Istanbul, September 5, 2024
vaticannews.va
Both Orthodox and Western Christians will celebrate Pascha/Easter on April 20 next year, which should serve as the beginning of the establishment of a common date from thenceforth, says Patriarch Bartholomew.
The Hierarchy of the Patriarchate of Constantinople (much larger than the Holy Synod, involving dozens of hierarchs from throughout the world) held its latest Synaxis in Istanbul on September 1-3.
In his concluding speech, Patriarch Bartholomew spoke about next year’s celebration of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea and the Patriarch’s long-held desire of establishing a common date for Pascha with Western Christians, which he says should be according to the Orthodox Paschalion.
According to the Synaxis’ statement:
In his concluding speech, His All-Holiness reminded the venerable Hierarchy that within the ecclesiastical year that has begun, at the end of May 2025, the official celebration of the completion of 1700 years since the convocation of the First Ecumenical Council will take place in Nicaea of Bithynia, with the personal participation of His Holiness Pope Francis of Rome. In a timely manner, the present Synaxis of the Hierarchy of the Throne was dedicated to this historical anniversary, a fact which was expressed through the choice as the central motto of this year’s Synaxis of the hymnological verse from the Vespers of the Sunday of the Holy and God-bearing Fathers who first gathered in Nicaea, who, among other things, also dealt with the issue of regulating the date of the celebration of Pascha: “Following their divine doctrines, we worship with certainty... in one Godhead, the consubstantial Trinity.”
In this spirit, the unanimous wish is expressed that the common celebration of Pascha next year by Eastern and Western Christianity should not be merely a happy coincidence, but the beginning of the establishment of a common date for its annual celebration, according to the Paschalion of our Orthodox Church.
All Orthodox Churches, whether they celebrate on the Old or New Calendar, use the Julian Paschalion of the Old Calendar. The sole exception is the Patriarchate of Constantinople’s Finnish Orthodox Church.
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