Posted on 05/01/2005 10:19:41 AM PDT by Destro
May 1, 2005
Orthodox mark Easter today amid hope for unity in church
By SEAN GONSALVES
STAFF WRITER
Mother's Day cards have replaced Easter cards at the convenience store. The chocolate bunnies are gone. And for all but the greenest of thumbs, the lilies have wilted.
But for thousands of Orthodox Christians, including hundreds on Cape Cod, Easter Sunday is today, long after the commercial trappings of the high holidays have disappeared.
The theological dispute over Easter Sunday has divided Christians, but the Orthodox Church in recent years has pushed for a dialogue on the most important holiday for Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox alike.
"For the Orthodox, the celebration of Easter is the core and center of the all the Feast Days ... There would be no point to Christianity without the resurrection," said the Rev. Panagiotis "Peter" K. Giannakopoulos, the Protopresbyter (pastor) of St. George Greek Orthodox Church on Route 28 in Centerville.
On Cape Cod, there are only two Orthodox churches - St. George's and St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church on Main Street in Cotuit.
The reason Western Christians celebrate Easter on a different day than do Eastern Christians begins with the calendar.
In the 16th century, the Western church abandoned the Julian calendar for the Gregorian calendar. The Eastern church uses the older Julian calendar as the guide for Easter.
The formula for figuring out how to calculate the date of Easter each year is complex, involving ecclesiastical moons, paschal full moons, the astronomical equinox and the fixed equinox.
After Passover
Though all Christians believe, according to scripture, that the first Easter - the day of Jesus' resurrection - was three days after the Jewish Passover, the Orthodox believe it is much more historically and liturgically accurate to celebrate Easter after Passover. This year, Passover was celebrated beginning at sundown on April 23 - almost a month after the Western church celebrated Easter.
Giannakopoulos said division within the Christian Church, especially when it comes to the celebration of Easter, is troubling.
But he sees a potential for future agreement on the celebration date of Easter.
"One potential point of agreement would be to celebrate Easter based on the historical evidence that Jesus was crucified on the 14th day of Nissan, which is April," he said.
Such divisions, fortunately, "can be historically traced," he said, which is the first step in healing historical rifts within Christianity.
"There is a way to reconcile if we can go back to the teachings and decisions of Seventh Ecumenical Council (787 AD)," which was prior to the infamous East-West schism of 1054.
The Rev. Nicholas Manikas of St. Michael's agrees.
"We certainly believe that Christ intended for the Church to be one. Jesus said it over and over again. In our liturgy we pray for the unity of the church," Manikas said.
Manikas pointed to indications that the ecumenical efforts of the Eastern Orthodox are paying off.
Growth in orthodoxy
The Antiochian Orthodox Church in America, for example, has seen its numbers grow from 65 parishes throughout the United States 30 years ago to 300 parishes today. A major part of that growth has been Protestant Christians converting to orthodoxy.
"St. Michael's was just a mission two years ago. Now we are a full parish representing 70 families of many ethnic groups - Lebanese, Syrian, Russian, Ukrainian, Greek, and many converts."
In fact, Manikas said, half of the clergy in American Orthodox churches are converts from other Christian denominations.
"I think the appeal is that this is an ancient faith. It goes back to the earliest days before the Church started to split. It's the same church from 2,000 years ago with strict adherence to the Christianity of the ancient church. We can change the language and customs but the Christian faith we believe is one and unchangeable."
St. Michael's, in keeping with the Antiochian Orthodox initiative, now has services in English.
"The Antiochian church has been very mission-oriented -evangelizing, bringing the message of Orthodox Christianity to the people. There's missions sprouting up all over the country," Manikas said.
Lorraine Reilley and her husband Forrest of Eastham first read about St. Michael's in a Cape Cod Times article.
They decided to visit the church. After a year of studying the ancient church and its doctrines, they were convinced that the Orthodox Church should be their new spiritual home.
"When we first went, my husband and I thought it was weird. We left and shrugged our shoulders," she said.
"But then for the next year we studied ... a lot of the writings of orthodoxy. My father was a Lutheran minister and most of me and my husband's adult lives we've been very active in the Methodist Church. We just feel God brought us here," she said.
"We find the services here more meditative. I am grateful for my Protestant years. It laid the foundation for my orthodoxy."
For Reilley, "the resurrection is the heart of orthodoxy," noting that many have referred to the Eastern Orthodox Church as the "church of the resurrection."
Reflecting on what drew her to convert to orthodoxy, Reilley said: "The Orthodox Church is like a grandfather. You know what he stands for, but his arms are always open."
(Published: May 1, 2005)
Interesting article; thanks for posting it. I never knew there was a dispute as to the celebration of Easter.
The important thing, as you say, is the fact that He IS risen, that Christ really WAS resurrected, and thus we all shall be as well.
One of our parishoners (with an M.Div. degree) attended a religious conference in Northern Virginia a couple of years ago along with several local clergy, monastics, and laity (he was the sole Orthodox). He was incredulous to discover that only he, a United Methodist preacher, and the two Roman Catholic nuns who were hosting the conference affirmed that the Resurrection was a historical fact.
All of the others described it as myth with one Protestant clergyman even declaring that the Resurrection was rejected by "every serious Biblical scholar" that he knew!
Incredible. Yup, we're still "Christian".
Given the lunacy that seems to have overtaken many of our religious communities, it's always nice to hear that at least some of our nun's are still orthodox Christians:)
>>>>>>one Protestant clergyman even declaring that the Resurrection was rejected by "every serious Biblical scholar" that he knew!
This, of course, is why I make sure all my Biblical posts are laughably inept. Don't want to be lumped into this company. (hey! I have a new excuse!)
patent
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