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The Date of Pascha/Easter ~ a Message from Fr

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The Date of Pascha/Easter ~ a Message from Fr March 2021 ¨1645 Phillips Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32308 ¨ (850) 878-0747 ¨ Rev. Fr. Robert J. O’Loughlin¨ http://www.hmog.org The Date of Pascha/Easter ~ A Message from Fr. Robert It is a typical question that we may be asked in most years is why the Orthodox Church celebrates Pascha on a differ- ent date from other Christian denominations. This year we celebrate Pascha/Easter four weeks after most other Christians. So I thought once again that we would touch upon this topic of the calculation of when we celebrate Pascha. Our celebration of Pascha was formed from the Jewish Passover. Initially, those Christians converted from Judaism celebrated Pascha in accordance with the Jewish calendar and on the same date of the feast of Passover. “Pascha” was celebrated the 14th of the lunar month of Nisan, regardless of the day of the week upon which it fell. The Church- es of Asia Minor followed this practice while other churches in the east and west celebrated the Feast on the Sunday following this date. By the 3rd century, all the churches were celebrating Pascha on the Sunday following the 14th of Nisan. This determined the Jewish calculation of Passover, which is on the first full moon following the vernal equi- nox. However, following the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD the Jews depended on local pagan calendars for their calculation. So with difficulties with inadequate calendars, the issue of the date of Pascha continued. It was resolved in 325 at the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea as the early Church Fathers determined the Pascha date to be the first Sunday after the first full moon of the spring equinox. However, despite the intervention in Nicaea, certain differences in the technicalities of regulating the date of Pascha remained thereafter. This resulted in occasional local variations until, by the 6th century, a more secure mode of calculation based on astronomical data was universally accepted. This was an alternative to calculating Pascha by the Passover and consisted in the creation of so-called "paschal cycles." Each paschal cycle corresponded to a certain number of years. In the East, a 19-year cycle was eventually adopted, whereas in the West an 84-year cycle. The use of two different paschal cycles inevitably gave way to differences be- tween the Eastern and Western Churches regarding the observance of Pascha. According to the decree of the First Ecumenical Synod, the date of Pascha can only occur on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25. However, due to the discrepancy that exists in the Orthodox Church today because of the use of two calen•dars, the Julian (Old) and the Gregorian (New), the dates of March 22 and April 25 are superimposed on the new calendar. March 22 in the new calendar is April 3, while April 25 is May 8. This reflects the 13 day difference between the two calendars. In this way all Orthodox Christians celebrate Pascha on the same day, but not on the same date. With the adaptation of the Gregorian calendar in 1582, which adjusted for the more accurate length of the year, dif- ferences in the celebration Pascha continued. As various Christian churches have entered into dialogue in the past century, there has been a renewed interest in resolving the issue. Again, the two main points in the Orthodox calcula- tion of Pascha are: 1) the first Sunday after the first full moon of the spring equinox and 2) the first Sunday after the Jewish Passover. As far as the terms that are utilized for the Resurrection of Christ, which are Pascha and Easter, there are questions related to why there are different terms for the Feast of Feasts. Pascha is derived from the Jewish word Pesah which means "Passover". For Christians, Christ was the Paschal Lamb, the fulfillment of all that the Passover had foreshad- owed since the first Passover which celebrated the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. We celebrate "Pascha," the New Passover; the victory of the new Paschal Lamb who shed His blood for the salvation of all people. The word Easter is derived from the word Eastra, the name of the goddess of the rising light of day and spring and the annual sacrifices associated with her. Ultimately, it led to mean that Christ, our Light, rose from the grave. In early English translations of the Bible the word Easter was substituted for the word Passover. Even though Easter may be linked to the name of a pagan goddess or ceremonies, the feast which the word describes, is Christian without question. Hence, it is appropriate for us to use the proper term, "Pascha" but as St. Paul warned believers in his day, let us not get dragged down with a dispute about mere words, as stated in 2 Timothy 2:14; "not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers". The important matter is the reality of the Death and Resur- rection of Christ. Good strength in your upcoming Lenten journey, Fr. Robert Page 2 If an emergency or special need Our next ECHO Sundays are March 7th and April 4th. Please drop off your non- should arise, please contact Fr. Rob perishable food donations into the bins located immediately at 850-559-8184. in the Hellenic Center and Patmos Hall. Daylight Saving Time Begins Sunday, March 14, 2021 at 2:00 am remember to reset your clocks to spring forward an hour! My Beloved Ones, I greet you with love and joy as we are blessed to begin Triodion, where each week prepares us for Great Lent. The Epistle for this Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee shows Paul instructing his disciple Timothy (the son of a pagan father and a Christian mother) to hold fast to his faith, even in a time of persecution. St. Paul reminds Timothy that the young man not only witnessed “…my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness” but also, “my persecutions, my sufferings, what befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra…” (II Timothy 3:10-11). In Antioch, there was the controversy over whether Gentiles must submit to circumcision; in Inconium, Paul and Barnabas’s ministry stirred up anger; but traveling to Lystra, Paul was stoned, but survived. Truly, Paul seeks to show Timothy—and us—that being a Christian is not always easy, or pleasant. Following Christ means that non-believers may see us as strange, or even suspicious. Paul confirms this when he tells Timothy, “Indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived” (II Timothy 3:12-13). Think of the boastful and judgmental Pharisee, respected by all, compared to the sinful, repentant tax collector, judged by the Pharisee and his neighbors. As we consider the importance of humbling ourselves like the Publican, we cannot lose sight of the fact that the exalting of which our Lord speaks in His Parable is not the exaltation of the world. The humble will be exalted in the Kingdom of Heaven, but we must first be willing, like St. Paul, to suffer the judgements of this world, with a broken and contrite spirit, clinging forever to our Rock, which is Christ, and the Teachings and Traditions of His Holy Church. +ALEXIOS Metropolitan of Atlanta The Parish St John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival will take place Wednesday, March 24th, after Divine Liturgy. The District festival will take place on Saturday, April 3rd at St. Demetrios in Daytona Beach. Religious Education… Church school classes continue outside each Sunday. Many thanks to all the teachers who so generously volunteer their time to this important ministry. SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 1 2 3 + 4 5 + 6 First Saturday of Souls Liturgy Catechetical Class 9:00 a.m. (Newcomers/ Inquirers) Via Zoom 5:00 pm 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Judgment Sunday (Meatfare Sunday) Second Saturday His Grace Bishop Sevastianos Catechetical Class of Souls Liturgy Visits our community Parish Council Mtg. (Newcomers/ 9:00 a.m. 5:30 p.m. Orthros 9:30 a.m. & Inquirers) College Student Divine Liturgy 10:30 a.m. Via Zoom Via Zoom Liturgy 5:00 pm Church School 5:00 pm 14 19 + 20 15 + 16 + 17 + 18 + March Philoptochos Virtual 2021 Daylight Savings Time Great Lent Begins Retreat Third Saturday (atlmetropolis.org) Forgiveness Sunday Great Compline of Souls Liturgy (Cheesefare Sunday) 5:00 p.m. Pre-Sanctified Liturgy 9:00 a.m. Orthros 9:30 a.m. & 5:00 pm Salutations to the Divine Liturgy 10:30 a.m. Philoptochos Virtual Theotokos Retreat Church School 5:00 pm (atlmetropolis.org) 21 22 23 24 25 f 26 27 Sunday of Orthodoxy ANNUNCIATION of the Orthros 9:30 a.m. & Salutations to the Theotokos Greek Divine Liturgy 10:30 a.m. College Student Divine Liturgy Independence Day Theotokos Church School 5:00 pm 5:00 pm Pre-Sanctified Followed by Parish Liturgy Oratorical Festivaal 5:00 pm Calendar Symbol Key + = Strict Fast 28 29 30 31 Pangari Schedule for February = Wine and Oil Denotes a *9:15 am start time **10:00 am start time allowed Orthros 9:30 a.m. & Divine Liturgy 10:30 a.m. Church School 03/07 - Corinna Reeves* Mike Gavalas*, Victor Gavalas** s = Fish Allowed = Dairy & eggs Pre-Sanctified Liturgy 03/14 - Amy Cox*, Nick Joanos*, Mark Belcher** allowed Page 5:00 pm 03/21 - Nia Parmer*, Mark Burrell*, Bonnie Burrell** 03/28 - Emanuel Joanos*,Pete Koikos*, Laura Joanos** 3 Page 4 Greece 2021: Bicentennial of the 1821 Greek War of Independence Greek Independence Day is a national holiday celebrated annually on March 25.
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