Orthodox and Western Churches celebrate Easter in 2017 on same date

FLORIDA — This year both the Orthodox Church and the Western Church Holy Week begins Monday, April 10, and for the fourth time in this century, Easter, the most important feast in the Christian calendar, will be celebrated on the same date, April 16.
In most years Eastern and Western Christianity celebrate Easter, which is a movable feast as opposed to having a fixed date like Christmas, on different dates.
"This difference occurs," said the Rev. Fr. George Kevorkian, pastor of St. Ignatius Antiochian Orthodox Church in the Village of Florida, "because the Orthodox Church uses the older Julian calendar, established in 46 B.C., as opposed to the newer Gregorian Calendar, established in the 16th Century and used by the Western churches."
Kevorkian explained that the difference in calendars causes the dates to sometimes be one week apart, occasionally occur on the same day, and even be as much as five weeks apart.
"Instead of Easter," said Kevorkian, "we also use the Greek word 'Pascha' which means passover, and reminds us that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ allows us to pass over from death to new life."
In 2011 St. Ignatius, a mission at that time, became the owner of the church, hall, and property that formerly housed St. Edward's Catholic Church at 75 North Main St.
St. Ignatius had been renting the facility for the previous four years and during that time experienced a two-fold increase in its congregation with many worshipers traveling from nearby Orange County and New Jersey communities.
St. Ignatius is a Parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.
- Roger Gavan