Orthodox Churches to celebrate Easter May 5

FLORIDA — In the two years before last year, the Orthodox Church and the Western Churches celebrated Easter, the most important feast in the Christian calendar, on the same date.

However, that was unusual since 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. And this year, Easter Sunday was celebrated on March 31 by Western churches and it will be celebrated on May 5 by Orthodox churches.

“This difference occurs,” said the Rev. 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 BC, 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, like this year, be as much as five weeks apart.

Pascha or passover
St. Ignatius Antiochian Orthodox Church, located at 75 North Main St., will offer Holy Week services from Sunday, April 28, until the celebration of Easter or “Pascha” on Sunday, May 5.

“Instead of Easter,” said Kevorkian, “we 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.”

These services, explained Kevorkian, commemorate the events in the earthly life of Jesus Christ during the week which begins with His triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and ends with his resurrection from the dead.

“To be present for an Orthodox Christian Holy Week,” he said, “is not just to commemorate these events, but to journey with our Lord and relive these events. It is only through this full participation that we can truly exclaim ‘Christ is Risen!’”

On Pascha, St. Ignatius will offer a midnight Resurrection liturgy and, later that morning, Agape Vespers at 11 a.m.

For additional information call 651-0888.

- Roger Gavan