When is Orthodox Easter. How to count what day is Easter

Easter, one of the main, most revered holidays for Christians. On this day, they recall the feat and miraculous resurrection of the Savior, who suffered mortal torment for people, giving people hope for a better life after death. According to a long-established tradition, Easter is always celebrated on Sunday. But how to calculate the exact date of this great holiday? And why is this date different in different years ?.

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Instruction manual

Easter Sunday is the Sunday that comes after the very first full moon after the vernal equinox. The fact is that the date of this holiday is determined by the mutual position of the Sun and the Moon, therefore there is a very wide range - from March 22 to April 25 according to the Julian calendar. Or, respectively, from April 7 to May 8 according to the Gregorian calendar. But why did such a spread in dates become possible at all? Was it really impossible to determine exactly when this event happened? The fact is that Easter was originally a Jewish holiday, marking the exodus of the Jews, under the guidance of the prophet Moses from Egypt. According to the ancient Jewish calendar, Easter was celebrated on the fourteenth day of the first spring month of Nisan. However, due to the fact that the Jews began a new moon every month, Easter fell on the full moon day in March. Since, according to Christian canons, the crucifixion of the Savior occurred on the eve of the Jewish Easter (which, we recall, falls on different days of the week), then at the ecumenical council in Nicaea, held in 325, it was decided: to celebrate Easter on the first Sunday, following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. In order for everyone to be able to figure out Easter day, the so-called “Easter eggs” - special tables were compiled. You can use them, and at the same time calculate on what dates other significant holidays of Christians fall. After all, the festival of the Ascension of Christ is celebrated on the fortieth day after Easter, and the holiday of the Trinity - on the fiftieth. You can also use the astronomical calendar, which shows the phases of the moon for the entire current year. You can easily determine what date the first day of the full moon phase falls after the spring equinox (March 21). And to determine the date of Sunday closest to this day is a couple of trifles. This will be the date of Easter. The issue of determining the exact date of Easter in former times was dealt with not only by clergy, but also by many scholars, including world-famous. For example, the famous German mathematician Karl Friedrich Gauss at the end of the 18th century developed a formula for calculating Easter day. It is quite voluminous. Anyone can easily find it on the Internet. How simple

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Instruction manual

You can calculate the day Easterthat falls on any past or future year. General Date Calculation Rule Easter: Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the spring full moon. In turn, the spring full moon is considered the first full moon, which came after the day of the vernal equinox. If the Easter full moon fell on Sunday, then Easter is celebrated on the next Sunday. So, first determine the day of the vernal equinox, then determine the next day of the full moon, coming after the vernal equinox, and in the afternoon Easter it will be Sunday following the day of the full moon. Based on this simple rule, the latest number on which Easter falls will be April 25, 2038. And the earliest date is March 22, 2285.

The second way to determine the date Easter is a step-by-step instruction for performing simple arithmetic calculations. First, find the remainder of dividing the numerical value of the year by 19. Second, find the remainder of dividing the numerical value of the year by 4.

Find the remainder of dividing the numerical value of the year by 7. Next, multiply 19 by the first remainder, then divide the result by 30, find the remainder.
Now 2 times the second remainder, 4 times the third remainder, 6 times the fourth remainder, add all the results together and add 6. Add the result to 7, find the remainder.

To the calendar. In the early Christian period, there was much debate about when to celebrate Easter. At the Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, which took place in 325, the fathers of the Christian church decided: to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ on Sunday following the first full moon following the vernal equinox.

According to this instruction, the Armenian Apostolic Church began to celebrate Easter from March 21 to April 26. Traditionally, Easter Week begins with Palm Sunday. This holiday is called in Armenia Tsakhkazard - “decorated with flowers”, and it is dedicated to children, in memory of the little ones who met Jesus Christ at his entrance to Jerusalem.

Home decoration

According to ancient traditions, before the beginning of Lent, the Armenians make straw dolls - the hostess of the kitchen, grandmother Utis and grandfather Paz. Grandfather Paz holds 49 threads in his hands, a pebble is tied to each of them. Every day, the inhabitants of the house untie one thread, counting the days from the first day of Lent to Easter.

In addition to Utisa and Paz, the Armenians make another doll symbolizing luck and masculinity - Aklatis. They put it in the house on the first day of Lent, and on the eve of Easter they hang it on an Easter tree. This tree is decorated, in addition to dolls, embroidered with Easter eggs. After Easter, women take Aklatis and burn it or throw it into the water.

Cuisine and traditions of celebration

Like other Christians, Armenians at Easter paint chicken eggs in red. In addition to colored eggs, pilaf and other national dishes are served on the Easter table in Armenia: ahar, auik, kutap. Kutap is a bean baked in dough, auik is white flour tortillas. Ahar - a meat dish made from a rooster or lamb.

At five o'clock in the evening of Great Saturday, the Andastan rite takes place - lighting of all four cardinal points. At the end of the ceremony, celebration begins. On the night of Saturday to Sunday, Armenians go to church to attend the Easter service and to consecrate traditional dishes at dawn.

In Armenia, it is customary to celebrate Easter is noisy and fun. Rejoicing in the bright Resurrection, people drink, eat, listen to music, sing songs and dance a lot. Competing, they break colored eggs, take part in outdoor games, light bonfires, and arrange horse races. In a word, they are doing everything to glorify Christ and proclaim to the world his Resurrection. On this day, people greet each other, saying exclamations: “Blessed be the Resurrection of Christ!”

Easter, one of the main, most revered holidays for Christians. In that day they recall the feat and miraculous resurrection of the Savior, who suffered mortal torment for people, giving people hope for a better life after death. According to a long-established tradition, Easter is always celebrated on Sunday. But how to calculate the exact date of this great holiday? And why is this date different in different years ?.

Instruction manual

Eastersunday is the Sunday that comes after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. The fact is that the date of this holiday is determined by the mutual position of the Sun and the Moon, therefore there is a very wide range - from March 22 to April 25 according to the Julian calendar. Or, respectively, from April 7 to May 8 according to the Gregorian calendar.

But why did such a spread in dates become possible at all? Was it really impossible to determine exactly when this event happened? The fact is that Easter It was originally a Jewish holiday marking the exodus of the Jews, under the guidance of the prophet Moses from Egypt. According to the ancient Jewish calendar, Easter was celebrated on the fourteenth day the first spring month of Nisan. However, because the Jews began a new moon every month, Easter dropped on day full moon in march.

Since, according to Christian canons, the crucifixion of the Savior occurred on the eve of the Jewish Easter (which, we recall, falls on different days of the week), then at the ecumenical council in Nicaea, held in 325, it was decided: to celebrate Easter on the first Sunday, following the first full moon after the vernal equinox.

So that everyone can figure out day Easter, the so-called "Easter eggs" were made - special tables. You can use them, and at the same time calculate on what dates other significant holidays of Christians fall. After all, the feast of the Ascension of Christ is celebrated on the fortieth day after Easter, and the feast of the Trinity - on the fiftieth.

You can also use the astronomical calendar, which shows the phases of the moon for the entire current year. You can easily determine which date falls first day phases of the full moon after the vernal equinox (March 21). And to determine the date of Sunday closest to this day is a couple of trifles. This will be the date of Easter.

The issue of determining the exact date of Easter in former times was dealt with not only by clergy, but also by many scholars, including world-famous. For example, the famous German mathematician Karl Friedrich Gauss at the end of the 18th century developed a formula for calculating Easter day. It is quite voluminous. Anyone can easily find it on the Internet.

Jewish Passover

The tradition of celebrating Easter dates back to Old Testament times. Only then did it have a different meaning and meaning, and the name sounded somewhat different. Hebrew Passover translates to "Pass, pass by" and is associated with the events of the deliverance of the Israeli people from the enslavement of Egypt.

The custom to remember and honor annually the Exodus of the Jewish people from slavery was established by God Himself through the prophet Moses. We know from Scripture that the Lord Jesus Christ, who came not to break the law, but to fulfill, also took part in this holiday - after the Jewish Passover, He was crucified.

The date of the celebration of Passover fell on the period from the 14th to the 21st day of the month of Nisan, which approximately corresponds to our March. This month was the first in the Jewish calendar, a guideline for determining its beginning was the moment of ripening of ears. After the destruction of Jerusalem, this landmark was lost, so the Jews had to switch to the lunar calendar.

Easter argument

After the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, as historians testify, the first Christians initially at a special fast marked Easter Easter, which coincided in time with the Jewish one. It lasted until the next Sunday, which was already marked "Happy Easter", or Sunday.

Over time, the second celebration became the main one; by the 2nd century, it was gaining the significance of the annual main celebration for all Christians. Most believers celebrated the Resurrection of Christ the following Sunday after the Jewish Passover. But not all.

The Christians of Assyria used their own calendar. The churches of Asia Minor, referring to the authority of the Apostle John the Theologian, adhered to the Jewish custom. Easter they always had to 14 nisan day , for which they were nicknamed fourteen, or quadrocycians.

The most common among all believers were the Alexandrian Easter. The Western world celebrated Easter the following Sunday after the Jewish one, defining the latter as the full moon after the vernal equinox.

Such a difference in determining the date of the celebration of the main event, on which many other dates depended, could not but cause confusion in church life, as a result of which the so-called "Easter disputes" arose. Solve them was called which took place in 325 year in Nicaea .

Resolution of the Ecumenical Council

The Ecumenical Council unanimously decided to celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord to all local churches on the same day. As for the date itself, this rule was as follows:

Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the spring full moon

By the spring full moon is meant that which occurs after the day of the vernal equinox. Thus, the date is determined from the ratio of the lunar (full moon) and solar (vernal equinox) calendars - based on the solar-lunar calendar. This principle is still applied in calculating the date of Orthodox Easter.

The time of the holiday itself was also agreed. The cathedral set the time of celebration " in the middle of the night", Which generally remains today.

In addition, the Council strictly prohibited the celebration of "before the vernal equinox with the Jews." True, historians testify that some of the Asia Minors did not abandon their tradition, for which they were excommunicated as "Jewish" heretics.

The calculation was decided to take Alexandria Easter as the most simple and convenient. By this time, both the western and eastern churches of the Easter and Sunday Easter were already united. The celebration of the first of them lasted a week before Sunday (corresponds to our Holy Week), the second - a week after Sunday (the modern Bright Week).

However, the name Easter to designate precisely - and only - the Resurrection of Christ was entrenched in the Christian world only in V century. Then this day was called "Holiday holidays" , or "King of days" , and gradually became the center of the service circle.

The problem of calendar styles

And everything would be fine, we would have noted main holiday with the whole Christian world in one day, if nothing had changed since then. But the changes have occurred. And they are associated with the name pope Gregory XII I. In 1582 g ode he introduced a new calendar style, later named after him - Gregorian (or “ new style»).

What was the reason for this? All with the same desire to streamline the Easter, to bring greater accuracy to them. And here we need to make a small digression and explain what was wrong before that.

The fact is that until this time the whole European world lived according to the Julian calendar. Him in 46 year before Christ emperor Julius Caesar according to the Egyptian model. This calendar is based on solar-lunar system, according to which the year is longer by 11 minutes 14 seconds years of the astronomical.

Due to the disproportion of the solar and lunar cycles, the day of the solar equinox, which in 325 was March 21 , by the end of the sixteenth century, shifted ten days ago. We must say right away that today the time for the celebration of Orthodox Easter is determined by the Julian (old) style.

Unhappy with this, the Roman Catholic Church carried out a reform and introduced its own calendar, based solely on the solar frame of reference. So she wanted to make the holiday date fixed. The summer reckoning in 1582 was mechanically moved ten days ahead, that is, the day of the vernal equinox was again the date March 21.

Today, most of the local Orthodox churches, with the exception of Autonomous Finnish, the date of the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord is determined by the Julian calendar. At the same time, other holidays that are not tied to this bright date (such as Christmas), many churches celebrate in a new style. The difference between them today is 13 days .

Orthodox and Catholic Easter - whose is more correct?

The question naturally arises: what style is better for determining the day of Christ's Resurrection? In fairness, it must be said that from an astronomical point of view, the Gregorian calendar, of course, is more accurate. If an extra day according to the Julian calendar appears every 128 years , according to the Gregorian style, it will arise only through 3200 years .

However, in terms of the chronology of gospel events, the new style is inferior to the old. This is due to the fact that according to the Gregorian calendar, Easter can coincide with the Jewish one. Sometimes it happens even earlier, as it happened in this, 2016 year: catholic Resurrection of Christ had to March 27th, jewish the celebration begins only with April 22. IN our church Easter 2016 falls on The 1 of May.

Since the Son of God, Jesus Christ, was resurrected after the Jewish Passover, the celebration of this event cannot take place earlier - this is nonsense. That is why the Ecumenical Council banned him right up to the anathema. The seventh apostolic rule says the same thing:

If someone, the bishop, or presbyter, or deacon, celebrates the holy day of Easter before the spring equinox with the Jews: let him be cast out from the holy rank

This explains why the Orthodox Church does not abandon the old style. Another indisputable fact of the truth of this calculus tradition is that Holy Fire in Church of the Holy Sepulcher descends on the day of the celebration according to the Julian style.

In almost half the cases, the Catholic Holy Feast of the Resurrection happens before the Orthodox. In approximately 30 percent of cases they coincide, which we will observe in the following 2017 April 16 . Usually the difference between the two traditions of the celebration is more than a month.

Orthodox Easter date ranges from March 22 to April 25 (from April 4 to May 8 in a new style). If it falls on April 7 (coincides with the holiday Annunciation ), they call her Kiriopaskhoy (Easter Sunday).

New Reformation Attempts

Already in the XX century, attempts were repeatedly made to bring uniformity to the celebration of the main Christian triumph. IN 1923 year on the Pan-Orthodox Congress Patriarch of Constantinople Meletius IV an attempt was made to introduce a new julian calendarcoinciding with Gregorian before 2800 of the year.

Although the eastern churches did not support this idea, a year later it still passed to this calendar Romanian Church. Even later Antioch, Constantinople, Hellas, Alexandria and a number of other Orthodox churches, under the influence of the same Meletius, also switched to the New Julian style.

In Moscow in 1948 at the Conference of Churches, it was decided that Orthodox Easter and all passing holidays associated with it should be calculated according to the Julian calendar, and non-passing holidays - according to the one adopted in this local church. Only the Julian calendar today is used only Jerusalem, Russian, Serbian, Georgian Orthodox Churches, and Holy Mount Athos.

IN 1997 year World Council of Churches in the Syrian city of Aleppo, he suggested fixing the date of the "triumph of triumphs" in the solar calendar or approving one Easter for all Christians. But this reform was not supported by all members of the Council.

You can learn more about the difference between the Gregorian and Julian calendars from the video:

Again, the Internet is excited by the next "revelatory" pseudo-Orthodox heresies, the newly-born "donkeys"; Now thoughts arise about the Passover and their calculations.

One evening, after an all-night service in the house of an elderly priest, the owner himself and some of his young assistants gathered for a conversation and a late tea party. At first, the conversation revolved around immediate plans, then they went on to discuss the upcoming Easter celebration, which was inexorably approaching and teasing with thoughts about the solemnity of church decoration, the splendor of worship and the opportunity to chat after a long Lent. One of the altars asked: “Father, how can I calculate Easter, its day and date, and who does it at all”? “Well, son, this is actually not an easy matter; in a nutshell you won’t answer. But if this is so interesting, then I’ll try, due to my stupidity, to explain what’s what’s happening. "

Calculation of the date of Easter in antiquity

To more accurately understand how to calculate Easter, we will have to return to the Old Testament. As you, my dear, remember, the first Easter was associated with the event of the exodus of Jews from Egyptian captivity. About the calculation of the date of Easter then there was no question. The Old Testament Jews received a direct instruction to celebrate Easter on the 14th day of the first month of the year. For Jews, it is called Nisan, and in those days it was determined by the time of ripening of bread ears.

Christian Easter Date Calculation

By Christmas and the resurrection of Christ, as you know, the celebration of Easter was divided into Jewish and Christian. But here, as such, the calculation of the date of Easter was not yet. The first Christians were content to celebrate their main holiday on the first Sunday a week after the Jewish Passover. However, after the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersal of the Jewish people, the landmark in the form of ripened ears was lost. And it's time to think about how to calculate Easter in this situation. The solution was found quickly. Enterprising Jews, and after them Christians began to use the celestial bodies, or rather, the solar and lunar calendar.

Easter calculation formula

And when in the fourth century at the Council of Nicaea, according to the general opinion of the Christian world, it was decided that it was not appropriate to celebrate Christian Easter next to Jewish Easter, the formula for calculating Easter day was deduced. If to speak simple language, then this formula looks like this: Christian Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first spring full moon, which occurred after the spring equinox. But not everything is as simple as it seems.

At the already mentioned Nicene Council, an eternal calendar with nineteen-year Easter cycles was approved, where many parameters were taken into account when calculating the Easter date. Including the phase of the moon and its age in a given period of time. An entire methodology was developed in which, according to special rules, the golden number was calculated in a particular year of the nineteen-year cycle, and all other calculations danced from this indicator. I, children, do not know anything for sure, and it’s not our business, count Easter. For that, calendars have already been drawn up. I can only say that it is according to this formula that the date of Orthodox Easter, and Catholic, is calculated. Only in the first case, Julian Easter is used, and in the second - Gregorian, that's the whole difference. Well, the time is already late, let's pray at home.

Who makes Easter calculation these days?

“Father, is the last question possible? Who should do these calculations of the date of Easter? ” “Yes, there are men who are scientists who have deep spiritual and astronomical knowledge, we should grow and grow up to them.” “Well then, father, thank you for the science. And, it’s true, it’s too late, we detained you, let's go home. ” And the young people, having said goodbye to their spiritual mentor, left his hospitable house with satisfied curiosity.

Question:

How to calculate the date of Easter? My grandmother was able to calculate the date of Easter by some method.

Nikolay

Answered by Hieromonk Job (Gumerov):

The rules governing the celebration of Easter were developed in the 3rd century by the Alexandria Church and enshrined in the decrees of the First Ecumenical (325) and the local Antioch (341) cathedrals. This establishment remains valid to the present day: to celebrate Easter on the first Sunday day with the advent of the full moon on the day or immediately after the spring equinox. In this case, the Holy Fathers were strictly determined to celebrate this main Christian holiday only after the Jewish Passover. If a coincidence occurs, then the rules prescribe the transition to the full moon of the next month. Therefore, Easter cannot be earlier than the equinox, i.e. March 21 (April 4 according to the Gregorian calendar) and no later than April 25 (May 8). In the ancient Church, the calculation of the Easter day was entrusted to the Bishop of Alexandria, because the Alexandrians used the most accurate 19-year cycle (open ancient Greek astronomer Meton, V century BC), after which the full moon and moon phases fell on the same days of the month like the previous ones.

An illiterate person cannot calculate Easter time himself. Your grandmother, apparently, performed the simplest action: with the advent of Lent, by its duration (48 days) determined the day of the Holy Resurrection of Christ. Of all the practical methods of calculus, the simplest is the method proposed by the leading German mathematician Karl Gauss (1777 - 1855).

Divide the year by 19 and call the remainder “a”; the remainder of dividing the number of the year by 4 is denoted by the letter "b", and by "c" the remainder of dividing the date of the year by 7. Divide the value of 19 x a + 15 by 30 and call the remainder the letter "d". The remainder of dividing by 7 the value 2 x b + 4 x c + 6 x d + 6 is denoted by the letter "e". The number 22 + d + e will be Easter Day for March, and the number d + e will be 9 for April. For example, take 1996. From dividing it by 19 there will be a remainder of 1 (a). When divided by 4, the remainder will be zero (b). Dividing the number of the year by 7, we get in the remainder 1 (s). If we continue the calculations, we get: d \u003d 4, and e \u003d 6. Therefore, 4 + 6 - 9 \u003d 1 April (Julian calendar).

EASTER PHENOMENON OF THE JULIAN CALENDAR

The Julian calendar is phenomenal in its frequency. The moon makes 235 cycles of phase change every 19 years. Every 28 years, the days of the week fall on the same days of the month. Every 532 years, Easter is celebrated on the same day of the month. Add the numbers of these numbers - 235, 19, 28, 532 - and you will shudder at the fourfold (!) Divine harmony of the calendar:

2 + 3 + 5 \u003d 1 + 9 \u003d 2 + 8 \u003d 5 + 3 + 2 \u003d 10 \u003d X \u003d\u003d\u003d \u003e\u003e\u003e Our Easter is Christ!
The Julian calendar traces its history from Ancient Egypt. It was there that Gaius Julius Caesar got acquainted with the solar calendar, after which he firmly decided to conduct a calendar reform in Rome. The system he proposed is based on a sunny year, the duration of which is assumed to be 365.25 days. And since there is only an integer day in a calendar year, it was prescribed to count 365 days in three out of every four years and 366 in the fourth. The same Caesar reform ordered the number of days in months: in all odd months there should have been 31 days , and in even (except February a non-leap year) - 30. In a non-leap February, there were 29 days.

The count of days according to the Julian calendar began on January 1, 45 BC. e., and Caesar himself survived his brainchild for only a year or so. In commemoration of his merits, the Quintilis month was renamed Julius - this July. And then the fun began. For some reason, leap years at first were arranged not every four, but every three years! By 9 BC e. 12 leap years have passed instead of nine laid. This mistake was noticed and ordered to correct by the Roman emperor Augustus. In recognition of his great military merits, as well as in gratitude for the correction, the Roman Senate renamed the month of Sextilis into Augustus. At the same time, the month of Augustus was extended by one day (due to the same February), and so that the three long months would not go in a row, September (that is, September) and November (Nowember) were made short, and Oktober (October) and December (December) - long.

One way or another, but another six hundred years have passed from Caesar to the introduction of modern chronology. The first who decided to abandon the count of years associated with the Roman emperors (the "era of Diocletian") and go to the countdown "from the birth of Christ" was the monk Dionysius the Small. However, he did not justify the fact that he attributed the beginning of his era to that, and not to another place in the chronology. The most reasonable assumption explaining this is this: Dionysius believed that Jesus Christ was resurrected on March 25, at the 31st year of his life. Calculations of the Passover made by Dionysius showed that the year in which Easter falls on March 25 is the 279th year of the era of Diocletian. Knowing that Easter dates are repeated every 532 years, and adding to the 532th the estimated age of Christ, Dionysius the Small "tied" the beginning of the era from the Nativity of Christ, simply equating the 279 year of Diocletian’s era to the 563rd year “from R. X.” . (By the way, Dionysius began counting the days of the year from the "magic date" on March 25, so that on December 25 he considered the birth date of Christ to be the first year of the era he introduced.)

Not everyone agreed with the chronology of Dionysius, and far from immediately. From time to time, attempts have been made to clarify the date of the birth of Christ, using astronomical data scattered in various places of the New Testament. It is safe to say that the chronology “from the birth of Christ” won only because, together with it, Dionysius proposed a very convenient and simple system for calculating Easter dates, while previously compiling Easter tables was very difficult.

Unfortunately, the simplicity of the Julian calendar inevitably became the cause of its shortcomings. Chief among them was the discrepancy between the duration of the "true" year and the calendar. The fact is that a tropical year - the time of the Earth's revolution around the Sun - does not last 365.25 days, but a little less, approximately 365.2422. Consequently, the Julian calendar accumulates an error of approximately 0.0078 days every year, and an error of a whole day accumulates over 128 years.

Over the 16 centuries that have passed since the introduction of the Julian calendar until 1582, the vernal equinox "escaped" from March 21 to March 11. Therefore, Pope Gregory XIII in February 1582 issued a special bull on calendar reform. This bull ordered to remove from the calendar of 1582 all days from October 5 to October 14 inclusive, and henceforth to fix the calendar system so that out of every 400 years there were not 100 leap years, but only 97. This calendar was named Gregorian and has been preserved to this day.

In accordance with the will of Pope Gregory, the years 1700th, 1800th and 1900th were non-leap years and consisted of 365 days. The next “round” year - the 2000th - was a leap year, and then again followed by three non-leap years - the 2100th, 2200th and 2300th.

I must say that such a calendar is not faultless: after all, 97/400 are also not equal to the fractional part of the tropical solar year. But, unlike the previous calendar, the error per day now accumulates not in 128, but in 3250 years. In other words, for our age the accuracy of this calendar is quite enough.

In addition, the length of the year itself also varies slightly. It is now accepted that the rotation of the Earth around its axis is gradually slowing down, and the duration of the day is increasing. Accordingly, the number of days falling in one year decreases. This effect is given by the approximate formula of Simon Newcom: 1 year \u003d 365.24219879 - 0.0000000614 * (# years - 1900). In particular, the Gregorian calendar would have been very accurate about 5,000 years ago, and every year its error is growing slightly.

But will the simplicity and divine harmony of the Julian calendar ever fade?

Damascene's hand Calculation technique on the fingers of Happy Easter

Introduction

Holy Easter depends on several events: firstly, this day should be after the day of the vernal equinox, secondly, after the Jewish Passover, and thirdly, it should be Sunday. These are the traditions.

To determine Easter Day, all calculations are done on the fingers of the left hand. Moving from the inside of the palm to the back, seven points can be noted: three joints on the inside of the finger, the tip and three joints on the outside of the finger. On the thumb, the base (and the last) of the joint is its base. The line of joints on the inside of the palm forms the first line, the next line is the second, then the third, the tips of the fingers are the fourth line, the joint of the first phalanx is the fifth, then the sixth and the joints at the base of the fingers on the back of the palm are the seventh line. Seven lines can symbolize "vrucelet" or simply days of the week.

The vernal equinox is calculated according to the solar calendar, which has a period of 28 years. To calculate Easter Day in a circle of the Sun, we need 28 characteristic points on the palm. Four fingers are used for this (excluding the thumb), from the inside and outside - i.e. seven characteristic points on each, a total of 28 points.

In order to find Orthodox Easter, you first need to find Jewish Passover. Passover is calculated according to the solar-lunar calendar with a period of 19 years. To calculate Easter Day in a circle of the moon, we will use only the inner side of the palm, including the tip and two joints of the thumb. Those. four characteristic points on four fingers and three more on the thumb, a total of 19.

The day we find will be Passover Day. The Orthodox should be later on Sunday, so there are only 35 days in which Orthodox Easter is possible: of March 22, Art. Art. (1926, 2010) until April 25, Art. Art. (1983, 2078). 35 days are indicated by the letters of the Russian alphabet (old): az, beeches, Vedi, etc. This alphabet is projected onto the palm using all seven characteristic points on five fingers.

Calculation of vrucelet in a circle of the Sun

To calculate vrucelet for a given year, four rules are applied sequentially.

1. We consider one hundred years from the tip of the index finger down to the palm of the hand. From the inside of the palm go to the outside to the next finger (from the seventh line to the first) and continue the count to the tip of the finger, etc. From the little finger, go to the index finger (and simultaneously from the seventh line to the first, i.e. from the outside to the inside) and continue the count. Those. the tip of the index finger is zero. The first fold is one hundred years, the second is two hundred and so on, to the number of hundreds in a given year.

The result found is remembered.

Calculation of vrucelet around the moon

Now we find the auxiliary letter. The score is kept at 19 points on the inside of the palm.

1. We consider one hundred years starting from the tip of the middle finger up from the palm of the hand. Those. the tip of the middle finger is zero, go to the first joint of the ring finger - this is one hundred years, the next - two hundred, then - three hundred, the tip of the ring finger - four hundred, etc. From the tip of the little finger, go to the second joint of the thumb, from the tip of the thumb to the base of the index. For years beginning with nineteen we stop at the same point from which we started (the tip of the index finger).

2. Then we continue to count twenty years along the line. From the first line of the little finger, go to the second line on the thumb. Similarly, from the second and third lines, go to the third and fourth lines of the thumb, but from the fourth line of the little finger, go to the first line of the index finger (the thumb does not have a first line here). We count twenty-forty-sixty-eighty years.

The found auxiliary letter (see fig.) Is remembered.

The rule of finding Easter

The letters of the alphabet are located on all fingers on both sides of the palm. The count starts from the tip of the thumb. Those. the first joint from the tip is Az, the second is Buki, the third is Vedi, etc. (see fig.) Having gone around the whole palm, the alphabet returns to the thumb and ends with the letter Y at its tip. We find the auxiliary letter that we found in the circle of the Moon and look at what vrucelet it appears on. Next we go alphabetically to that vrucelet that we found in the circle of the Sun. Found letter gives Orthodox Easter Day. Now you can count the days in alphabetical order starting from March 22 according to the old style.

About the date of Holy Easter

Our Easter is Christ
(1 Cor. 5, 7)

The Lord Jesus Christ was crucified on the 14th of the first spring month of Nisan of the lunar calendar of the ancient Jews and resurrected on the first day of the week (according to the then account), which later became known as Sunday.

The feast day of Holy Easter is determined by the lunar calendar in relation to its solar calendar. The combination of the lunar calendar (Easter li) with the solar (month) is a church calendar.

In the Orthodox Church, the calculation of the date of Easter is carried out according to the rules of the Alexandrian Easter lily, which developed in ancient times (towards the end of the 3rd century BC). Quite often, the very drafting of the rules for determining Easter day is misunderstood by the First Ecumenical Council (325). The First Ecumenical Council only established that the celebration of Easter was everywhere one-time: on the same Sunday; the following practice was obviously also approved: the Alexandrian Church informed other Orthodox Churches about the time of the celebration of Easter - in view of the fact that the level of astronomical knowledge in ancient Alexandria was high and the Easter full moon could be calculated with great accuracy for that time.

The essence of the rules of the Alexandrian Easter lily can be expressed as follows: Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first spring full moon, that is, the full moon after the vernal equinox. The vernal equinox is traditionally considered to be in the Alexandrian Easter lily on March 21, st. Art. (April 3, NS), which corresponded to the equinox at the time of the First Ecumenical Council.

By the way, the date of Orthodox Easter is determined not by the modern March and April astronomical full moons of the new style (!), But by the ancient, IV-VI centuries, originating from the practice of the Church of Alexandria in the lunar phase tables according to the old style (Julian calendar). The full moon according to these tables to date are different from astronomical.

The equinox date moved to the beginning of March due to the incomplete correspondence of the Julian calendar year and the tropical (astronomical) year: the Julian one is longer by 0.0078 days. For 128 years, this error shifts calendar dates a day ago. The dates of new moons and full moons shifted: they moved forward according to the dates of the Julian calendar (that is, they lagged behind the true astronomical ones) by a day in about 300 years. In order to reconcile Easter calculations with the actual date of the vernal equinox, from time to time, amendments to the tables of the phases of the moon were slightly changed.

By the sixteenth century, the equinox was already March 11th. In 1582, under Pope Gregory XIII, in order to return the date of the equinox to March 21, the Western Church excluded ten days from the calendar. At the same time, changes were also made to the tables of the lunar phases (see below on the episodes of the Western Passover). The so-called Gregorian calendar appeared with the corresponding Easter line.

It is commonly thought that the Western Church has reformed the calendar. But this, as can be understood from what was said, is not so: first of all, Easter was corrected, and the change of the calendar was secondary. Many researchers consider this reform unsuccessful, hasty and not well thought out. Thus, the well-known astronomer, full member of the Russian Astronomical Society A. Predtechensky rightly affirmed with his work “Church time calculus and a critical review of the existing rules for determining Easter (St. Petersburg, 1892; reprinted by the Russian Spiritual Mission in Beijing in 1941 - with separate errors), that it was enough for 40 years not to count leap years - and it would not be necessary to throw ten days out of the calendar; so there would not have been a calendar discrepancy between the West and the East in the sixteenth century.

Additions were made to the above rule for calculating the date of Easter: Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the March full moon, which came after the vernal equinox - March 21; if this full moon happens on March 19 or earlier, then Easter will be celebrated on the first Sunday after the second spring (already April) full moon. Finally, if both the March and the April full moon fall on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, then the celebration of Easter is postponed until next Sunday.

The Gregorian calendar, which is adhered to by the Western Church (Catholics and Protestants), differs in our time from the Julian calendar by 13 days (in the XXII century, from 2100, the difference will reach 14 days) 001. When calculating the date of Easter, the Western Church retains the ancient principle of performing it after the first spring full moon, but as a result of the fact that in Western Easter the day of the vernal equinox is considered March 21 as a new style, as well as due to amendments made to the lunar tables, dates of Western Easter differ from the Orthodox. Western Easter can be Orthodox before 4 weeks (5 percent of cases) and 5 weeks (about 20 percent of cases). For example, in 1975 and the current 2002 - 5 weeks earlier than the Orthodox. Usually, Western Easter is one week (seven weeks) earlier than Orthodox (45 percent of cases). In some years, Easter coincides and is celebrated in the Eastern and Western Churches at the same time (about 30 percent of cases). That was, for example, in 1974, 1977, 1980, 1984, 1987, 1990 and in 2001.

Easter is celebrated within 35 days: from March 22 to April 25, Art. Art. (April 4 - May 8, st.) - in the Churches of the East; in the same numbers, but of a new style - in the Churches of the West.

Western Easter sometimes coincides with the Jewish Easter (for example, in 1903, 1923, 1927, 1954, 1981), and sometimes even before it (in 1921, 1975, 2005, 2008, 2016 a month earlier than the Jewish), which Orthodox Easter Leah is not allowed as breaking the sequence of gospel events. In the Alexandrian Easter Lia, the Orthodox Easter, by virtue of its astronomical delay, is always later than the Jewish one. Jewish Passover in 2002 - Thursday, March 28 Art.

Jewish Easter is characterized by rather high astronomical accuracy, but its calculation formulas are not simple: you need to operate with data, some of which are decimal fractions with 7-8 decimal places.

Now about the methodology for calculating the date of Easter. Easter is a holiday of the lunar-solar calendar: it is celebrated on Sunday (solar, civic calendar) after the spring, that is, the full moon coming after the spring equinox (lunar calendar). This is the full moon and it is necessary to determine for a given year. This is facilitated by the following circumstance: for a long time it was known that the dates of the lunar phases repeat on the same number of months (but at different hours) after 19 years (the so-called Metonov cycle of lunar calendars - named after the ancient Greek astronomer Meton, V century BC). This nineteenth birthday in Passover is called the lunar circle. In the Alexandrian Passover, the ordinal number of each year of the nineteenth anniversary is also called the circle of the moon.

To determine the circle of the moon, there is such a rule: from a given year from the Nativity of Christ 2 are read out (in the year of the Nativity of Christ there was the 17th circle of the moon, that is, before 19 there were 2 missing) and the resulting number is divided by 19. The quotient shows how many moon circles (19 years) has passed from the Nativity of Christ, and the remainder is the serial number of the year of the next 19th anniversary (circle of the moon). In Gregorian Easter, lilies often use the so-called golden number instead of the circle of the moon (circle of the moon +3).

You can find out in this lunar circle the new moon and the full moon for March and April (Easter months) with the help of the so-called base. Base - a number showing the age of the moon on March 1, that is, how many days have passed by March 1 from the previous lunar phase. (The lunar months include 29 or 30 days alternately, so the numbers 1-7 indicate the first quarter after the new moon, 14 - the full moon, numbers after 21 - the last quarter, the "damage" of the moon). To determine the base, you need the circle of the moon +3, that is, the golden number, multiply by 11 (this is the difference between the bases, from one to the next) and divide by 30 (the number of days of the lunar month); the balance will show the basis of the year.

If we subtract the base from the number of days of the lunar month (30 - the base), we get the March new moon. Having added to it 14, we learn the March full moon. According to the Alexandrian Passover, this full moon date needs to be increased by 3 days in order to bring it closer to the lunar phases of the times of the First Ecumenical Council. This will be the so-called Easter full moon. Sunday following Easter full moon is Easter Day.

If the March full moon calculated in this way is earlier than March 21, then the April full moon will be considered the date of the Easter full moon, in a month: add March to the found March date and subtract 31 (the number of days in March).

In Gregorian Easter, lilies of the foundation are called epacts (from Greek epago - add, insert, since the epacts, like the bases, show how old the moon is by March 1). During the reform of Easter Lea and the calendar, Western Easter sheets in the 16th century reduced the foundations for the same 10 daysas the calendar dates. This number remained valid for the XVII century. In the XVIII century, the decrease was 11 days. In the 19th century, although the numbers of the Gregorian calendar were 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, but because of the so-called acceleration, or the preceding of new moons and full moons, the epacts were reduced by the same 11 days. In XX, XXI and XXII, this decrease is 12 days; after 2200, 13 days.

Here are some examples.

Orthodox Easter

year 2000.Base - 6. New Moon of March - 30-6 \u003d March 24. The full moon is 24 + 14 \u003d 38-31 \u003d April 7th. Easter full moon - 7 + 3 \u003d April 10, Sunday. The full moon is on Sunday, so Easter is next Sunday, April 17/30.

year 2001. Foundation - 17. New Moon of March - 30-17 \u003d March 13. Full moon - 13 + 14 \u003d March 27. Full moon Easter - 27 + 3 \u003d March 30, Thursday. Easter - April 2/15.

2002 year. The foundation is 28. The new moon of March is 30-28 \u003d March 2. The full moon - 2 + 14 \u003d March 16. The full moon of March 16 is an easterly one, rescheduled for April: 16 + 30 \u003d 46-31 \\ 15 + 3 \u003d April 18, Wednesday. Easter - April 22 / May 5.

Easter of Western Christians

year 2000. Epact - 6-12a (3) 6-12 \u003d 24. New Moon of March - 30-24 \u003d March 6, n. Art. The full moon on March 20 is not Easter, we can postpone it to April: 20 + 30 \u003d 40-31 \u003d April 19 N. St., Wednesday. Easter - April 23 Art.

year 2001. Epact - 17-12 \u003d 5. New Moon of March - 30-5 \u003d March 25, n. Art. Full moon - 25 + 14 \u003d 39-31 \u003d April 8 n. Art., Sunday. The full moon is on Sunday, so Easter is next Sunday, April 15, n. Art. (coincides with the Orthodox).

2002 year. Epact 28-12 \u003d 16. New Moon of March - 30-16 \u003d March 14, n. Art. Full moon - 14 + 14 \u003d March 28 N. Thursday, Easter - March 31 Art.

As can be seen from the above calculations, in 2002 Easter of Western Christians (March 31st) was 5 weeks (weeks) earlier than Orthodox (April 22 / May 5). The reason for such discrepancies is clear: the use of the same ancient formula “Easter on Sunday after the spring full moon” leads, however, - due to the use of different starting points - bases and facts, differing in the number of days as a result of the Gregorian calendar reform - to the difference on easter dates.

In addition to the difference in the number of days between our foundations and Western epacts, the question of which full moon is considered Easter is also contributing to the difference in the dates of Easter. The fact is that all western March Easter full moon until March 21 Art. from the point of view of the Alexandrian Easter, lilies cannot be considered as Easter full moon, because if they are counted on the dates of the Julian calendar, they will be until March 21 st. Art. So, Western Easter March 31, n. Art. It is calculated from the full moon on March 28, and according to the old style it is March 15, and such a full moon is not Easter. In the Alexandrian Easter li, as already mentioned, the full moon until March 21 st. Art. recounted for April (the second spring full moon, a month later). (In Gregorian Easter, the March full moon is also recounted for April, when the need arises, but for the dates of the new style - until March 21st.) As a result, it turns out that the Western March Easter is sometimes 4-5 weeks earlier than the Orthodox, the middle and late April ones either coincide with the Orthodox or are celebrated one week earlier.

Thus, although the Gregorian Easter and declares the preservation of ancient Easter Easter principles, the difference in dates between the Gregorian and Julian calendars actually leads to a violation of these principles and the difference in the date of the celebration of Easter.

Finally, about the so-called new calendar style. Not only Catholics and Protestants switched to the "new style". Several decades ago, many Local Orthodox Churches did this. But among the Orthodox, this is not a Gregorian calendar! In 1923, a Conference of Orthodox Churches was held in Constantinople (Istanbul), discussing some issues of church life, including the inconvenience associated with the existence of two calendars - church and civil - in the daily life of clergy and mirians. The Gregorian calendar was rejected immediately by the meeting participants. Meanwhile, shortly before this meeting, the Serbian astronomer Milutin Milankovic made a draft of the new calendar. It has long been known that the less leap centuries, the more precisely the civil year approaches the tropical (astronomical) year. In the Julian calendar, every century is a leap year, in the Gregorian calendar, only those in which the first two digits are divided by 4 without a remainder. Milankovich suggested that only centuries be considered leap years, which are divided by 9 with a remainder of 2 or 6, which makes it possible to exclude 7 leap centuries from 900 years. IN gregorian calendar for 400 years, only 3 centuries are excluded. Only 2000, 2400, 2900, 3300 and 3800 remain leap years in Milankovitch’s calendar. It is more precisely Gregorian and after 2800 will begin to be ahead of it. The meeting in Constantinople adopted this calendar. It was called Novyuliansky. To date, most of the Local Churches have passed to it, except for Jerusalem, Russian, Georgian, Serbian.

At the meeting, the issue of Easter Lea was also resolved. In view of the shift in the date of the equinox, it was deemed inexpedient - as is hitherto done in the Alexandrian and Gregorian Easter - to adhere to the historical, conventional date of the vernal equinox on March 21. It was decided to determine Easter day not by the ancient tables of the lunar phases in connection with this conditional equinox on March 21, but annually astronomically by the actual date of the spring full moon after the equinox. However, for a number of reasons, this decision on Easter Lies was not enforced. In 1924, the Patriarchate of Constantinople turned to the Local Orthodox Churches with a compromise proposal: accept the New Julian calendar while preserving the Alexandrian Easter lily. This decision is unsuccessful: changes are made to the dates of the Markov chapters of the Triodian period, and at very late Easter x is reduced and even the Petrov Lent completely disappears. Therefore, the Russian Orthodox Church maintains in its church-liturgical practice an unreformed Julian calendar ( old style) with exactly the most appropriate Easter of Alexandria, until the question of the exact ratio of the lunar and solar calendars, Easter of the month and the month of the word is best resolved by the fullness of the Ecumenical Orthodox Church.

And one more important consideration. If Easter is made more accurate astronomically, we may, along with Western Christians, sometimes be forced to disrupt the sequence of gospel events. As is known from the Gospel, the Lord was betrayed and crucified on the eve of the day when the Jews celebrated the Old Testament Easter - in memory of the deliverance from the captivity of Egypt. And Jesus Christ was resurrected - the New Easter, the Living Sacrifice, saving us from sin and eternal death - on the first day of the week after Easter of the Old Testament. In the case of astronomically accurate Easter, but preceding March 21 st. Art. (recall that March 21st century is March 8th century!), the opposite can happen.

Our Christian holidays, and especially Holy Easter, are liturgical holidays that have symbolic, saving significance, and not just just historical memories based on accurate historical and astronomical data. Performing them, we empathize and mysteriously participate in them, despite the time separating us from the initial events, and are not just observers of the secret church mystery.

001 Since the Julian centuries are all leap and the Gregorian are only those in which the first two digits are divisible by 4 without a remainder, an increase in the difference between styles occurs only in Gregorian non-leap centuries. The year 2000 was a leap year in both calendars, and there was no increase, so in the 21st century the difference is the same 13 days as in the 20th century. 2100 is a Gregorian simple and Julian leap year, there will be a difference of 1 day, and the difference between the styles will reach 14 days (13 - for the XX and XXI centuries + 1 day \u003d 14).