Thursday, February 23, 2012
ash wednesday | Determining date of Easter
Calculating Easter: The Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. set the date of Easter as the Sunday following the paschal full moon, which is the full moon that falls on or after the spring equinox, according to about.com.catholicism. The Church sets the date of the vernal/spring equinox at March 21. An approximation of the time of paschal full moon (to account for various time zones) is used because that was the date of Passover in the Jewish calendar. The Last Supper on Holy Thursday occurred on the Passover.
Pinpointing Ash Wednesday: Take the date of the movable feast of Easter (this year it is April 8) then subtract 46 days but don’t count Sundays.
Eastern Orthodox: The Eastern Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar. The Rev. Daniel Rohan, pastor of St. Mark Orthodox Church in Liberty, said Orthodox Lent will begin Monday and Easter will be April 15. In the Orthodox tradition, Easter is always after the Jewish Passover. This year, Passover begins at sundown April 6, which also is Good Friday in the Western church. Ashes are not part of the Orthodox tradition.