The orthodox church calendar describes the rhythm of life in the Eastern Orthodox Church. The date of Easter determines the date of Pascha, which is the first Sunday after the full moon after the vernal equinox. The other holy days follow the same pattern. Because the Gregorian calendar lags behind the Julian calendar, it makes sense that they would have chosen an alternate calendar. However, the Nicene Fathers rejected this calendar.
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Pascha is on the first Sunday after the full moon after the vernal equinox
According to the orthodox church calendar, the Jewish holiday of Passover and Christian festival of Easter fall on different dates. In the Julian calendar, Pascha is supposed to fall on the first Sunday after the full moon, but the Gregorian calendar makes this day different. The equinox date has shifted due to leap years, which is why the date of Pascha may be different in different calendars.
The date of Pascha is specified in the Old Testament as the 14th day of the first month of the year, also known as Nisan or Abib. But the date could fall on any day of the week. Hence, Pascha is on the first Sunday after the full moon, not on the vernal equinox.
Other holy days are determined by the date of Easter
In the orthodox church calendar, Easter is the first Sunday after the first day of the month of Lenten. The Church bases its calculations on the Julian Calendar, which was in use during the First Ecumenical Synod. In this way, the Orthodox Church does not take into account the progressive inaccuracy of the Gregorian calendar. Therefore, Easter cannot be celebrated before the third Sunday after Lenten (March 21).
The Orthodox calendar has an advantage. It uses a different method to calculate other holy days, which means Easter in Orthodox calendars is one day later than the Catholic one. In the orthodox church calendar, Easter is calculated using the Julian calendar, which is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. Moreover, the date of Easter in the orthodox calendar is also affected by the First Ecumenical Council. The council in Nicea, Greece, ruled that Pascha should fall on or after the Jewish Passover. Thus, it can cross over Catholic Easter.
Gregorian calendar lags behind Julian calendar
The Gregorian calendar lags behind the Julian calendar by 11 minutes and 14 seconds. The reason for this discrepancy lies in a mistake by the astronomer Sosigenes, who miscalculated the length of the year by 11 minutes and 14 seconds. Because of this error, the Julian calendar shifted its seasons by 10 days. Ultimately, the Gregorian calendar replaced the Julian calendar. Nevertheless, the Eastern Orthodox churches still use the Julian calendar for their liturgical dates and movable feasts.
In addition to its differences, the Gregorian calendar lags behind the Julian calendar by 13 days. This is because the Earth’s rotation slows down over time, so the days are longer. The Gregorian calendar also features leap seconds, which allow it to measure time more precisely. The Gregorian calendar has a more uniform duration, but it lags behind the Julian calendar by thirteen days.
Nicene Fathers reject orthodox church calendar
The New Calendar has its own place in World Orthodoxy, but it has a strong polemic based on the Nicene Fathers rejecting the orthodox church calendar. The Old Calendar is the “orthodox” church calendar, while the New Calendar is the anti-Orthodox calendar. This is double-speak to advance the Ecumenist agenda among non-Orthodox, while placating conservatives.
A number of Protestant heretics believe that the orthodox church calendar is not a true celebration of the Christian year. The New Calendar is a false calendar, as it consists of twelve months that begin on the first day of spring and end on the last day of November. This calendar is a misrepresentation of the true church year. It is also based on a calendar that was rejected by the Council of Nicea.
Ecumenists also introduced change to the Church Calendar. These reformers, who called themselves “atheist astronomers,” sought astronomical accuracy over unity and tradition. Some of them resisted the change in the name of Ecumenical unity. This false union between New Calendarists and Old Calendarists resulted in the division of the Orthodox Church. It also led to some anti-Ecumenist and pro-New Calendarist positions.
