tinyurl.com/6ux27dx
http://tinyurl.com/766zks5