Easter in 2020 this is a wonderful Orthodox holiday for all Christianity and of course in Russia, full of light, hopes and universal joy, and it is one of the most ancient Orthodox holidays and is considered very responsible and the most important in church worship. Easter is nothing but a celebration of the triumph of life over death, because it was on this glorious day that the Resurrection of Christ took place. The Easter holiday is dedicated to this most significant and amazing event that took place in the early Christian era.

Orthodox Easter- is considered a passing holiday, it does not have a fixed celebration numbers, date varies every year, but depends on the calculation according to the lunisolar calendar.

Easter as we said rolling holiday, and it is translated from Hebrew reflecting its name, that is, "passing" or "passing by."

Easter week always originates on the first Sunday following the first full moon and after the vernal equinox.

Orthodox and Catholic Easter or the Resurrection of Christ in Russia, is the most important church holiday for believing Christians in 2020. Why Easter they call Christ's Sunday - in remembrance of the Resurrection from the dead of our Jesus Christ, and that is why we call the last day of the week Sunday, in honor of the Resurrection of Jesus.

From the date of the celebration of the next Easter many things depend, first of all - the beginning of the Charter of the church service and the end of Great Lent. Holy Easter revered not only by believers, even for those far from religion, it is associated with a procession, a solemn night service in the temple of the Lord, morning bells and, of course, painted eggs and ruddy Easter cakes.

Many of those who are not in the faith, did not think about and did not understand God, are probably not aware of the main spiritual meaning of the celebration of Holy Pascha, they are unlikely to know about the traditions of the celebration. We will compensate for this gap and tell about the history and traditions of the Orthodox, as well as the Catholic and Jewish Easter(Pesach).

We will introduce you to Holy Easter in Russia, Orthodox, Catholic and Jewish (Pesach) 2020, the date when the Resurrection of Christ will be celebrated, this great holiday is celebrated by believing Christians from all over the world, and you will also learn about something else directly related to this afternoon...

Orthodox Easter in 2020 - April 19

Catholic Easter in 2020 - April 12

Pesach (Jewish Passover) 2020 - April 9 - 16

Numbers of Orthodox and Catholic Easter - in links

Orthodox dates Easter until 2035 Holy Christ's Resurrection	Dates of the Catholic Easter until 2035 Holy Christ's Resurrection

Easter numbers from 2036 to 2050 - Orthodox and Catholic

Orthodox dates Easter until 2050 Holy Christ's Resurrection	Dates of the Catholic Easter until 2050 Holy Christ's Resurrection
Orthodox Easter 2036 - April 20	Catholic Easter 2036 - April 13
Orthodox Easter 2037 - April 5	Catholic Easter 2037 - April 5
Orthodox Easter 2038 - April 25	Catholic Easter 2038 - April 25
Orthodox Easter 2039 - April 17	Catholic Easter 2039 - April 10
Orthodox Easter 2040 - May 6	Catholic Easter 2040 - April 1
Orthodox Easter 2041 - April 21	Catholic Easter 2041 - April 21
Orthodox Easter 2042 - April 13	Catholic Easter 2042 - April 6
Orthodox Easter 2043 - May 3	Catholic Easter 2043 - March 29
Orthodox Easter 2044 - April 24	Catholic Easter 2044 - April 17
Orthodox Easter 2045 - April 9	Catholic Easter 2045 - April 9
Orthodox Easter 2046 - April 29	Catholic Easter 2046 - March 25
Orthodox Easter 2047 - April 21	Catholic Easter 2047 - April 14
Orthodox Easter 2048 - April 5	Catholic Easter 2048 - April 5
Orthodox Easter 2049 - April 25	Catholic Easter 2049 - April 18
Orthodox Easter 2050 - April 17	Catholic Easter 2050 - April 10

Holy Orthodox Easter 2020 - how many days is celebrated?

The solemn Christian holiday Holy Orthodox Easter 2020 will be celebrated on the second Sunday of April on the 8th day, and it is the most important day in the church hierarchy of holidays. Easter is celebrated annually and it is considered a mobile (movable) holiday, and why not every year on the same day, you will learn a little lower in the text.

The rest of the movable (transitional) church holidays depend on the day of the Orthodox Easter, such as the Holy Trinity - held on the fiftieth day after Easter, it is also called Pentecost, Palm Sunday - celebrated on Sunday a week before Easter Ascension of the Lord - celebrated on the fortieth day and a number of others, less significant from the point of view of the church hierarchy.

The celebration of Holy Orthodox Easter in 2020, as well as in any other, will be quite long in terms of the number of days, there are forty of them in total, when believing Christians will have to greet each other, nothing more than "Christ is risen!", But answer him greeting - "Truly risen!", do not forget about it. site/node/6774

This holiday for Orthodox Christians, first of all, is an opportunity to turn to the Lord in a solemn atmosphere, and also to glorify Him, because this is a time of spiritual joy, special celebration and the opportunity to express one's gratitude. On the eve of Holy Orthodox Easter 2020, on the night of April 19, believers will gather in churches and other temples for a prayer service in honor of the Risen Jesus Christ. They will pray for him and themselves, their relatives and friends.

Easter Event 2020

Holy Orthodox Easter is a Christian holiday that is intended to serve as a remembrance of the Resurrection of the Lord, because according to legend, although no one saw this, after suffering and death, He resurrected on the third day. The moment of the resurrection is not described anywhere, including in the Gospel, because in reality no one saw with their own eyes, did not testify how it really happened - the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

For those who do not know, let's say that the removal from the Cross and the burial of Jesus Christ took place on Friday evening. Since the Jews consider Saturday a holy day of rest, the women who accompanied the Lord and witnessed His sufferings came only early Sunday morning to the Holy Sepulcher.

From now on, the day after Saturday began to be called Sunday or Sunday, as we now know it. These women brought to the Holy Sepulcher on Sunday - all kinds of incense, which, according to the customs existing at that time, had to be poured on the body of a deceased person, that is, on Jesus Christ.

How to calculate the date, number of Easter 2020?

To calculate the Holy Orthodox Easter of the future 2020 or any other, first of all, you need to know exactly not only the date of the equinox, but also when the full moon will be according to the lunar calendar. if we turn to ancient history, we will find out that in those distant times the best experts on the lunar calendar (astrologers) lived in Egypt, which was powerful at that time, and therefore they carried out the calculations.site/node/6774

The honor of establishing (determining) the Orthodox Paschalia was given to the chief bishop of the Egyptian city of Alexandria. It was at the dawn of the celebration of Holy Pascha that he set the exact date of the solemn day for the Bishop of Alexandria. Every year he informed all the local Churches about the solemn day of the celebration of Holy Pascha.

Subsequently, a calendar was created (Paschalia), with the dates of the celebration of Easter for as many as 532 years. This calendar (Paschal) was based on the periodicity of the Julian calendar - the revolution of the Sun in 28 years, as well as the period of revolution of the Moon in 19 years - repeat each time exactly five hundred and thirty-two (532) years. The period of five hundred and thirty-two years is usually called the "great indiction" and its beginning coincides with the date of the beginning of the day "from the creation of the world."

Old Believer Easter - the traditions of the celebration of the Old Believers

Among priests and bezpopovtsy, Old Believers of all accords, the traditions of celebrating Holy Easter are largely similar. The Old Believers begin breaking the fast on this day, in the family circle at a meal, but only after they have held a temple service. In some communities, a common meal is provided, to which all believers are invited.

On the day of Holy Easter, there should be special dishes on the table, consisting of colored eggs, Easter and, of course, Easter cake. All these dishes are cooked only once a year - on the Bright Sunday of Christ (Easter).

In addition to traditional Easter dishes, believing Christians, as well as non-believers, usually cook a variety of dishes. Before the start of the Easter meal, you should taste the food and water consecrated in the church temple, only after that you can start eating the rest of the food.

Easter Traditions 2020 - The Meaning of Easter Eggs

On the day of the date of the celebration of Holy Orthodox Easter 2020, do not forget to celebrate Christ, congratulate not only each other on the Bright Resurrection of Christ, but also everyone you meet on this great holiday. Also on this solemn day, it is customary to exchange krashenka or pysanky (painted or painted eggs), as well as kiss three times.

For those of you who do not know about the traditions and meaning of Easter eggs, we tell you - an egg painted in red (or another) color is usually called krashenka, but painted with all kinds of patterns, church ornaments - Easter eggs, there are also Easter eggs made of wood, they are called eggs. By the way, the red-colored Easter egg means the blood of Jesus Christ, the one with which he was enriched at the time of his death. site/node/6774

It is worth noting the fact that before eggs were dyed only red, and modern customs of dyeing them in other colors and painting with patterns, this is a modern innovation, which is rejected in some non-clergy communities, especially those with thermal stickers in the form of flowers. , patterns, church churches or the face of Jesus Christ, some inscriptions.

Nevertheless, it is hardly possible to get rid of the fashion trends of dyeing and painting Easter eggs, you need to come to terms with it and even welcome it in every possible way, and not repel those who are interested in all sorts of obstacles, so that people become even more involved in the celebration of Holy Easter, learn about the history of the Light Resurrection of Christ.

The Holy Orthodox Easter of the coming year 2020 will be solemnly celebrated, as we have already said, on the day of the Bright Sunday of Christ on the 19th of April. This is the most significant and revered day of the year for believing Christians, because it was on Holy Sunday that Jesus Christ resurrected, on the third day after his death.

Children are especially happy about this holiday, because they are the main participants and they are first of all given holiday cakes and eggs, they are treated to a baked Easter on the eve, they also receive other sweets, sweets, cookies for the holiday.

Pesach 2020 - Jewish Passover

Pesach or Passover is celebrated in memory of the fact that the Lord God saved the houses of the Jews (Jews) from the Egyptians when they killed the firstborn of all Egypt in order to kill the future messiah. Pesach is also celebrated in honor of the Exodus of the Jews (Jews) from Egypt, which enslaved them.

Passover is celebrated by the Jews for seven days, and the celebration of the Jewish Passover Pesach begins on the fourteenth day of Nisan. It is worth noting that the seven days of the Jewish Passover are celebrated only in Israel itself, and everywhere this holiday lasts eight days.

Pesach 2020 - March 31 - April 7 (Jewish Passover)

On this holy and solemn day for Jews all over the world, it is customary to gather at the festive table with the whole family and at the meal remember the difficult fate of the Jewish people, and also thank the Lord God for deliverance from suffering, as well as sent down blessings. For this solemn period of seven or eight days, preparing in advance, they begin cooking (preparing all kinds of festive dishes), a few days before Pesach.

Catholic Easter 2020 for the Catholics of the world

Catholic Easter differs in timing from the Orthodox (although they coincide from time to time), due to different interpretations of the chronology, Catholics calculate the day of Holy Easter according to the new Gregorian calendar, and Orthodox Christians, including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, according to the old calendar, the Gregorian calendar .

Catholic in Easter 2020 - celebrated on April 12

Interestingly, not only the timing of Easter is different for Orthodox and Catholics, but also traditional treats. If we treat each other with Easter cakes and eggs, then Catholics have instead of painted eggs, the symbol of the solemn day of Catholic Easter is the festive Easter Bunny. site/node/6774

According to ancient beliefs that have come down to modern times, the Easter Bunny delivers gift baskets with colored eggs to everyone on this day. In Catholic countries, the Easter Bunny is the main "character", it is very popular, they make it chocolate, give drawings and postcards with its image.

Easter Calendar - Orthodox, Catholic and Jewish

Orthodox Easter 2020 (Resurrection of Christ) - April 19

Orthodox Easter 2020 falls in mid-April on its 19th day, when all believing Christians (Orthodox) will rejoice on the Bright Day of the Resurrection of Christ, celebrate it festively.

Catholic Easter 2020 - April 12

In 2020, Catholics around the world will rejoice at the arrival of the Bright Day of the Resurrection of Christ on April 12, this very day of Catholic Easter is considered the most significant for all believers.

Passover 2020 - Jewish Passover (April 9-16)

In 2020, the Jews of the entire believing world will begin to celebrate Pesach on the day of the Holy Resurrection of Christ - April 9, when the Jewish Easter comes, and it will last for Israeli Jews until the fifteenth day, and all other representatives of this nationality will celebrate it one day longer .

So you learned about the Orthodox, Catholic and Jewish Easter (Pesach) of 2020, the code it will be celebrated, by what dates, and also about its traditions and customs, as well as the ancient history of the emergence of the Bright Resurrection of Christ. Of course, we could not fit in one article all that useful and important information about Easter, which is very much, although it is very necessary for everyone, but you yourself can find it in the available literature or some media, primarily in boundless expanses of the World Wide Web called the Internet!

Do not forget not only on this festive day - Holy Orthodox Easter 2020, to congratulate everyone on the Bright Resurrection of Christ, to greet each other in no other way than - "Christ is Risen", but you should answer like this - "Truly Risen"! Ideally, you should greet each other this way for forty days (according to church teachings), but it will be enough for you and me to greet each other in this way at Easter! site/node/6774

Always remember that your kindness will also bring you goodness in return, wish others only good and well-being! Peace, love and prudence to everyone, everyone - appreciate your loved ones and relatives, do not push away those who need help, raise your moral level always and in everything, live in unison with your conscience and then it will be easier for you!

Easter in 2020 is celebrated on April 19th. This is the main event of the year for Orthodox Christians. The full church name of the holiday is the Bright Resurrection of Christ. The celebration is dedicated to the resurrection of Jesus Christ after the crucifixion.

Easter is a moving event. Its date is calculated according to the lunisolar calendar. The holiday is celebrated on the nearest Sunday after the first full moon, which occurs after the vernal equinox. The date falls between April 4 and May 8 according to the new style.

history of the holiday

By order of the Roman procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, Jesus Christ was sentenced to a painful death - crucifixion. He was crucified on Mount Golgotha ​​on the outskirts of Jerusalem. The exact date of the death of the Savior is unknown. This happened on a Friday between 26 AD and 26 AD. to 36 AD After Jesus' death, they wrapped a shroud around Jesus and laid him in a coffin (stone cave) until the Sabbath rest. On the night from Saturday to Sunday, on the eve of the Jewish Passover, the Myrrh-Bearing Women came to the tomb. They found an open cave and an angel in it, who informed them of the resurrection of Christ.

The name "Easter" was given to the holiday from the Jewish Passover, on the night of which the Resurrection of Christ took place. Passover among the Jews is dedicated to the Exodus - the liberation of the Israelites from four centuries of slavery under the yoke of the Egyptian pharaohs. These events are described in the Old Testament.

Traditions and rituals of the holiday

Easter is the main holiday of Christianity. On this day, a solemn service is held in the temples. It starts before midnight. First, the Midnight Office is served, during which the priests take the Shroud to the altar and place it on the throne. Matins begins at midnight. The clergy sing the festive stichera in the altar. Then the clergyman makes a religious procession - bypassing the temple to the sound of bells. In his hands he holds a lantern with a burning candle inside. He is followed by representatives of the clergy with church relics. The procession is accompanied by the singing of the stichera. After the tour of the temple, Matins continues. The Paschal Hours and the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom are integral parts of the Paschal Service.

In many churches, parishioners are allowed to ring the bells on this day. Anyone, accompanied by the clergy, can climb the bell tower and try himself as a bell ringer.

On Easter Sunday, churches consecrate Easter cakes, cottage cheese Easter, painted eggs (krasnki, pysanky) and other treats prepared for the festive table. People put products in a wicker basket, cover them with a beautiful towel and go to temples to sanctify. Also on Easter, artos, leavened bread, is consecrated in churches. It is distributed to believers to keep at home for a year. Artos is taken on an empty stomach in case of illness.

Have an interesting day

Task for today: Bake your homemade cake
Kulich is a bread symbol of Easter, an indispensable attribute of a bright Christian holiday. Baking Easter cake and consecrating it in the church is one of the most ancient Christian customs that has survived to this day. Each housewife has her own tricks for baking delicious Easter cake, which are traditionally passed down from generation to generation, from mother to daughter.

Since ancient times, Easter cake was considered successful if it turned out to be high, airy and soft. Today, there are many recipes for a festive cake: with and without baking, with flour and without flour, traditionally decorated with icing and decorated with various elements. Only one thing remains unchanged - you need to cook pasta with bright thoughts, putting all your love into them.

Bake your homemade and especially fragrant cake and share the recipe.

One of the attributes of the holiday is flowers. People light live or artificial bouquets at services. Then they bring them home, put them in front of the icons, and decorate the festive table with them.

On Easter, people greet each other with the phrase: “Christ is risen!”, To which the answer is supposed to be: “He has truly risen!”.

Families have a tradition of measuring strength by breaking Easter eggs. The member of the family who breaks all the eggs and stays intact is considered the strongest.

On this day, it is customary to visit relatives, spend time with family, arrange festivities, entertainment. In some regions, this holiday is called "Green Christmas", where people sing ritual songs, congratulate loved ones, go from house to house, praise the owner and wish well-being.

Many believe that the heavens open at Easter. Therefore, magical rites are performed on this day. Young girls spend love spells on their beloved men and guess at their betrothed. Traditional healers believe that the period of the Easter holidays is the best time for healing from diseases.

Easter table

Easter is preceded by the Great Forty-Day Fast, during which the fasting abstain from alcohol and food of animal origin. On the Bright Resurrection of Christ, breaking the fast begins. Believers are allowed to eat modest food, red wine. The housewives prepare festive treats the day before. Traditional dishes are: jelly, homemade sausages, bacon, baked young pig, goose stuffed with apples, pies with meat and cheese fillings. At the festive meal, the central place is occupied by Easter cakes, cottage cheese Easter, painted eggs. Eggs are dyed with artificial or natural dyes, painted with drawings and Easter greetings. The traditional color is red.

The hostesses cover the festive table with a new white tablecloth, embroidered on an Easter theme. In the center is placed a dish with the largest and most beautiful Easter and eggs around. Flowers are placed on the table and candles are lit. It is necessary to start the meal with products consecrated in the church.

Holy Fire

On Great Saturday on the eve of Easter in the Jerusalem Church of the Resurrection, the convergence of the Holy Fire takes place. The temple was built on Mount Calvary, where Jesus was crucified and on the site of the tomb of the Lord - a stone cave where he was buried.

The fire is carried out during worship from Kuvuklia - a chapel inside the temple. The Greek Patriarch passes it on to other patriarchs, after which it is distributed throughout the temple. Every year, more than 15 thousand parishioners take part in the ceremony, holding bundles of 33 candles in their hands - a symbol of the years of Christ's life. The service in the Church of the Resurrection is broadcast in many countries of the world.

From Jerusalem, the Holy Fire is transferred to other states. In 1992, after an 80-year break, he was taken to Moscow. Since that time, the Holy Fire is annually transferred by plane to the capital of Russia and spread to other cities of the country.

What not to do on Easter

On Easter, Christians are forbidden to engage in heavy physical labor. Housewives try to complete all the preparations in the kitchen the day before, so that on the day of the holiday they will be free from household chores. On this day, it is not recommended to be sad, walk gloomy, be rude, swear with loved ones, be greedy. On the Bright Resurrection of Christ, one cannot refuse alms or help to those in need.

Signs and beliefs

• If all the snow melts by Easter, then this year there will be a good harvest.
• If you feed street birds with bread crumbs on a holiday, then luck and wealth will accompany the whole year.
• If you manage to see the Easter dawn, then you should expect good luck in business.
• The hostess who bakes successful Easter bread will have prosperity and well-being in the house.
• After the service in the temple, it is necessary for good luck to extinguish the candle. A candle extinguished during the service is a bad harbinger.

Easter is a great Orthodox holiday. On this day, Christians attend worship services, where Easter cakes and colored eggs are lit. People try to free themselves from household chores and spend time with their loved ones.

Congratulations

Happy Easter, I sincerely congratulate you,
I wish you light in your soul today.
Let prayers cleanse the soul and house,
Let joy and happiness settle in it.

Let everyone want to become a little kinder,
Then grace will come to every house,
Health, prosperity and even wealth,
And love will be the best medicine.

So Holy Easter has come,
We sincerely congratulate you on it.
Peace, happiness, love and warmth
On this joyful day we wish you.

May the Lord keep you from troubles
Let the angel help you in business.
May always good thoughts light
Life brightly illuminates your path.

In the Slavic Vedic tradition, Velikden is one of the largest and most important calendar holidays - the day when the whole world resurrects after winter. An external natural phenomenon acts as a symbol of an internal deep divine action - the rebirth of the Universe. The date of the celebration of Great Day then coincided with the Day of the vernal equinox and had a somewhat different meaning from today.

In Old Testament times, the celebration of Easter always took place on the 15th day of the month of Nisan according to the lunar calendar. From the beginning of the Church of Christ, two traditions were established for celebrating Easter on the 14th day of the month of Nisan according to the Jewish lunar calendar. In Asia Minor they celebrated, remembering mainly the Crucifixion of the Savior on this day, and in Rome and other Churches they celebrated on Sunday after this date, remembering the Resurrection of Christ.

The formula for determining the day of Easter, which is obligatory for all Churches, was approved at the First Ecumenical Council in 325. According to it, Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon, which occurred after the day of the vernal equinox. It was also established that Passover should not be celebrated with or before the Jews, but this condition is now not taken into account in the churches of the Western tradition.

Differences in determining the dates of Easter between East and West arose after the introduction in the XVI century. Gregorian (new) style, when the West began to use a new formula for calculating Easter, associated with the embedded calendar. In the Eastern church tradition, the Julian (old) style of the calendar has been preserved, and therefore the date of Easter is calculated from the day of the equinox according to the old style, while in the Western tradition the date of Easter is calculated from the day of the equinox according to the new style.

Given that the date of the full moon, to which the celebration of Easter is tied, is not fixed and falls on different days within the same month, the discrepancy between the eastern and western celebrations of Easter is also not fixed.

To calculate the day of Easter, you can use paschalia - special tables that make up the Orthodox Church. Orthodox Easter is calculated according to the Alexandrian Paschalia, taking into account the days of the full moon.
Below are tables of dates for celebrating Easter until 2051 among Eastern Christians, Western Christians, and Jews.

Christian Easter - Great Day, Resurrection of Christ (Julian calendar)
Celebrate: the Orthodox and the majority of Greek Catholics and part of the Protestants - the Old Calendarists.
2012 15.04
2013 5.05
2014 20.04
2015 12.04
2016 1.05
2017 16.04
2018 8.04
2019 28.04
2020 19.04
2021 2.05
2022 24.04
2023 16.04
2024 5.05
2025 20.04
2026 12.04
2027 5.05
2028 16.04
2029 8.04
2030 28.04
2031 13.04
2032 2.05
2033 24.04
2034 9.04
2035 29.04
2036 20.04
2037 5.04
2038 25.04
2039 17.04
2040 6.05
2041 21.04
2042 13.04
2043 3.05
2044 24.04
2045 9.04
2046 29.04
2047 21.04
2048 5.04
2049 25.04
2050 17.04

Christian Easter - Great Day, Resurrection of Christ (Gregorian calendar)
Celebrating: Roman Catholics, the Finnish Orthodox Church, part of the Greek Catholics and part of the New Calendar Protestants,
2012 8.04
2013 31.03
2014 20.04
2015 5.04
2016 27.03
2017 16.04
2018 1.04
2019 21.04
2020 12.04
2021 4.04
2022 17.04
2023 9.04
2024 31.03
2025 20.04
2026 5.04
2027 28.03
2028 16.04
2029 1.04
2030 21.04
2031 13.04
2032 28.03
2033 17.04
2034 9.04
2035 25.03
2036 13.04
2037 5.04
2038 25.04
2039 10.04
2040 1.04
2041 21.04
2042 6.04
2043 29.03
2044 17.04
2045 9.04
2046 25.03
2047 14.04
2048 5.04
2049 18.04
2050 10.04

Pesach - Jewish Passover (Jewish calendar) Celebrate: Jews
2012 7.04
2013 26.03
2014 15.04
2015 4.04
2016 23.04
2017 16.04
2018 31.03
2019 20.04
2020 9.04
2021 28.03
2022 16.04
2023 6.04
2024 23.04
2025 13.04
2026 2.04
2027 22.04
2028 11.04
2029 31.03
2030 18.04
2031 8.04
2032 27.03
2033 14.04
2034 4.04
2035 24.04
2036 12.04
2037 31.03
2038 20.04
2039 9.04
2040 29.03
2041 16.04
2042 5.04
2043 25.03
2044 12.04
2045 2.04
2046 21.04
2047 11.04
2048 29.03
2049 17.04
2050 7.04

The dates of Easter depend on the dates of other holidays, the dates of which change every year. These are holidays with a non-permanent rolling date: the Ascension of Christ - on the 40th day after Easter.
After the next 10 days, i.e. on Sunday, the fiftieth day after Easter, comes the feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, Trinity, Pentecost or Green Holidays.
And after another 8 days, from Monday, Peter's fast begins, which lasts until the feast of the apostles Peter and Paul, until June 29 according to the Gregorian calendar, or until July 12 - according to the Julian calendar.
Thus, the duration of the period between the "fixed" feast of the Candlemas and the beginning of Great Lent, as well as the duration of Peter's Lent, depends on the date of Easter.
Great Lent begins for Orthodox and Greek Catholics on Monday, 48 days before Easter, for Roman Catholics on Ash Wednesday, 46 days before Easter.

Easter – a calculation system that allows, using special tables that determine the relationship of a large number of calendar and astronomical quantities, to determine the dates of celebration and passing church holidays for any given year (hence the name - Paschalia). Based on special calculations, a calendar of holidays is compiled. The Russian Orthodox Church uses the traditional Julian calendar, created under Julius Caesar in 45 BC, to calculate the date of the celebration of Easter and passing holidays. This calendar is often referred to as the "old style". Western Christians use the Gregorian calendar, introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. It is commonly referred to as "new style".

According to the rules of the First Ecumenical Council (325 Nicaea), Orthodox Easter is celebrated the first Sunday after the spring full moon, which comes after or on the day of the spring equinox, if this Sunday falls after the day of the celebration of the Jewish Passover; otherwise, the celebration of Orthodox Easter is transferred to the first Sunday after the day of Jewish Passover.

Thus, the day of the celebration of Easter is within 35 days: from April 4 to May 8 of the new style.

Easter calendar and some movable holidaysfor 2018-2030(new style)

Year	Easter	Ascension of the Lord	Day of the Holy Trinity
2018	April 8	May 17	May 27
2019	April 28	June 6	June 16
2020	April 19	May 28	June 7
2021	May 2	June 10th	June 20
2022	April 24	2 June	12 June
2023	April 16	May 25	June 4
2024	5 May	June 13	June 23
2025	20 April	May 29	June 8
2026	12th of April	May 21st	May 31
2027	May 2	June 10th	June 20
2028	April 16	May 25	June 4
2029	April 8	May 17	May 27
2030	April 28	June 6	June 16

The canonical norm of the Orthodox Paschalia and the problem of dating Easter in the conditions of our time

D.P. Ogitsky, Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy
The article is published in abbreviated form.

Even before the Council of Nicaea, the rule of celebrating Easter on the Sunday after Nisan 14 (more often it was the first Sunday, in some cases the second) acquired a general church character.

The new question that had to be decided by the Council of Nicaea was the following: should Nisan 14 always be considered the full moon, which is considered Nisan 14 among the Jews, or should Christians have their own opinion on this issue and decide on the first spring lunar month and its 14 day on their own, taking into account more accurate astronomical data?

The question was caused by a divergence in the practice of various churches. The Christians of the "East" - more precisely, Syria, Mesopotamia and partly Cilicia - adhered to the first decision, that is, they always unconditionally followed the Jewish calendar, celebrating their Easter, although on Sunday, but immediately after the Jewish Easter. The Christians of Europe, Africa, Asia Minor, representing the majority of the Christian world, by that time had already freed themselves from such dependence on the Jews and did not unconditionally follow the Jewish calendar, referring to the imperfection of the latter. In those cases when the Jewish Passover fell before the spring equinox, that is, before the moment considered the beginning of spring and the natural tropical boundary of the year, the Christians of these countries considered the next full moon to be Nisan 14. In such cases, the gap between Easter for the Christians of the "East" and for other Christians was a whole month, or even five weeks. In order to put an end to such discrepancies, the Council of Nicaea, after having succeeded in persuading the Easterners to abandon their practice, directed everyone to follow the second practice, based on an independent decision independent of the Jewish calendar. This is the meaning of the Nicene definition and prohibition of celebrating the Passover "with the Jews" (μμετὰ τῶν Ἰουδαίων) until the spring equinox.

One must think that the Nicaean Council did not deal with the detailed regulation of Paschalia, firstly, because all its attention, as can be seen from the letters of St. , was aimed at overcoming the main difficulty on the way to establishing a single Paschal - the attachment of the "Eastern" to the Jewish calendar, and secondly, because those Paschal issues that worried earlier (for example, about the day of the week on which Easter should be celebrated and about relation of this day to the lunar date of Nisan 14), now no longer caused the previous wrangling, thirdly, because the detailed and exhaustive regulation of the technique of Paschal calculations (up to solving problems caused by the inaccuracy of the Julian calendar) was beyond the power of the council, yes it was hardly necessary to confirm all the technical details of the solution of the question of Paschal with the authority of the ecumenical council. The Council proclaimed (hardly, however, causing anyone doubts) the principle of the simultaneous celebration of Easter by the whole Church. The real contribution of the council to the implementation of this principle was that it removed the above-mentioned main obstacle, which at that time stood in the way of the implementation of this principle.

Many centuries later, when the main subject of Paschal discrepancies at the beginning of the 4th c. and the circumstances of the case that accompanied the discussion of this question at the ecumenical council were thoroughly forgotten, the Council of Nicaea began to attribute something that the council did not directly prescribe, and even something that did not at all correspond to its line.

Incorrect judgments about the meaning of the canonical prescriptions about the time of celebrating Easter and, in particular, about the meaning of the prohibition to celebrate it μετὰ τῶν Ἰουδαίων we find, first of all, among such major canonists of the Orthodox East as John Zonara, Theodore Balsamon,. It was they who contributed, more than anyone else, to the popularization of these judgments among us, in the Orthodox environment.

In his interpretation of the 7th Apostolic canon, Zonara writes: “The whole commandment of this canon is as follows: Christians do not celebrate Easter with the Jews, that is, not on the same day with them; for their non-holiday feast must precede, and then our Passover must be celebrated. A clergyman who does not do this must be deposed. The Council of Antioch determined the same thing in the first canon.

Zonara, and after him other canonists, by their interpretation of the canons make the dates of the Christian Pascha directly, permanently dependent on the dates of the Jewish Pascha. Such an interpretation of the canonical rules has become something indisputable for us, almost an axiom. He is also held by such prominent Orthodox canonists of later times as the bishop (Rules of the Orthodox Church with interpretations). Many operate with it to this day, when the issues of correcting the calendar and Paschalia are touched upon.

Meanwhile, everything that we know about the attitude of the Council of Nicaea to the question of the time of the celebration of Easter is in sharp contradiction with such an interpretation of the canonical rules about Easter.

What could these rules mean by forbidding Christians to celebrate Easter μετὰ τῶν Ἰουδαίων? Coincidence in one day of Christian and Jewish holidays? If yes, then, one asks, why such a coincidence is unacceptable? Is it because the Christian Easter "would be defiled" through contact with the Jewish one? Or, perhaps, because the celebration on one day would violate the sequence of memories - first the legal Pascha, then the new Pascha? But it is known that the Churches, which adopted the Nicene definition as their guide, were not at all embarrassed by cases of such coincidences and celebrated Easter on the same day as the Jews (from Nisan 14 to 15) and after the Council of Nicea - in 328, 343, 347, 370, 394 and at a later time. If a reproduction of the sequence of events was required and Christians were obliged to ensure that their Easter was after the Jewish one, it is not entirely clear why there is no prohibition anywhere in the canons to celebrate Christian Easter earlier Jewish. Another question arises: in what position, from the point of view of Zonara and his like-minded people, would Christians find themselves if, say, now the Jews would change their Paschalia and bring their dating of Easter closer to ours - would we then have to “run away” from them with their dates and rearrange your Paschalia accordingly?

In the light of the facts relating to the history of the Paschal disputes in Nicene time, there can be only one answer to all this: the Nicene Fathers rejected any obligatory dependence of the dates of the Christian Pascha on the dates of the Jewish Passover. This is insistently emphasized in the message of Emperor Constantine: “First of all, they recognized it as unworthy to follow the custom of the Jews in celebrating this most holy holiday ... For there is an opportunity, having rejected their custom, to follow a more correct order.” Trying to incline all Christians to accept this order, the author of the epistle urges Christians to have nothing to do with the Jews in determining the time of Passover. "For verily," he says, "their boasting is completely out of place, that without their teaching we are not able to observe this" 1 . At the same time, he seeks to discredit the Jewish calendar, according to which Easter happened in those days and before the spring equinox. Such cases in the message of the emperor are regarded as a double celebration of Easter in the same year.

Neither in the canons, nor in other contemporary documents close to the Council of Nicaea, interpreting the Nicene definition, is there any question that the possibility of coincidences between Christian Easter and Jewish Easter should be ruled out, i.e., the possibility of celebrating it in some cases one day with Jews. Nowhere is there also a ban on the celebration of Easter by Christians earlier Jews. Such a ban would mean the dependence of the dates of the Christian Passover on the dates of the Jewish Passover. And everything we know about the Nicene definition shows that the Nicene Fathers were against any dependence of Christians on Jews in this matter.

The Council of Nicaea thus forbade not accidental coincidences, but the fundamental dependence of the dates of the Christian Pascha on the dates of the Jewish Pascha. In the language of the canons, celebrating Pascha μετὰ τῶν Ἰουδαίων does not mean allowing coincidences between Christian and Jewish Pascha, which means that when determining the day of Christian Pascha, one must steadily adhere to Jewish Paschalia, not allowing other Paschal calculations, and recognize it as obligatory for Christians to celebrate Easter on the Sunday immediately following Easter Jewish. Using the expression μετὰ τῶν Ἰουδαίων, the canons had in mind the fundamental agreement between the Christians of the “East” and the Jews on the issue of the date of Nisan 14, and not at all some random coincidences in calculations and dates.

The error of Zonara and other interpreters of the canons was the result, firstly, of their incorrect, superficial and too literal understanding of the expression μετὰ τῶν Ἰουδαίων without any regard for the specific historical conditions in which this formulation was born; The fact is that in their time, our Paschal tables, adjusted to the Julian calendar, were already so far behind both astronomical data and Jewish calculations (which, by the way, had become extremely accurate by that time), that the increased distance between Christian and Jewish Easter was completely excluded the possibility of coincidence of their dates. In fact, Christian Easter in the time of Zonara was always only after Jewish Passover. In this factual state of affairs, the canonists saw confirmation of their interpretations of the obligation for Christians to observe such a sequence and distance between Jewish and Christian holidays.

Now, when the question of revising Paschalia is on the agenda, we must resolutely dissociate ourselves from these incorrect interpretations of the canonical rules and proceed from the fact that these rules do not provide for any fundamental dependence of the dates of our Pascha on the time the Jews celebrate Easter.

Report by prof. at a meeting of the Commission on the reform of the calendar at the Russian Astronomical Society on May 31, 1899. Appendix 5 to the journals of the meeting of the Commission, p. 37-38.

Migne, R. G., 1. 20, col. 1073.