What is Easter calculated from? What is Easter counted from? How the date of Orthodox Easter is determined: history and modernity

The word “holiday” has the same root as the word “idle,” that is, not busy with any activities or worries. Thus, to celebrate something means to put aside your ordinary everyday activities in order to remember some event. Orthodox holidays date back to the times of the Old Testament. Adjacent to them are holidays that began in New Testament times. Each one is dedicated to a memory major events in the life of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God, as well as in the memory of saints, therefore in its services the Church glorifies those to whom a certain day of the year is dedicated.

Recognizing holidays as useful from the point of view of piety, the Church has always given their celebration a solemn character, while a necessary condition The celebration of the sacrament of the Eucharist or the communion of the Holy Mysteries was considered. The whole life of Christians was organized according to this. holidays: they freed themselves from worldly occupations and labors, did not organize noisy amusements and feasts, but sanctified them with charity in favor of the Church and the poor.

In the 4th-6th centuries, the Byzantine emperors who patronized the Church issued a law that prohibited violating the sanctity of holidays by performing public functions and legal proceedings; fun and entertainment, for example, theatrical performances, duels and horse racing, were also prohibited. Emperor Constantine the Great prohibited trading on Sundays. Following these and other legislations, holidays to this day differ from ordinary days by exemption from labor and work, celebrations, and certain rituals and ceremonies that give a distinctive character to a particular holiday. Such laws exist in other states professing Christianity, as well as among Jews and Mohammedans.

At its core, the Orthodox church calendar-Easter consists of two parts - fixed and movable.

Fixed part church calendar - This is the Julian calendar, diverging by 13 days from the Gregorian calendar. These holidays fall on the same day of the same month every year.

Movable part of the church calendar moves along with the date of Easter, which changes from year to year. The date of Easter celebration itself is determined according to lunar calendar and a number of additional dogmatic factors (not to celebrate Passover with the Jews, to celebrate Passover only after spring equinox, celebrate Easter only after the first spring full moon).
All “moving” holidays are counted from Easter and move in the space of the “secular” calendar along with it.

Thus, both parts of the Easter calendar (movable and fixed) together determine the calendar of Orthodox holidays.

Easter (Resurrection of Christ)- established in honor of the resurrection of Jesus Christ (the central Jewish holiday in memory of the Exodus from Egypt).
Easter should be on the first Sunday after the first spring full moon (the full moon after the spring equinox).

Twelfth holidays.
Twelve most important holidays after Easter in Orthodoxy. Dedicated to the events of the earthly life of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. Among the great holidays are:

Orthodox Easter is “a holiday of feasts, a triumph of celebrations” for our Church. A number of other dates in the church calendar depend on it: Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, Ascension, Trinity, which form the so-called Easter circle. These holidays are called moving holidays. We will explain in this article what the date of the main Christian holiday depends on and how it is calculated.

Jewish Passover

The tradition of celebrating Easter dates back to Old Testament times. Only then it had a different meaning and significance, and the name sounded somewhat different. Jewish Passover is translated as "pass, pass by" and is associated with the events of the deliverance of the Israeli people from enslavement by Egypt.

The custom of annually remembering and honoring the Exodus of the Jewish people from slavery was established by God Himself through the prophet Moses. From Scripture we know that the Lord Jesus Christ, who came not to break the law, but to fulfill it, also took part in this holiday - after the Jewish Passover He was crucified.

The date of Passover was during the period from the 14th to the 21st of the month of Nisan, which approximately corresponds to our March. This month was the first in the Jewish calendar; the moment of ripening of the ears served as a reference point for determining its beginning. After the destruction of Jerusalem, this landmark was lost, so the Jews had to switch to the lunar calendar.

Easter dispute

After the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, as historians testify, the first Christians first celebrated "Easter of the Cross", which coincided in time with the Jewish one. It continued until the next Sunday, on which it was celebrated "Joyful Easter", or Sunday.

Over time, the second celebration became the main one; by the second century it acquired the significance of the annual main celebration for all Christians. Most believers celebrated the Resurrection of Christ on the following Sunday after the Jewish Passover. But not all.

Christians in Assyria used their own calendar. The churches of Asia Minor, citing the authority of the Apostle John the Theologian, adhered to Jewish custom. They always celebrated Easter on 14th day of Nisan what else are they called for? fourteeners, or quadrodecimans.

The most common among all believers were the Alexandrian Paschals. The Western world celebrated Easter on the Sunday after the Jewish Sunday, defining the latter as the full moon after the vernal equinox.

Such a difference in determining the date of celebration of the main event, on which many other dates depended, could not help but bring confusion into church life, as a result of which the so-called “Easter disputes” arose. was called upon to solve them , which took place in 325 in Nicaea .

Resolution of the Ecumenical Council

The Ecumenical Council unanimously decided to celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord for all local churches on the same day. As for the date itself, the rule was as follows:

Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the spring full moon

The spring full moon means the one that occurs after the vernal equinox. Thus, the date is determined from the relationship between the lunar (full moon) and solar (vernal equinox) calendars - based on the solar-lunar calendar. This principle is still used today when calculating dates. Orthodox Easter.

The time of the holiday itself was also agreed upon. The cathedral established the time of celebration " during the middle hours of the night”, which generally remains the case today.

In addition, the Council strictly forbade celebrating the holiday “before the spring equinox together with the Jews.” Historians, however, testify that some of the Asia Minor people did not abandon their tradition, for which they were excommunicated from the Church as “Judaizing” heretics.

It was decided to take the calculation as a basis Alexandrian Paschals as the simplest and most convenient. By this time, both the Western and Eastern churches had already combined Easter and Easter. The celebration of the first of them lasted a week until Sunday (corresponding to our Holy Week), the second - a week after Sunday (modern Bright Week).

However, the name Easter to designate precisely - and only - the Resurrection of Christ became established in the Christian world only in 5th century. Then this day was named "holiday of holidays" , or "king of days" , and gradually became the center of the liturgical circle.

The problem with calendar styles

And everything would be fine, we would celebrate that way main holiday with the entire Christian world on the same day, if nothing had changed since then. But changes have occurred. And they are connected with the name Pope Gregory XII I. B 1582 g He introduced a new calendar style, which was later named after him - Gregorian (or a new style»).

What was this connected with? All with the same desire to organize Easter, to bring greater accuracy to them. And here we need to make a small digression and explain what was wrong before.

The fact is that until that time the entire European world lived according to the Julian calendar. Him in '46 before the birth of Christ was Emperor Julius Caesar according to the Egyptian model. This calendar is based on solar-lunar system, which makes the year longer by 11 minutes 14 seconds astronomical year.

Due to the disproportion of the solar and lunar cycles, the day of the solar equinox, which in 325 was 21 March , by the end of the sixteenth century had moved back ten days. Let us say right away that even today the time for celebrating Orthodox Easter is determined according to the Julian (old) style.

Dissatisfied with this, the Roman Catholic Church carried out a reform and introduced its own calendar, based solely on solar system countdown. So she wanted to make the date of the holiday fixed. The chronology in 1582 was mechanically moved forward ten days, that is, the date of March 21 again became the day of the vernal equinox.

Today, most of the local Orthodox churches, with the exception of Autonomous Finnish, the date of the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord is determined by the Julian calendar. At the same time, other holidays not tied to this happy date(such as the Nativity of Christ), many churches celebrate in the new style. The difference between them today is 13 days .

Orthodox and Catholic Easter - whose is more correct?

The question naturally arises: what style is used to determine the day? Christ's Resurrection better? In fairness, it must be said that from an astronomical point of view, the Gregorian calendar is, of course, more accurate. If an extra day according to the Julian calendar appears every 128 years , then according to the Gregorian style it will arise only through 3200 years .

However, from the point of view of the chronology of Gospel events, the new style is inferior to the old. This is due to the fact that according to the Gregorian calendar, Easter can coincide with the Jewish one. Sometimes it happens even earlier, as happened in this one, 2016: Catholic Resurrection of Christ had to March 27, Jewish the celebration begins only with April 22. IN our Church Easter 2016 falls on 1st of May.

Since the Son of God Jesus Christ was resurrected after the Jewish Passover, the celebration of this event cannot take place earlier - this is nonsense. That is why the Ecumenical Council banned it to the point of anathema. The seventh apostolic canon says the same thing:

If anyone, a bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon, celebrates the holy day of Easter before the vernal equinox with the Jews: let him be deposed from the sacred rank

This explains why the Orthodox Church does not abandon the old style. Another undeniable fact of the truth of this tradition of calculus is that Holy Fire V Church of the Holy Sepulcher descends precisely on the day of celebration according to the Julian style.

Almost half of the cases are Catholic Holy holiday Resurrection occurs earlier than Orthodox. In approximately 30 percent of cases they coincide, which we will observe in the next 2017 April 16 . Usually the difference between the two celebration traditions is more than a month.

The date of Orthodox Easter varies from March 22 to April 25 (With April 4 to May 8 according to the new style). If it falls on April 7 (coincides with the holiday Annunciation ), she is called Kyriopaskha(Lord's Easter).

New attempts at reformation

Already in the 20th century, attempts were made repeatedly to bring uniformity to the celebration of the main Christian celebration. IN 1923 on Pan-Orthodox Congress Patriarch of Constantinople Meletius IV an attempt was made to introduce the New Julian calendar, coinciding with the Gregorian calendar 2800 of the year.

Although the Eastern churches did not support this idea, a year later they switched to this calendar. Romanian Church. Even later Antioch, Constantinople, Hellas, Alexandria and a number of other Orthodox churches, under the influence of the same Meletius, also switched to the New Julian style.

In Moscow in 1948 At the Conference of Churches, it was decided that Orthodox Easter and all movable holidays associated with it should be calculated according to the Julian calendar, and immovable holidays - according to the one adopted in a given local church. The full Julian calendar is used today only by Jerusalem, Russian, Serbian, Georgian Orthodox Churches, and Holy Mount Athos.

IN 1997 World Council of Churches in the Syrian city of Aleppo proposed fixing the date of the “triumph of triumphs” in the solar calendar or approving one Easter for all Christians. But this reform was not supported by all Council participants.

You can learn more about the difference between the Gregorian and Julian calendars from the video:

Today is the Full Moon. The first full moon after the spring equinox. It has a special name - "Easter Full Moon". Easter should be celebrated on the first Sunday after it. This was the demand of the First Ecumenical Council, held in 325 in Nicaea. This year Orthodox Easter and Catholic Easter coincide. Moreover, they coincide with astronomical Easter. In connection with such a wonderful universal event that happens only once a year, let's look at how the date of Easter is calculated for any year. The calculations are a little confusing, but simple in nature. To carry them out, you need to be able to add, subtract, multiply, divide and, worst of all, find the remainder of division. Those. material for grades 2-3 high school.

The ancient Romans considered March to be the first month of the year. According to legend, Romulus founded Rome in March. Remember the names of the months. "September" - "seventh", "October" - "eighth", "November" - "ninth", "December" - "tenth". In Easter calculations, March is also considered the first month.

In order to calculate the date of Easter celebration in a particular year, you need to know the count of this year from the Creation of the World, its position in the Circle of the Sun, the Circle of the Moon, its base, vruceleto, epactu.

In order to find out what year it is since the Creation of the world, you need to add 5508 to the current value of the year from the Nativity of Christ. For example, now it is 2014 AD. or 5522 from S.M.

The circle of the Moon is the position of the year in the 19-year full cycle of the Moon. The beginning of the lunar circles in Easter is considered to be March of the year from the Creation of the World. In the year of the Nativity of Christ, 2 years were missing from the full 290 cycles. Therefore, to determine the order of the year in the lunar cycle, you need to subtract the number 2 from the current value and divide by 19. The remainder of the division will give the position of the year in the lunar cycle. For example, (2014-2) % 19 = 17. Thus, our year is number 16 in the Moon cycle. If the remainder of the division is 0 (the number is completely divisible by 19), then the circle of the Moon is taken to be equal to 19.

Now we need to determine the golden number, i.e. position of the year in the Roman lunar cycle. According to Roman chronology, a full 248 lunar cycles plus 1 year passed before the birth of Christ. Therefore, to determine the golden number, we add 1 to the current year and divide by 19. The quotient will show how many cycles of the Moon have passed since the Creation of the World according to Roman calculation, and the remainder of the division will give the golden number. So, (2014+1)% 19 = 1.

The base is a number that shows the age of the moon at the beginning of the year. To find it you need a golden number. We multiply the golden number by 11 and divide by 30. The remainder of the division will be the base. So, for 2014 the number will be 11.

Now you need to calculate the full moon and new moon. According to the decision of the Council of Nicaea, the Paschal full moon is considered to be the one that occurs after or on the day of the vernal equinox. There is a difference between the tropical and Julian years (11 minutes and 8 seconds). Therefore, the spring equinox constantly shifts to earlier March days. When calculating Easter, a constant circle of bases is adopted. According to this constant circle, the Church recognizes as Easter those full moons that will be three days before the full moons of the time of the Council of Nicaea.

To determine the true Easter full moon, you need to subtract 3 from the base. And if the base is less than three, then this base needs to be subtracted from 30, and then 3 is added to the result.

Now you need to subtract the true Easter basis from the number 30. The result will be a true Easter new moon. Add 14 and we get the true Easter full moon. If it falls before March 21, then Easter should be celebrated after the April full moon. It can be found by adding the number 30 to the true March full moon.

For 2014 we get. The true Easter basis is 11-3=8. The true Easter new moon is 30 - 8 = 22. The true Easter full moon will be 22 + 14 = 36. But March 36 does not happen. This is April 5th. This is according to the Julian calculus. According to the Gregorian (new) style, this is April 18. As we see, the Orthodox Easter was wrong this year by 3 days.

After determining the day of the true Easter full moon, you need to calculate what day of the week it fell on. And, then, determine the nearest resurrection. This day will be Easter day. For this we need the Circle of the Sun and the vrutseleto.

The circle of the Sun is the position of the year in the 28-year cycle of the Sun. The year of the Nativity of Christ was 20 in the Circle of the Sun. There were 8 years left until the end of the Circle. To determine the solar circle, you need to subtract 8 from a given year, and divide the difference by 28. The remainder of the division will give the order of the year in the solar circle. If the remainder is 0, then the order of the year is taken to be 28. For the current year we obtain (2014 -8) % 28 = 18.

Now we are looking for vrutseleto. (Vrutseleto is a Slavic word formed from “summer in hand”, or as we would now say “year in hand”). To do this, you need to add the number of high years that have passed from the beginning of the current circle to the order of the year in the Circle of the Sun, and subtract the total number of weeks from the resulting amount. Since our year (2014) is 18 in the Circle of the sun, the beginning of the Circle was in 1996. Since that moment we have lived 4 high years (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012). By the way, this number is the quotient of the order in the Circle of the Sun divided by 4 (18 / 4 = 4).
So, for our year we get 18 + 4 = 22, and now 22-7*3 = 1. Thus, for 2014 the vrutseleto is A (Azb). (Vrutseleto is designated not by numbers, but by letters of the Church Slavonic alphabet).

Using the vrucelet, the day of the week is found for each month. To do this, it is necessary that in each month the vrutseleto corresponds to 7 or its multiples. Then the remainder of the division will show the day of the week. For the first of March, the letter "G" (Glalgol) is used. It corresponds to the number 4 (4th letter in the alphabet). 7 is missing 3. Thus, for March, the additional vrucelet number will be 3. For April, the vrucelet letter “Z” (Earth) is the 8th letter of the alphabet. A multiple of 7 (i.e. 14) is missing 6 (8+6=14). Therefore, the additional flight number for April is 6.

Vrutseleto will help you determine on what day of the week April 5, the true Easter full moon of 2014, falls. To do this, to the day of the month (April 5), you need to add the year A and the additional number of April - 6. Divide the resulting number by 7. The remainder of the division will show the day of the week. If it turns out to be 0, then we accept 7. (5+1+6) % 7 = 5. So, the true Easter full moon of 2014 - April 5 according to the Julian style, April 18 according to the Gregorian style - falls on Friday. We add the remaining two days of the week and get the date of Easter 2014:

Now you can start calculating moving dates church year associated with Easter, such as the beginning of Lent, Palm Sunday, Ascension, Trinity, the beginning of Peter's Lent, etc.

I hope this material was useful to you. See you again on air!

Easter dates
for 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 - 2020

Christian Easter is celebrated in the spring, but the day of celebration is not a specific date, it is determined according to the lunisolar calendar.

To calculate the day of Easter, you can use Easter eggs - special tables that are compiled Orthodox Church. The dates of Easter depend on the dates of other holidays, the dates of which change every year. These are moving holidays: the Ascension of Christ - the fortieth day after Easter, Trinity (Pentecost) - the fiftieth day after Easter, the Day of the Holy Spirit - the next day after Trinity.

You can calculate the timing of Easter yourself. The German mathematician Gauss in the 18th century proposed a formula for determining the day of Easter according to the Gregorian calendar. The calculation is made according to the value of mathematical quantities, designated (for simplicity) by the letters a, b, c, d, d. Each letter is equal to the following value:
a - the remainder of dividing the number of the year by 19;
b - the remainder of dividing the number of the year by 4;
c - the remainder of dividing the number of the year by 7;
d - the remainder of division by 30 of the expression 19a + 15;
d - the remainder of division by 7 of the expression 2b + 4c + 6d + b.
The found values ​​of “g” and “d” are used to finally solve the problem.
Easter is celebrated after the vernal equinox and therefore falls in March or April.
If the expression g + d is less number 9, Easter this year will be in March according to the old style, and its day will be 22 + g + + d.
If g + d is greater than 9, Easter will be in April (according to the old style), and the date of its celebration is equal to g + d - 9.
When making calculations, we should not forget that in 1918 our country switched to a new calendar style, which “overtook” the old style by 13 days. Therefore, 13 must be added to the calculated number.

2008 - April 27;
2009 - April 19;
2010 - April 4;
2011 - April 24;
2012 - April 15;
2013 - May 5;
2014 - April 20;
2015 - April 12;
2016 - May 1;
2017 - April 16;
2018 - April 8.

Many people ask the question of how to find out when the majority of Christians in Russia and the CIS countries will celebrate Easter in 2009 and other years.

After Pentecost (see Acts), Christians began to celebrate the first liturgies, similar in form to Passover. Liturgies were performed as the Last Supper - Easter of suffering associated with the death on the Cross and the resurrection of Christ.

Calculation of the date of Eastern Easter:
Easter Sunday dates
2008-2020
year app. eastern

2008 March 23 April 27
2009 April 12 April 19
2010 April 4
2011 April 24
2012 April 8 April 15
2013 March 31 May 5
2014 April 20
2015 April 5 April 12
2016 March 27 May 1
2017 April 16
2018 April 1 April 8
2019 April 21 April 28
2020 April 12 April 19

Orthodox Easter is calculated according to the Alexandrian Paschal.
Full Moon(Y) = March 21 + [(19 + 15)/30].
where is the remainder when dividing a by b.
If the value is Full Moon(Y)< 32, то дата полнолуния будет в марте;
If the value of Full Moon (Y)>= 32, then subtract 31 days, and you will get a date in April.
Gauss formula for calculating Easter: -division remainder;
a = + 15) /30] (for example, = 12, a= [(19 12 + 15)/30]= 3, Full Moon (2007)= March 21+3=March 24)
b = [(2 + 4 + 6 a + 6) / 7] (for example, = 3,=5, so for 2007 b=1)
If (a + b) > 10, then Easter will be (a + b − 9) April Art. style, in otherwise- (22 + a + b) March Art. style. We get 22 + 3 + 1 = March 26 (old style) or March 26 + 13 = April 8 (old style)
The date of Easter can fall in the period from March 22 to April 25 according to Art. style. (In the 20th-21st centuries, this corresponds to the period from April 4 to May 8, New Style). If Easter coincides with the Feast of the Annunciation (April 7), then it is called Kyriopascha (Lord's Easter).
Orthodox Christians include the descent of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, which occurs on Holy Saturday before Orthodox Easter, as a miraculous evidence of Easter.

*Middle Ages and Modern Times.

500 years later, in the 8th century, Rome adopted the Eastern Paschal. During these 500 years, Easter was celebrated by agreement between the Churches of the East and West.

In 1583, Pope Gregory XIII introduced a new Paschal in the Roman Catholic Church, called the Gregorian. Due to the change in Easter, the entire calendar also changed. As a result of the transition to more precise astronomical dates, Catholic Easter is often celebrated earlier than Jewish Easter or on the same day, and precedes Orthodox Easter in some years by more than a month.

Happy EASTER to everyone!

By calculating the date of Easter, you can plan your preparations for this holiday in advance. In this article we will consider several issues regarding the correct calculation of the date of Easter.

Easter and lunar calendar

Depends on the lunar and solar calendars. Moreover, according to the lunar calendar, Easter occurs at one specific time, and according to the solar calendar, within 35 days. Many people calculate the date of Easter using special algorithms and tables, since in order to determine the date of Easter using the lunar and solar calendars, certain knowledge is required. It is much easier to calculate the date using simple mathematical operations.

How to calculate Easter for 2016

It is from Easter that all other holidays in the Orthodox calendar are calculated.

Every year Easter is calculated according to the same algorithm: “Easter is celebrated on the Sunday following the first spring full moon, and it is forbidden to celebrate Easter with the Jews.”

Based on this rule, as well as the nineteen-year “Metonic” cycle of recurrence of lunar phases in the Julian calendar, Easter tables (Paschalia) were compiled, which determine the time of Easter celebration. The dates of Easter repeat cyclically every 532 years (Great Indiction).

How to calculate Easter for 2017

How to calculate Easter day in any year

For calculation Orthodox holiday refer to data from both the lunar and solar calendars. However, there is an easier way to calculate the date of Easter.

To do this, you need to calculate the following data.

1. The numerical value of the current year must be divided by 7, write down the remainder, since there will be too many numbers to remember.
2. The numerical value of the year must be divided by 19 and the remainder recorded.
3. Then divide the numerical value of the current year by 4 and also write down the remainder.

After that, we work with the recorded balances.

1. The second remainder must be multiplied by 19.
2. We divide the resulting figure by 30. The result is a remainder that needs to be recorded.
3. Now multiply the third remainder by 2.
4. And multiply the first remainder by 4.
5. We multiply the last remainder by 6.
6. Next you need to add up all the results and add 6.
7. Add up the results and add 6.
8. Divide the resulting number by 7 and calculate the remainder.
9. To determine the exact date, you need to add the fourth and fifth remainders and subtract 9 from the resulting date.

This scheme helps to calculate the exact date of Easter without resorting to calendar data.

How is Catholic Easter calculated?

Easter is a very important holiday for Catholics. On this date, colorful performances and celebrations take place.

Once upon a time, Catholics celebrated this holiday together with Christians on the same day. This took place according to the Julian calendar, but from the 16th century the Julian style was replaced by the Gregorian. But Russia kept the old calendar, and now the dates of Catholic and Orthodox Easter are calculated according to different calendars, but at the same time, regularly, once every 3-4 years, the dates coincide. There is a whole complex algorithm for calculating Catholic Easter, although in religious publications you can always easily find the date of Easter for the current year.

How they used to calculate the date of Easter

Previously, the date of the holiday was calculated according to the following principle: “Easter falls on the first Sunday after the spring full moon.” The spring full moon is, accordingly, the full moon that follows the onset of the spring equinox.

The full moon occurred earlier than March 21 (the day of the vernal equinox), and the next full moon was considered Easter. And if the Easter full moon falls on a Sunday, then Easter is celebrated on the following Sunday.

You can always find out the date of Easter several years in advance. You do not need to calculate the date of Easter yourself, especially since when doing your own calculations there is a high probability of making mistakes, which means that the date of Easter will be calculated incorrectly.

How to calculate the date of Easter? My grandmother knew how to calculate the date of Easter using some method.

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) answers:

The rules determining the time of Easter celebration were developed in the 3rd century by the Church of Alexandria and enshrined in the decrees of the First Ecumenical (325) and local Antioch (341) councils. This establishment remains in force to this day: celebrate Easter on the first Sunday with the onset of the full moon on the day or immediately after the spring equinox. At the same time, the Holy Fathers strictly determined that this main Christian holiday should be celebrated only after the Jewish Passover. If a coincidence occurs, the rules dictate moving to the full moon of the next month. Consequently, Easter cannot be earlier than the equinox, i.e. March 21 (April 4 according to the Gregorian calendar) and no later than April 25 (May 8). In the ancient Church, the calculation of the Easter day was entrusted to the Bishop of Alexandria, because the Alexandrians used the most accurate 19-year cycle (discovered by the ancient Greek astronomer Meton, 5th century BC), after which the full moon and phases of the moon fell on the same days of the month , like the previous ones.

An illiterate person cannot calculate the time of Easter himself.

Your grandmother, apparently, performed the simplest action: with the onset of Lent, she determined the day of the Holy Resurrection of Christ based on its duration (48 days). Of all the practical methods of calculus, the simplest is the method proposed by the greatest German mathematician Carl Gauss (1777 - 1855). Divide the number of the year by 19 and call the remainder “a”; Let us denote the remainder of dividing the number of the year by 4 by the letter “b”, and by “c” the remainder of dividing the number of the year by 7. Divide the value 19 x a + 15 by 30 and call the remainder the letter “d”. The remainder of the value 2 x b + 4 x c + 6 x d + 6 divided by 7 is denoted by the letter “e”. The number 22 + d + e will be Easter day for March, and the number d + e will be 9 for April. For example, let's take 1996. Dividing it by 19 will leave a remainder of 1 (a). When divided by 4, the remainder will be zero (b). Dividing the number of the year by 7, we get a remainder of 1(c). If we continue the calculations, we get: d = 4, and e = 6. Therefore, 4 + 6 - 9 = April 1 (Julian calendar). The reason for the discrepancy between holidays that fall outside the Easter cycle is explained by differences in calendars. In addition to Catholics, the eastern local churches live according to the Gregorian style, and the parishioners of the Russian, Jerusalem and Georgian churches are faithful to the Julian style. The greatest difficulties are associated with determining the dates of holidays

Easter

, Ascension, Spiritual Day. According to scientists' calculations, the most likely date of the Crucifixion is April 7, 30. Let us denote the remainder of dividing the number of the year by 4 by the letter “b”, and by “c” the remainder of dividing the number of the year by 7. Divide the value 19 x a + 15 by 30 and call the remainder the letter “d”. The remainder of the value 2 x b + 4 x c + 6 x d + 6 divided by 7 is denoted by the letter “e”. The number 22 + d + e will be Easter day for March, and the number d + e will be 9 for April. For example, let's take 1996. Dividing it by 19 will leave a remainder of 1 (a). When divided by 4, the remainder will be zero (b). Dividing the number of the year by 7, we get a remainder of 1(c). If we continue the calculations, we get: d = 4, and e = 6. Therefore, 4 + 6 - 9 = April 1 (Julian calendar). Instructions You can calculate the Day, which falls on any year past or future. Let us denote the remainder of dividing the number of the year by 4 by the letter “b”, and by “c” the remainder of dividing the number of the year by 7. Divide the value 19 x a + 15 by 30 and call the remainder the letter “d”. The remainder of the value 2 x b + 4 x c + 6 x d + 6 divided by 7 is denoted by the letter “e”. The number 22 + d + e will be Easter day for March, and the number d + e will be 9 for April. For example, let's take 1996. Dividing it by 19 will leave a remainder of 1 (a). When divided by 4, the remainder will be zero (b). Dividing the number of the year by 7, we get a remainder of 1(c). If we continue the calculations, we get: d = 4, and e = 6. Therefore, 4 + 6 - 9 = April 1 (Julian calendar). General rule Let us denote the remainder of dividing the number of the year by 4 by the letter “b”, and by “c” the remainder of dividing the number of the year by 7. Divide the value 19 x a + 15 by 30 and call the remainder the letter “d”. The remainder of the value 2 x b + 4 x c + 6 x d + 6 divided by 7 is denoted by the letter “e”. The number 22 + d + e will be Easter day for March, and the number d + e will be 9 for April. For example, let's take 1996. Dividing it by 19 will leave a remainder of 1 (a). When divided by 4, the remainder will be zero (b). Dividing the number of the year by 7, we get a remainder of 1(c). If we continue the calculations, we get: d = 4, and e = 6. Therefore, 4 + 6 - 9 = April 1 (Julian calendar). date calculation : Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following the spring full moon. In turn, the spring full moon is considered the first full moon that occurs after the vernal equinox. If the Easter full moon falls on a Sunday, then Easter is celebrated on the next Sunday. This means that first determine the day of the vernal equinox, then determine the nearest day of the full moon coming after the day of the vernal equinox, and on the day It will be the Sunday following the day of the full moon. Based on this

simple rule Let us denote the remainder of dividing the number of the year by 4 by the letter “b”, and by “c” the remainder of dividing the number of the year by 7. Divide the value 19 x a + 15 by 30 and call the remainder the letter “d”. The remainder of the value 2 x b + 4 x c + 6 x d + 6 divided by 7 is denoted by the letter “e”. The number 22 + d + e will be Easter day for March, and the number d + e will be 9 for April. For example, let's take 1996. Dividing it by 19 will leave a remainder of 1 (a). When divided by 4, the remainder will be zero (b). Dividing the number of the year by 7, we get a remainder of 1(c). If we continue the calculations, we get: d = 4, and e = 6. Therefore, 4 + 6 - 9 = April 1 (Julian calendar)., the latest date on which Easter will fall will be April 25, 2038. And the earliest date is March 22, 2285. The second way to determine the date is

Find the remainder of dividing the numerical value of the year by 7. Next, multiply 19 by the first remainder, then divide the result by 30, find the remainder.
Now multiply 2 by the second remainder, 4 multiply by the third remainder, 6 multiply by the fourth remainder, add all the results together and add 6 to the sum. Divide the result by 7, find the remainder.

Every spring, with the awakening of nature, believers of some faiths celebrate Easter. It became the starting point for many related traditions in a number of countries. The British are buying for the holiday new clothes, Swedes burn bonfires, which supposedly are supposed to scare away evil spirits, colorful processions and carnivals are held in Latin America, etc.

Whoever encounters the ritual of celebrating the holiday for the first time goes through clarifying the questions that inevitably arise - why the date of Orthodox Easter takes place on different days every year and why it changes, what the date of Easter depends on next year, how to calculate the day of Easter, etc.?

Video training “How to calculate the day of Easter”

Catholics and Orthodox Christians count on Easter Sundays. Then another question arises, why is Easter in different days spring, because the discrepancy sometimes happens with a difference of almost a month? The issue is complicated by the fact that both faiths recognize that the date of the holiday falls on the Sunday following the spring new moon.

So far everything is coming together. Then, what does the date depend on, how to determine it?

The difference is in chronology. Catholics use the Gregorian calendar, while Orthodox Christians use the Julian calendar. Therefore, who wants to know how to calculate on what date in specific year If there is a holiday, you must at least remember two periods:

• according to the old style, Easter falls from March 22 to April 25;
• according to the new style, this period falls from April 4 to May 8.

In Jewish tradition, the Passover holiday, Passover, is celebrated in Israel for seven days, a day longer than in other countries. It symbolizes the liberation of the people from the slave oppression of the Egyptians. Here the date falls on the eve of the 15th day of the month of Nisan.

How to calculate the date of Easter?

The calculation is complicated. Based on specific conditions, the following values ​​are taken into account:

In this case, a rather complex formula with specific components is used. Neither simple nor more refined options for how to calculate the date of Easter reflect the vicissitudes that have occurred and remain around the topic of who knows better how to determine or how to calculate the real date of celebration. But there is prerequisites, within which the calculation result must “fit”.

1. Easter is celebrated after the spring equinox.
2. Passover is not celebrated day-to-day with the Jews.
3. Easter is celebrated after the equinox and always after the first subsequent full moon.
4. Easter is celebrated after the full moon, on Sunday, i.e. on the first day of Week.

In order not to be mistaken in calculating the date of Easter, it is better to rely on church Easter calendars - special tables compiled by clergy. If anyone is interested, we suggest using one of these tables for the coming years to control the calculations.

Easter is one of the main, most revered holidays for Christians. On this day they remember the feat and miraculous resurrection of the Savior, who endured mortal torment for people, giving people hope for better life after death. According to a long-established tradition, Easter is always celebrated on Sunday. But how to calculate the exact date of this great holiday? And why is this date different in different years?

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Easter

Easter Sunday is considered to be the Sunday that occurs after the first full moon after the spring equinox. The fact is that the date of this holiday is determined by the relative position of the Sun and Moon, so there is a very wide range - from March 22 to April 25 according to the Julian calendar. Or, accordingly, from April 7 to May 8 according to the Gregorian calendar. But why was such a spread in dates even possible? Was it really impossible to determine exactly when this event occurred? The fact is that Passover was originally a Jewish holiday, marking the exodus of the Jews, under the leadership of the prophet Moses from Egypt. According to the ancient Jewish calendar, Passover was celebrated on the fourteenth day of the first spring month of Nisan. However, because the Jewish month began on a new moon, Passover fell on the full moon in March. Since, according to Christian canons, the crucifixion of the Savior took place on the eve of the Jewish Passover (which, we recall, falls on different days of the week), then at the Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, held in 325, it was decided: to celebrate Easter on the first Sunday coming after the first full moon after the spring equinox. In order for everyone to be able to calculate the day of Easter themselves, so-called “Easters” were compiled - special tables. You can use them and at the same time calculate which dates other ones fall on significant holidays Christian. After all, the Feast of the Ascension of Christ is celebrated on the fortieth day after Easter, and the Feast of the Trinity on the fiftieth. You can also use the astronomical calendar, which shows the phases of the moon for the entire current year. You can easily determine on what date the first day of the full moon phase after the spring equinox (March 21) falls. And determining the date of the Sunday closest to this day is a piece of cake. This will be the date of Easter. In former times, not only clergy, but also many scientists, including world-famous ones, dealt with the issue of determining the exact date of Easter. For example, the famous German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss developed a formula for calculating the day of Easter at the end of the 18th century. It is quite voluminous. Anyone can easily find it on the Internet.