Happy Russian Easter (the original Easter)

Easter is normally celebrated on a different Sunday in the East and the West.

Ever since the Council of Nicaea, A.D. 325, Christians have celebrated the resurrection of Christ on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox.

For most of Christian history, the church used the old Julian calendar that was invented in the time of Julius Caesar.  It was used to determine when the vernal equinox would be. But in the 16th century it became clear that the Julian calendar was lagging behind astronomical time.  A new calendar, the Gregorian, was invented.

The Western Church adopted this new calendar, but the Eastern Church rejected it. At present, the Julian calendar is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar, and is gradually losing more and more time.

The Eastern Church also insists that Easter must follow the Jewish celebration of Passover in any given year, and that celebration is based on yet a third calendar. Depending on when the full moon occurs and when Passover takes place, Eastern Easter can fall on the same Sunday as Western Easter, or it can follow it by up to five weeks. Normally Eastern Easter is one week later, like this year.

Another difference in the East and West Easter celebration is the hour of the day when Easter is celebrated.  In the West there are Easter sunrise services.

But in the East (especially in Russia), Easter services last all through Saturday night. The congregation gathers in the church or cathedral on Saturday evening and takes part in an Easter vigil. Orthodox church buildings have an inner sanctuary blocked off from the sight of the worshipers, and at this point the door to that sanctuary is closed, signifying that the way to God is closed. But at the stroke of midnight, the priest throws the doors open and emerges, shouting, "Christ is risen! Christ is risen! Christ is risen!" After hours of silent anticipation, the congregation loudly shouts back, "He is risen indeed!"