Religious holiday Easter. What does Easter mean and symbols associated with the holiday (Kulich, egg)

Most main holiday in the Orthodox church calendar this is Bright Sunday of Christ, also called Easter. This day is the center of the entire tradition, history and philosophy of Orthodoxy. Symbolizes the victory of life over death in the broadest sense.

The date of celebration is calculated every year according to the lunar calendar. There are Gregorian and Alexandrian Easter - complex astronomical systems for calculating the exact date. Russian Orthodox Church adheres to the Alexandrian Paschal and uses the Julian calendar. Sometimes these systems give one date, then Catholics celebrate Easter together with Orthodox Christians. In all calendars and traditions, the date of Easter always falls on Sunday. This day of the week got its name from the holiday.

Name of the holiday

According to the four Gospels, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ occurred on the Jewish holiday of Passover. On this day, the Jews celebrated the exodus from Egypt. The Old Testament says that the last “Egyptian execution”, which finally persuaded Pharaoh to decide to release the Jews, was the killing of all the firstborn by an angel. The angel did not touch only those who slain the lamb and smeared its blood on their doors. Thus, the blood of the lamb saved people from death. In the New Testament, Christ played the role of the Lamb who saves people.

Gradually, the Hebrew word “Pesach” was transformed into the Russian “Easter”. And people began to use the abbreviated name of the holiday more often instead of the full name.

History of Easter celebration

The first Christians believed that they were living at the end of time and expected the Second Coming every year. In memory of the sacrifice of Jesus, they began to celebrate the liturgy, remembering all the events - from the Last Supper to the Resurrection. Every Friday turned into a day of mourning, and Sunday into a day of joy. This bitterness and joy reached their climax on the day of Jewish Passover. This is how Easter was born in our modern understanding.

Easter in Rus'

The holiday came to our region along with Christianity. After Saint Prince Vladimir baptized Rus', Easter became the most important state event. Celebrations have since lasted for at least three days. Sometimes Russian princes, after successful campaigns or the birth of an heir, extended the celebration for a whole week.

Resurrection Day preceded Lent lasting at least forty days. Our ancestors used this period of time for spiritual cleansing. Pilgrimage to monasteries was very popular. Simple peasants set out on foot many kilometers to arrive at the monastery during Lent. There they confessed and celebrated Easter already cleansed.

Celebrations in New Times

At all times, right up to the end of the first quarter of the 20th century, Easter remained not only the main spring holiday, but also the most central event on the calendar. This was the case until the early twenties, when atheism turned into public policy. The authorities banned Easter liturgies, contrasting the Resurrection of Christ with its counterpart - Workers' Solidarity Day.

But already in the early nineties of the last century, all prohibitions were lifted and several red days in the spring again appeared on the calendar. As in the old days, Easter occupies a dominant place among all religious events. Even the head of state attends a service on this day in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.

Folk customs and traditions

Since Christians abstain from fast food for a long time before Easter, many Easter traditions are of a culinary nature.

Kulich or Paska

The main dish of the holiday is butter cake, which is now commonly called “paska”. Easter cakes are baked in advance and illuminated in the church the day before the holiday. Our ancestors called paska a completely different dish - cheese baba. To prepare it we used a lot chicken eggs and selected cottage cheese. Easter cakes were baked separately. The paska had the shape of a pyramid, which symbolized Mount Golgotha, where Jesus Christ was buried. Eating Easter symbolized Christ's victory over death.

It is customary to carry Easter cakes to church in wicker baskets, made of wicker or other material. In some parishes, paskas are blessed in the evening before Easter, in others - already on Sunday.

A separate tradition is decorating baskets. Now we have come to many Western attributes that were previously unusual Orthodox tradition. Such symbols include rabbits, yellow flowers and heart-shaped confectionery.

Painted eggs

Along with the Easter cakes, it is customary to put eggs in the basket, painted bright red or covered with an intricate pattern. They are also intended to symbolize the victory of life over death. There is a version that this tradition is dictated by the shape of the egg - there is life under the dead shell.

After the Easter meal begins, the children take the eggs in their hands and try to break their friend's egg. This game was called “Christification”, since when the egg was hit, the Easter greeting was usually pronounced: “Christ is Risen.”

Church service - Easter Liturgy

Worship in Orthodox churches begins in the evening of the previous day and continues throughout the night. Although most believers come only in the morning to get to the main part of the action - the Holy Liturgy. In ancient times, it was customary to baptize catechumens on this day. Then, in order to become a Christian, you had to prove your piety over a long period. Such candidates were called catechumens and were not allowed to be present in the church during the celebration of the sacraments.

During Lent, priests wear either passion vestments in red or mourning vestments in purple. In such clothes they begin the Easter service. But as soon as the joyful “Christ is Risen” sounds, they put on their most beautiful outfits, sewn from white fabric with an abundance of gold.

Immediately after the end of the festive liturgy, festivities begin. On this day it is customary to wear best clothes and do not restrain yourself in expressions of joy. Young guys explode crackers and set off fireworks, large fairs open where not only goods are sold, but also various competitions are held. For example, a pillar is placed in the main square, with a valuable object tied to the top. To win the competition, you need to reach the top of the pillar and remove this item, receiving it as a prize.

From time immemorial, artisans have used folk festivals to show off their best products. For example, on this day bakers baked a gigantic Easter cake right on the square and divided it among everyone.

The Sunday of Christ was also considered an excellent occasion for charity. On this day, the imperial couple could visit a shelter for orphans or the poor. Poor people were received in the houses of rich people or food was taken out to them on the street.

In the evening, towards the end of the festivities, it is customary to light the Easter fire. A fairly large fire was laid out in the main square of the village and lit at nightfall. Now, for obvious reasons, this tradition has been forgotten. Although in some villages bonfires are lit, not in the main square, but near the church.

The holiday of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, Easter, is the main event of the year for Orthodox Christians and the largest Orthodox holiday. Celebrated on the first Sunday after the first spring full moon (between March 22/April 4 and April 25/May 8). In 2011, Easter is celebrated on April 24 (April 11, old style).

This is the oldest holiday of the Christian Church, which was established and celebrated already in apostolic times. The ancient church, under the name of Easter, combined two memories - of suffering and of the Resurrection of Christ and dedicated the days preceding and following the Resurrection to its celebration. To designate both parts of the holiday, special names were used - Easter of Suffering, or Easter of the Cross and Easter of the Resurrection.

The word “Easter” comes from the Greek language and means “passing”, “deliverance”, that is, the holiday of the Resurrection of Christ means the passage from death to life and from earth to heaven.

In the first centuries of Christianity, Easter was celebrated in different churches at different times. In the East, in the churches of Asia Minor, it was celebrated on the 14th day of Nisan (according to our account, March - April), no matter what day of the week this date fell on. The Western Church celebrated it on the first Sunday after the spring full moon. An attempt to establish agreement between the churches on this issue was made under Saint Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, in the middle of the 2nd century. The First Ecumenical Council of 325 determined that Easter should be celebrated everywhere at the same time. The council's definition of Easter has not reached us.

Since apostolic times, the church has celebrated Easter services at night. Like the ancient chosen people, who were awake on the night of their deliverance from Egyptian slavery, Christians are awake on the sacred, pre-festive and saving night Happy Resurrection Christ's. Shortly before midnight on Holy Saturday, the Midnight Office is served. The priest removes the Shroud from the coffin, brings it into the altar through the Royal Doors and places it on the throne, where it remains for forty days, until the Ascension of the Lord.

The procession of the cross, which takes place on Easter night, is a procession of the Church towards the risen Savior. The procession of the cross takes place three times around the temple with the continuous ringing of bells and the singing of “Thy Resurrection, O Christ the Savior, the angels sing in heaven, and vouchsafe us on earth.” with a pure heart Glory to you." Having walked around the temple, the procession stops in front of the closed doors of the altar, as if at the entrance to the Holy Sepulcher. And the joyful news is heard: "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death and giving life to those in the tombs." The doors open - and all The sacred host solemnly enters the shining temple. The singing of the Easter canon begins.

At the end of Matins, the priest reads the famous “Word of St. John Chrysostom,” which describes the celebration and meaning of Easter. After the service, all those praying come up to the priest, who is holding a cross in his hands, kiss the cross and make Christ with him, and then with each other.

In some churches, immediately after Matins, the Bright Easter Liturgy is served, during which worshipers who fasted, confessed and received communion during Holy Week can receive communion again without confession, if no major sins have been committed during the intervening time.

After the service, since the fast is over, the worshipers usually break their fast (eat a light meal - not a fast meal) at the temple or in their homes.

Easter is celebrated for seven days, that is, the whole week, and therefore this week is called Bright Week Easter Week. Each day of the week is also called light; Bright Monday, Bright Tuesday, etc., and the last day, Bright Saturday. Divine services are held daily. The Royal Doors are open all week.

The entire period before the Ascension (40 days after Easter) is considered the Easter period and Orthodox Christians greet each other with the greeting “Christ is Risen!” and the answer “Truly He is Risen!”

The most common and integral symbols of Easter are colored eggs, Easter and Easter cake.

It has long been accepted that the first meal after a forty-day fast should be a colored egg blessed in the church. The tradition of dyeing eggs appeared a long time ago: boiled eggs are painted in a wide variety of colors. different colors and their combinations, some masters paint them by hand, depicting on them the faces of saints, churches and other attributes of this wonderful holiday. This is where the name “krashenka” or “pysanka” came from. It is customary to exchange them when meeting everyone you know.

Sweet cottage cheese Easter is always prepared for Easter. It is prepared on Thursday before the holiday, and consecrated on Sunday night.

Easter cake symbolizes how Christ ate bread with his disciples so that they would believe in his resurrection. Easter cake is baked from yeast dough in cylindrical molds.

All Orthodox people They sincerely believe in the special properties of Easter symbols and from year to year, adhering to the traditions of their ancestors, they decorate the festive table with these very dishes.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

Easter(Greek πάσχα, lat. Pascha, from Hebrew ‏פסח‏‎‎‎), Resurrection of Christ (Greek Ἡ Ανάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ), Light Christ's Resurrection - the main liturgical event of the church calendar, the oldest and most important Christian holiday, celebrated back in the days of the Apostles and established in honor of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ - the center of all biblical history and the foundation of all Christian teaching. In Orthodoxy, the status of Easter as the main holiday is reflected in the words “of holidays, a holiday and a triumph of celebrations.” Currently the date of Easter is in every specific year is calculated according to the lunisolar calendar, which makes Easter a moving holiday. The name of the holiday in Russian and many other languages ​​comes from the Hebrew word Pesach, which means the Jewish Passover and is associated with the word pasakh - “passed” (sometimes the name is interpreted as “passed, bypassed”).

Easter Sunday dates:

Easter 2016 -1st of May; Easter 2017 -April 16; Easter 2018 -April 8; Easter 2019 -April 28; Easter 2020 -April 19

The Aramaic name of the holiday sounds like pisha, and there is an opinion that it was through the Aramaic language that the word “Easter” entered Greek.

The Old Testament Passover commemorated the exodus of the Jewish people from Egyptian captivity. Among Christians, the name of the holiday acquired a different interpretation - “the passage from death to life, from earth to heaven.”

The Old Testament Passover, like the current holiday of Passover (Jewish Passover), was celebrated in memory of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, that is, the liberation of the Jews from slavery. The name “Pesach” (Hebrew: פסח‏‎‎‎) means “passed”, “passed by”. It is associated with the story of the Ten Plagues of Egypt.

One disaster (“execution”) was followed by another, and finally, for Pharaoh’s refusal to release the people of Israel, God “punished Egypt with a terrible execution,” killing all the firstborn, that is, all the first-eldest male descendants - both people and livestock. The execution was spared only by the firstborn of the Jews, whose homes God distinguished by a conventional sign (the blood of a lamb on the doorpost) and passed by:

“And this very night I will walk through the land of Egypt and will strike every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from man to beast, and will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. And the blood will be a sign among you on the houses where you are, and I will see the blood and pass by you, and there will not be a destructive plague among you when I strike the land of Egypt. And let this day be memorable to you, and celebrate this feast of the Lord throughout all your generations; Celebrate it as an eternal institution. Ref. 12:12 »

After the last execution, Pharaoh released the Jewish people along with their flocks, and the frightened Egyptians hurried the Jews to leave quickly (Ex. 12:31-33).

Both historically and etymologically, the Old Testament Passover was associated with the exodus of the Jews from Egypt through the Red Sea (Gulf of Bardawil in northern Sinai, or the Gulf of Suez of the Red Sea).

Easter lamb

In memory of these events, “the entire community of Israel” was ordered on the evening of the 14th Nisan (the first month of the Jewish calendar) to sacrifice a lamb - a one-year-old male lamb or kid, without blemish, which should be baked over the fire and eaten completely, without breaking the bones, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs in the family circle for Easter night(Ex. 12:1-10, Num. 9:1-14). Eating the Passover meal acted as “evidence of the main event of the entire Old Testament history” - the exodus of the Jews from Egypt.

The Passover lamb was otherwise called “passover” (“passover”). This use can be found, in particular, in the stories of the evangelists about the Last Supper (Matt. 26:17-19, Mark 14:12-16, Luke 22:8-15).

Easter in the New Testament

Easter is mentioned several times in the Gospels, but a special place is occupied in them by the story of the Last Supper, which is described in Matthew, Mark and Luke as a festive Easter meal (Matthew 26:17-19, Mark 14:12-16, Luke 22: 8-15), and about the subsequent crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

It was during the Last Supper that Jesus Christ uttered words and performed actions that changed the meaning of the holiday. Jesus replaced the place of the Passover sacrifice with Himself, and as a result, “the old Passover becomes the Passover of the new Lamb, slain for the cleansing of people once and for all,” and the Eucharist becomes the new Passover meal.

Since the execution took place on Friday, “the Jews, so as not to leave the bodies on the cross on the Sabbath ... asked Pilate to break their legs and take them off” (John 19:31), and the soldiers broke the legs of the crucified thieves, however, “ When they came to Jesus, they saw Him already dead, and did not break His legs” (John 19:32-32). John the Theologian, who talks about these events, finds in them the fulfillment of the words of Holy Scripture: “For this happened, that the Scripture might be fulfilled: Let not His bone be broken” (John 19:36).

The new understanding of the Easter sacrifice is well reflected in the words of the Apostle Paul (1 Cor. 5:7):

“...Our Easter, Christ, was sacrificed for us.”

The cessation of Old Testament sacrifices

After the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70, the ritual slaughter of the Passover lamb ceased, and in the modern ritual of Passover it is reminded of the injunction to “eat a small piece of baked meat” during the night meal.

Early Christianity

After Pentecost, Christians began to celebrate the first Eucharist services, dedicated to the remembrance of the death of Jesus Christ. Liturgies were performed as the Last Supper - the Easter of suffering associated with the death of the Cross. Thus, Easter became the first and main Christian holiday, determining both the liturgical charter of the Church and the doctrinal side of Christianity.

Some early sources speak of weekly celebrations: Friday was a day of fasting and mourning in remembrance of the sufferings of Christ (Shepherd of Hermas, III, V: 1), and Sunday was a day of joy (Tertullian, De corona mil., ch. 3 ). These celebrations became more solemn during the Jewish Passover, the anniversary of the death of Christ.

In the churches of Asia Minor, especially the Jewish Christians, in the 1st century AD. e. the holiday was celebrated annually along with the Jewish Passover - Nisan 14, since both Jews and Christians expected the coming of the Messiah on this day (Blessed Jerome, Commentary on Matthew 25.6 - PL 26.192). Some churches moved the celebration to the first Sunday after Jewish Passover, because Jesus Christ was executed on the day of Passover and resurrected according to the Gospels on the day after Saturday - that is, on Sunday. Already in the 2nd century, the holiday took on the character of an annual event in all Churches. In the writings of early Christian writers - in the epistle of St. Irenaeus of Lyons to Bishop Victor of Rome, “The Tale of Easter” by Melito of Sardis, in the works of Apollinaris of Hierapolis, Clement of Alexandria, St. Hippolytus of Rome - there is information about the celebration of the annual day of death on the cross and the Resurrection of Christ. From their writings it is clear that initially a special fast celebrated the suffering and death of Christ as “Easter of the Cross” - pascha crucificationis, it coincided with the Jewish Passover, the fast continued until Sunday night. After it, the Resurrection of Christ itself was celebrated as Easter of joy or “Resurrection Easter” - πάσχα άναστάσιμον, pascha resurrectionis. Traces of these ancient holidays have been preserved in the modern liturgical Charter. This is especially noticeable in the festive elements of the services of Maundy Thursday, Friday and Saturday and in the structure of the night service on Easter Week, consisting of a minor Easter Midnight Office with the canon of Great Saturday, and a solemn and joyful Easter Matins. The Charter also reflected ancient tradition celebrating Easter Sunday until Ascension.

Soon the differences in the traditions of the Local Churches became noticeable. The so-called "Easter dispute" between Rome and the churches of Asia Minor. The Christians of Asia Minor, called the Fourteeners or Quartodecimans (from the 14th day of the month of Nisan), strictly adhered to the custom of celebrating Easter on the 14th of Nisan, relying on the authority of St. John the Theologian. Among them, the name of the Jewish Passover changed to the name of the Christian Passover and subsequently spread. Whereas in the West, which was not influenced by Judeo-Christianity, the practice developed of celebrating Easter on the first Sunday after the Jewish Passover, while calculating the latter as the full moon after the equinox. In 155, Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, visited the Roman Bishop Anicetus to negotiate a joint celebration of Easter, but no agreement was reached. Later, in 190-192, the Roman Bishop Victor, at councils in Palestine, Pontus, Gaul, Alexandria, and Corinth, insisted that the Christians of Asia Minor abandon their custom, and demanded that other churches break off communication with them. St. Irenaeus of Lyons spoke out against the excommunication of the Asia Minor people, pointing out that differences on formal points should not jeopardize the unity of the Church.

Many communities were guided by the Jewish calculations for the month of Passover. By this time there was no firm connection between the equinox and the month of Nisan, and in some years this led to the celebration of Passover until the day spring equinox(that is, the onset of a new astronomical year). This practice was not accepted by other communities.

First Ecumenical Council

The issue of a single day for the celebration of Easter for the entire Christian ecumene was considered at the Council of Bishops convened in Nicaea in 325, later called the First Ecumenical Council. At the council, it was decided to coordinate the day of Easter celebration between communities, and the practice of focusing on the Jewish date that fell before the equinox was condemned:

“When the question arose about the holiest day of Easter, with universal consent it was considered expedient that this holiday should be celebrated by everyone on the same day everywhere... And truly, first of all, it seemed to everyone extremely unworthy that in celebrating this holiest celebration we should adhere to the custom of the Jews..."

As the historian, bishop and council participant Eusebius of Caesarea reports in the book “On the Life of Blessed Basileus Constantine,” at the First Ecumenical, all bishops not only accepted the Creed, but also signed up to celebrate Easter for everyone at the same time:

“Chapter 14. Unanimous definition of the Council regarding the Faith and (celebration of) Easter:

For the harmonious confession of the Faith, the saving celebration of Easter had to be celebrated by everyone at the same time. Therefore, a general resolution was made and approved by the signature of each of those present. Having completed these affairs, the basileus (Constantine the Great) said that he had now won a second victory over the enemy of the Church, and therefore celebrated a victorious celebration dedicated to God.”

Eusebius of Caesarea, retelling the words of Emperor Constantine, also cites the arguments that guided the fathers of the First Ecumenical Council for such a decision:

“We, of course, will not tolerate our Easter being celebrated on another occasion in the same year.

So, let the prudence of your reverence consider how bad and indecent it is that at certain times some observe fasting, while others celebrate feasts, and that after the days of Easter, some spend time in celebration and peace, while others keep the prescribed fasts. Therefore, Divine Providence was pleased that this should be properly corrected and brought to one order, to which, I think, everyone will agree.”

The first Sunday after the first full moon, which occurs no earlier than the spring equinox, was chosen as Easter Day.

The bishop of Alexandria had to calculate this day and communicate it to Rome in advance to ensure a single day of celebration. However, after some time this message stopped. The East and Rome began to celebrate Easter each according to their own calculations, often in different days. In Alexandria, Easter tables were created - an Easter calendar, which made it possible to determine the date of Easter for a long period. They were based on the 19-year lunar-solar cycle, and March 21 was taken as the date of the vernal equinox. In the 6th-8th centuries, this Paschal was adopted by the Western Church.

The original definition of the First Ecumenical Council regarding Easter became the basis for the church charter.

The Local Council of Antioch in 341, in its first rule, demands strict adherence to the decisions of the First Ecumenical Council on the day of Easter celebration, under pain of excommunication from the Church and expulsion from the priesthood.

Evidence from the 4th century says that Easter on the Cross and Easter on Sunday were already united at that time both in the West and in the East. Celebration Easter of the Cross preceded the celebration of Easter Sunday, each lasting a week before and after Easter Sunday. Only in the 5th century did the name Easter become generally accepted to designate the actual holiday of the Resurrection of Christ. Subsequently, the day of Easter began to stand out more and more clearly in the liturgical plan, for which it received the name “king of days.”

Middle Ages and Modern Times

In the 6th century, the Roman Church adopted the Eastern Easter. But for almost 500 years after the Council of Nicea, Easter was celebrated on different Easter days. The Alexandrian Paschal was used throughout the Christian world until the end of the 16th century, for more than 800 years. The Eastern or Alexandrian Paschal is built on four restrictions set out by Matthew Blastar:

“Four restrictions are laid down for our Easter, which are necessary. Two of them are legitimized by the Apostolic Canon (7th) and two originated from unwritten tradition. First, we must celebrate Easter after the spring equinox; second, not to be done on the same day as the Jews; third - not just after the equinox, but after the first full moon, which is after the equinox; fourth - and after the full moon, no other than on the first day of the week according to the Jewish reckoning. Therefore, so that these four restrictions are observed equally wise and simple, and so that Christians throughout the universe celebrate Easter at the same time, without having anywhere the need for special astronomical calculations, the fathers compiled a canon and handed it over to the Church, without violating the said restrictions.”

In 1582, 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. In the same year, Pope Gregory sent ambassadors to Patriarch Jeremiah with a proposal to adopt a new Gregorian calendar and a new Gregorian Paschal. In 1583, Patriarch Jeremiah convened a large local council, inviting the Eastern patriarchs, at which they anathematized not only those who accepted the Gregorian Paschal, but also the Gregorian calendar, in particular, the rule of the Great Council of Constantinople of 1583 said:

“Z. Whoever does not follow the customs of the Church and what the seven holy Ecumenical Councils ordered us to follow about Holy Pascha and the month and goodness of the law, but wants to follow the Gregorian Paschal and the month, he, with the godless astronomers, opposes all the definitions of St. councils and wants to change and weaken them - let him be anathema."

As a result of the Paschal reform, Catholic Easter is often celebrated earlier than the Jewish one or on the same day and precedes the Orthodox Easter in some years by more than a month.

Modernity

In 1923, the Patriarch of Constantinople Meletius IV (Metaxakis) held the so-called. A “pan-Orthodox” meeting with the participation of representatives of the Greek, Romanian and Serbian Orthodox churches, at which the New Julian calendar was adopted, even more accurate than the Gregorian and coinciding with it until the year 2800. The Eastern churches condemned this decision, and the Alexandrian Church held a Local Council, deciding that there was no need for the introduction of a new calendar. In the Russian and Serbian churches, after an attempt to change the calendar, they left the old one due to possible unrest among the people.

In March 1924 at a new style The Constantinople (already under Gregory VII) and Greek churches crossed over. The Romanian Church adopted the “New Julian” calendar on October 1, 1924.

The outrage of the clergy and people over Meletius' innovations forced him to resign on September 20, 1923. On May 20, 1926, Meletios became Pope and Patriarch of the Church of Alexandria, where, contrary to the previously adopted council decision, he introduced new calendar. A large-scale church schism occurred in the Greek churches, which has not been healed to this day. Several independent Old Calendar Greek Synods were formed.

At the Moscow Conference in 1948, it was decided that Easter and all moving holidays are celebrated by all Orthodox Churches according to the Alexandrian Paschal and the Julian calendar, and immutable holidays according to the one according to which the given Church lives. In the same year, the Antiochian Orthodox Church switched to the New Julian calendar.

Today, only the Russian, Jerusalem, Georgian and Serbian Orthodox churches, as well as Mount Athos, fully use the Julian calendar.

The Finnish Orthodox Church has completely switched to the Gregorian calendar.

The rest of the Churches celebrate Easter and other movable holidays according to the old style, and Christmas and other immutable holidays according to the new style.

In Great Britain, the Easter Act 1928 set the date of Easter to the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April; however, this resolution did not come into force. In 1997, at a summit in Aleppo (Syria), the World Council of Churches proposed fixing the day of Easter in the solar calendar (also the second Sunday of April) or adopting a uniform Easter for all Christendom, based on astronomical requirements. The reform was scheduled for 2001, but was not accepted by all members of the Council.

General rule for calculating the date of Easter:

"Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the spring full moon." The spring full moon is the first full moon that occurs after the vernal equinox. Both Paschals - the Alexandrian and the Gregorian - are based on this principle.

The date of Easter is determined from the relationship between the lunar and solar calendars (lunar-solar calendar) (Matthew Vlastar, Syntagma. About Holy Easter).

The complexity of the calculation is due to the mixture of independent astronomical cycles and a number of requirements:

The Earth's revolution around the Sun (date of the vernal equinox);

The revolution of the Moon around the Earth (full moon);

The established day of celebration is Sunday;

To calculate the date of the full moon in year Y, you need to find the golden number G - the order of the year in the 19-year full moon cycle (Metonian cycle);

At 1 year AD e. the golden number was 2, respectively, in the year Y from A.D.

G = (remainder of Y/19)+1;

The base of the Moon is a number showing the age of the moon on March 1, that is, how many days have passed by March 1 from the previous lunar phase. The difference between the bases of subsequent years is 11. The number of days of the lunar month is 30.

Base = remainder of (11 G)/30.

New Moon = 30 - Foundation;

Full Moon = New Moon + 14;

If the full moon is earlier than March 21, then the next full moon (+ 30 days) is considered Easter. If the Easter full moon falls on a Sunday, then Easter is celebrated on the following Sunday.

However, Eastern (Orthodox, Greek Catholics and believers of the Old Eastern Churches) and Western (Latin Rite Catholics and Protestants) Christians use different Paschals, which results in the same rule leading to different dates.

According to Eastern tradition, Easter is calculated according to the Alexandrian Paschalia; the date of the first day of Easter (Easter Week) falls on one of 35 days in the period from March 22 to April 25 according to the Julian calendar (which in the 20th-21st centuries corresponds to the period from April 4 to May 8 according to the New Style). If Easter coincides with the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25), 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.

In the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches, the date of Easter is calculated according to the Gregorian Easter. In the 16th century, the Roman Catholic Church carried out a calendar reform, the purpose of which was to bring the calculated date of Easter into accordance with the observed phenomena in the sky (by this time the old Easter already gave dates for full moons and equinoxes that did not correspond to the real positions of the luminaries). The new Paschal was compiled by the Neapolitan astronomer Aloysius Lilius and the German Jesuit monk Christopher Clavius.

The discrepancy between the dates of Easter in the Eastern and Western churches is caused by the difference in the date of church full moons and the difference between solar calendars (13 days in the 21st century). Western Easter in 30% of cases coincides with Eastern Easter, in 45% of cases it is ahead of it by a week, in 5% - by 4 weeks, and in 20% - by 5 weeks. There is no difference between 2 and 3 weeks.

Perpetual calendar from Sweden for calculating the day of Easter in 1140-1671 according to the Julian calendar. Each rune corresponds to a specific number of the week on which the holiday will fall

Easter in the church year

The most important moving holidays, celebrated in the sequence of Gospel events, are tied to Easter:

Lazarus Saturday; Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem- a week before Easter:

According to ancient Jewish tradition, the Messiah - the King of Israel - should be revealed on Passover in Jerusalem. The people, knowing about the miraculous resurrection of Lazarus, solemnly greet Jesus as the coming King (John 12:12);

Holy Week - the week before Easter:

Maundy Monday, Holy Monday- Monday of Holy Week. On this day, the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph, sold by his brothers to Egypt, is remembered as a prototype of the suffering Jesus Christ, as well as the Gospel story about Jesus’ curse of the barren fig tree, symbolizing a soul that does not bear spiritual fruit - true repentance, faith, prayer and good deeds.

Maundy Tuesday- Tuesday of Holy Week, on which the sermon of Jesus Christ in the Jerusalem Temple is remembered.

Great Wednesday, Holy Wednesday- Wednesday of Holy Week, which commemorates the betrayal of Jesus Christ by Judas and his anointing with chrism.

Maundy Thursday- Christ establishes the Sacrament of the Eucharist in the Upper Room of Zion in Jerusalem. The Synoptic Gospels describe this day as the day of unleavened bread, that is, the Jewish Passover (Passover). The Gospel of John and subsequent events in the other Gospels show that the Jews of Jerusalem celebrated Easter after the day of Christ's execution, that is, two days later. One explanation, also taking into account the Qumran finds, suggests that the Galilean calendar was two days behind the Jerusalem calendar. Thus, at the Last Supper, the Old Testament Passover - lamb, wine and unleavened bread is mystically associated with the New Testament Passover - Christ, His Body and Blood;

Good Friday- according to tradition, before the holiday of Passover, Pontius Pilate wanted to release one prisoner, in the hope that the people would ask for Jesus. However, incited by the high priests, the people demand the release of Barabbas. John emphasizes that the crucifixion occurs on the day of Easter, since the slaughter of the Paschal sacrificial lamb on the Old Testament Passover (Passover) is a prototype of the New Testament Passover - the slaughter of Christ as the Lamb of God for the sins of the world. Just as the bones of the Passover lamb (firstborn and without blemish) should not be broken, so Christ’s legs are not broken, unlike others executed. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, having asked Pilate to bury the body of Jesus, wrap it in a shroud soaked in incense and place it in the nearest tomb - a cave until the Sabbath rest. Mary Magdalene and the “other Mary” are present at the burial;

Holy Saturday- the high priests, remembering that Christ spoke about his resurrection on the third day, despite the current holiday and Saturday, turn to Pilate to set a guard for three days so that the disciples do not steal the body, thereby depicting the resurrection of the teacher from the dead;

Enamel miniature “The Resurrection of Christ” (scapular of Andrei Bogolyubsky, ca. 1170-1180s)

Easter - Holy Resurrection of Christ:

Resurrection of Christ (the first day after Saturday) - after the Saturday rest, the Myrrh-Bearing Women go to the tomb. In front of them, an Angel descends to the tomb and rolls away the stone, an earthquake occurs, and the guards are thrown into fear. The angel tells the wives that Christ has risen and will precede them to Galilee. The appearance of Christ to the disciples;

Antipascha in Orthodoxy, the Octave of Easter in Catholicism - the appearance of the risen Christ to the disciples on the 8th day of Easter and the assurance of Thomas:

After 8 days (Antipascha, St. Thomas Week), Christ again appears to the disciples, among whom is Thomas, through a closed door. Jesus tells Thomas to put his fingers into the wounds to verify the reality of the resurrected body. Thomas exclaims “My Lord and my God!”

Christ continues to appear to the disciples for forty days after his Resurrection, in particular, on the Sea of ​​Tiberias (in Galilee) while fishing (as reported by John the Theologian), as well as to more than five hundred witnesses (1 Cor. 15:6);

Ascension of the Lord- fortieth day after Easter:

On the fortieth day after the Resurrection, Jesus ascends to heaven, blessing the apostles;

Pentecost- the fiftieth day after Easter (in Orthodoxy it coincides with the Day of the Holy Trinity):

On the fiftieth day after the Resurrection, the apostles, according to the promise of the Lord, receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Easter traditions

Almost everything Easter traditions arose in worship. Even the scope of Easter folk festivals associated with breaking the fast after Lent - a time of abstinence, when all holidays, including family ones, were transferred to the celebration of Easter. Everything that expresses Renewal (Easter streams), Light (Easter fire), Life ( Easter cakes, eggs and hares).

Easter service

On Easter, as on the most important holiday church year, a particularly solemn service is performed. It was formed in the first centuries of Christianity as baptismal. Most of the catechumens, after the preparatory fast, were baptized on this special day.

Since ancient times, the Church has developed a tradition of celebrating the Easter service at night; or in some countries (for example, Serbia) in the early morning - at dawn.

Easter greeting

Starting from Easter night and the next forty days (before Easter is celebrated), it is customary to “Christify”, that is, greet each other with the words: “Christ is risen!” - “Truly he is risen!”, while kissing three times. This custom comes from apostolic times: “Greet one another with a holy kiss” (Rom. 16:16), also 1 Pet. 5:14, 1 Cor. 16:20.

Easter fire

Easter fire plays big role in worship, as well as in public celebrations. It symbolizes the Light of God, enlightening all nations after Christ's Resurrection. In Greece, as well as in large cities of Russia in Orthodox churches Before the start of the Easter service, believers wait for the Holy Fire from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. If the fire successfully arrives from Jerusalem, the priests solemnly distribute it to the temples of the city. Believers immediately light their candles from it. After the service, many take the lamp with the fire home, where they try to keep it going throughout the year.

Easter

In Catholic worship, before the start of the Easter service, Paschal is lit - a special Easter candle, the fire from which is distributed to all believers, after which the service begins. This candle is lit at all services of Easter week.

In pre-revolutionary times in Russia, and in the West to this day, a large fire was lit on the temple grounds. On the one hand, the meaning of the fire is the same as that of the Easter candle - fire is Light and Renewal. The Easter fire is also lit for the symbolic burning of Judas (Greece, Germany). On the other hand, those who left the temple or did not reach it can warm themselves near this fire, therefore it is also a symbol of the fire by which Peter warmed himself. In addition to the illumination of bonfires and fireworks, all sorts of firecrackers and “crackers” are used to celebrate the solemnity of the holiday.

Easter meal

During Holy Saturday and after the Easter service, Easter cakes, Easter cottage cheese and Easter eggs prepared for Easter are blessed in churches. festive table for breaking the fast after Lent.

Easter egg in Christian tradition means the Holy Sepulcher: the egg, although it looks dead on the outside, contains new life, which will come out of it, and therefore the egg serves as “a symbol of the coffin and the emergence of life in its very depths.”

Easter eggs. Cottage cheese Easter

In the Orthodox tradition, the custom of giving eggs is associated with the legend of the egg given by Mary Magdalene to Emperor Tiberius.

According to the account of Demetrius of Rostov, Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene found the opportunity to appear to the emperor and presented him with an egg painted red with the words: “Christ is risen!” The choice of the egg as a gift, according to Saint Demetrius, was caused by the poverty of Mary, who, however, did not want to appear with empty handed, the color of the egg was intended to attract the attention of the emperor.

Although eggs are painted in different colors, red is the traditional one: it symbolizes the blood of the crucified Christ. (In general, the color red is characteristic of Easter. In particular, this is the color of the liturgical vestments of this holiday.)

In the Orthodox tradition, Easter is associated artos - special bread used during the services of Bright Week, which in Russian parish practice is consecrated at the end of the Easter liturgy, after the prayer behind the pulpit. This bread is kept in the church throughout Bright Week and distributed to believers after the liturgy on Bright Saturday. “In Russia, it is a common custom not to consume artos entirely on this day, but to store it at home for eating on an empty stomach,” which happens in special cases, for example, in case of illness.

They try to finish preparing the Easter table on Maundy Thursday, so that nothing distracts from the services of Good Friday, the day of the removal of the Holy Shroud and prayer (in practice, of course, this is rarely observed).

Easter procession

Immediately before Easter, believers gather in the church, from where a religious procession begins at midnight with loud singing of the stichera of the holiday. Then the procession approaches the doors of the temple and the service of Easter Matins begins.

In the Roman Catholic Church, the procession of the cross takes place during the service of the eve of Easter, but not before the Liturgy, but after it. The Easter procession should not be confused with the service of the Way of the Cross, a special Catholic Lenten service in remembrance of the Passion of the Lord.

Easter bell

In Russia, as well as other Orthodox countries, after the silence of the bells during Holy days On Easter itself the bell is rung especially solemnly. Throughout Bright Week, anyone can climb the bell tower and ring in honor of the Resurrection of Christ.

In Belgium, children are told that the bells are silent until Easter because they have gone to Rome and will return with a rabbit and eggs.

The soundtrack of the holiday also has an evangelical meaning. Thus, in some churches in Greece, as soon as the Gospel begins to read about the earthquake in Jerusalem, an unimaginable noise arises in the church. The parishioners, having waited, begin to hit the wooden stairs with sticks, and the elderly rattle the seats of the benches, while the chandelier-chandeliers sway from side to side. The man-made “earthquake” thus symbolizes the opening of the tomb at the resurrection of Christ.

Easter- celebrated on the first Sunday after the March full moon following the spring equinox (between April 4 and May 8). And any Sunday day can fall into this period, it all depends on which of these days the first resurrection after the spring equinox and full moon falls on.

Easter or Holy Resurrection of Christ- main holiday Orthodox calendar, established in memory of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Gospels tell us that on Friday of Holy Week, Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross and buried in a cave located not far from the place of execution. On the night from Saturday to Sunday, Mary Magdalene, a sinner who believed in Christ, and two women who came to the tomb to wash and anoint the body of Christ with incense discovered that the tomb was empty. “When they were perplexed about this, two men suddenly appeared before them in shining clothes. And when they were afraid and bowed their faces to the ground, they said to them, “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:4-5). The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is considered by all Christians to be the greatest event that brings salvation to the world and humanity.
The day of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ got its name from Jewish holiday Passover, dedicated to the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and their liberation from slavery. The borrowing of the name of the Jewish holiday is explained by the fact that all the tragic events of the earthly life of Jesus Christ occurred before the Jewish Passover, and His Resurrection took place on the night of Passover.

In the Orthodox tradition, Easter is considered the “king of days,” “the holiday of all holidays, the triumph of all celebrations.” Throughout Russia, Easter was celebrated as a day of great joy. The main event of the celebration was the solemn service in the temple. The Easter service began on the night from Saturday to Sunday. Its first part was called the Midnight Office. It was held in memory of the night prayer of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, which preceded his betrayal into the hands of the Pharisees. After reading prayers and chants, the priest, together with the clergy, brought the shroud from the middle of the temple to the altar, which remained there until the Ascension. At midnight, the bell ringing (blagovest) was heard, all the candles and chandeliers were lit at the same time, the priests in light vestments, with a cross, lamps and incense came out of the altar and, together with everyone present in the temple, sang the surplice: “Thy Resurrection, O Christ the Savior, the angels sing on heaven, and grant us on earth to glorify You with a pure heart,” and then, to the sound of bells, a religious procession around the church began. Upon returning to the temple, the priest sang the troparion of the holiday: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death.” Then the royal gates opened, which symbolized Christ’s opening of the gates of heaven, closed to people after the fall of Adam and Eve, and matins began. The canon was fulfilled: “Resurrection day, let us enlighten people...”, and then the eternal victory of Christ over death and hell was proclaimed: “Where is your sting, O death? Where the hell is your victory? Christ is risen, and you are cast down. Christ is risen, and life lives. Christ is risen, and not one is dead in the tomb.” After Matins, the festive liturgy began, at the end of which the artos - special bread with the image of a cross and a crown of thorns - was illuminated.
The elegant decoration of the temple, a lot of lit wax candles, the light vestments of the priests, the smell of incense, the joyful ringing of bells, festive chants, a solemn religious procession, cries of “Christ is Risen!” - all this caused joy in believers, a feeling of participation in a miracle. After the end of the service, the parishioners congratulated each other on happy holiday, kissed three times and said the words that the apostles spoke to each other after learning about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ: “Christ is Risen!” - “Truly he is risen!”, they exchanged eggs painted red.

On Easter, breaking the fast began after a long period of Lent. As a rule, it was a family meal. On the table covered with a white tablecloth, they placed colored eggs, kulich - tall bread made from butter dough and Easter (paska) - a sweet dish made from cottage cheese with raisins, consecrated in the church on Holy Saturday. Red egg in view Orthodox man symbolized the world, stained with the blood of Jesus Christ and through this reborn to new life. Kulich was associated with the body of the Lord, to which believers should partake.

The Easter table has no food restrictions. In addition to the ritual Easter, Easter cake and eggs, there can be any meat, dairy, or fish dishes on the table. The Easter table, just like the funeral table of forty days, is set for the whole day, and everyone who comes to the house is invited by the owners to receive a treat. The owners tried to please as much as they could. It was believed that Easter dishes, blessed church prayer, have supernatural power and can help Orthodox Christians in difficult moments of life.
On Easter it was customary to congratulate everyone you knew. Subsequently, in addition to the most necessary visits, they began to limit themselves to Easter greeting cards.

There are many things associated with Easter different beliefs, with the wonderful fulfillment of the desired. It was believed that on this day one could ensure success in business for the whole year.

In many places, any entertainment on Easter day: secular songs, dancing, playing the harmonica, drinking, etc. - were considered by the people as indecency and a great sin. In the Russian North and Siberia, on the first day of the holiday, peasants tried to avoid all pleasures, sat at home, spending time eating, drinking and resting. Going to visit neighbors on this day was either generally considered indecent, or began only in the evening - “from puberty.” The main celebration, the beginning of youth festivities - “games”, took place on the next day of the holiday, which was replete with entertainment. But often the holy part of the holiday was separated from the riotous Easter prayers, going around the houses of parishioners in a religious procession: the priest, accompanied by the clergy and “god-bearers” - peasants with church icons and crosses in their hands.

According to legend, on Easter the sun sparkles early in the morning, thereby sharing the joy of the great holiday with people.

On this day we observed nature and noted:
On Easter, young people climbed onto the roofs to meet the sun (there was a belief that on Easter “the sun is playing,” and many tried to watch for this moment).
There was such a sign: if a dog barks to the east during Easter Matins - to the fire, to the west - to misfortune.
During Easter Matins, the housewives observed: which cattle at this time lie still - those go to the yard. At the same time, peasant women drove chickens from their roost so that the chickens would not be lazy, but would get up earlier and lay more eggs.
On Easter, the sky is clear and the sun is shining - for a good harvest and a red summer.
During Holy Week the rains are good rye.
On Holy Thunder - to the harvest.
If there is rain or bad weather on the first day of Easter, spring will be rainy.
If the weather is clear on the second day of Easter, the summer will be rainy; if it is cloudy, it will be dry.

Easter calendar: in 2015 - April 12, in 2016 - May 1, in 2017 - April 16, in 2018 - April 8, in 2019 - April 28, in 2020 - April 19, and so on...

The continuation of Easter was Easter (bright) week, which lasted eight days, until St. Thomas Sunday inclusive.

Today Orthodox religious holiday:

Tomorrow is a holiday:

Holidays expected:
15.03.2019 -
16.03.2019 -
17.03.2019 -

Orthodox holidays:
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In our country, approximately 90% of Orthodox Christians have never read the New Testament (not to mention other Holy books), but many of them sacredly honor all religious traditions and observe fasts. And absolutely everyone celebrates holidays like Easter or Christmas, without having the slightest idea about their meaning and history. Therefore, when you ask almost any of them a seemingly elementary question: “Why do you paint eggs and buy Easter cakes every year for Easter? What does all this mean?”- in 99% of cases you get something like this answer:

What are you, a fool or what? That's what EVERYONE does. It's a holiday!
- Whose holiday? What is this all for?

After which your Orthodox interlocutor begins to mutter something unintelligibly, get angry and brush you off. And further questions and clarifications lead him into a state of wildest butthurt and pain.

But our grandmothers can still be understood and forgiven - they do not use your Internet, and in general they grew up in another state where atheism was dominant. The obscurantism of younger generations is more difficult to justify. In addition, few of them know that relatively recently the church itself prohibited all these eggs, Easter cakes and other Easter paraphernalia, considering them ungodly paganism.
In general, for everyone interested in these issues, I wrote this short review post.

Old Testament.

Easter, or Passover in Hebrew, originates from those distant Old Testament times when the Jews were enslaved by the Egyptians.
One day, God appeared to the shepherd Moses in the form of a fireproof bush (Ex. 3:2) and commanded him to go to Egypt to lead the Israelites out of there and resettle them in Canaan. This had to be done in order to save the Jews from hunger, because... during the 400 years of slavery in Egypt, their numbers increased sevenfold. And the pharaoh, in order to cope with the demographic explosion, even had to arrange a real genocide for them: first, he exhausted the Jews with hard work, and then completely ordered the “midwives” who delivered children to kill Jewish male babies. (Ex.1:15-22) .

But Pharaoh did not agree to Moses’ requests to release the Jews. And then God Yahweh, in modern language, organized mass terror of the indigenous Egyptian population, in the form of pogroms, arson, murders and the end of the world. All these disasters received the name “Ten Plagues of Egypt” in the Pentateuch:

Execution No. 10: the killing of the pharaoh's firstborn son.

First, Aaron, Moses' older brother and accomplice, poisoned the fresh water in local reservoirs (Ex. 7:20-21)

Then the Lord gave them the wildest invasions of insects and amphibians (execution by toads, punishment by midges, dog flies and locusts (Ex. 8: 8-25).

Next, He caused a cattle plague for the Egyptians, caused dermatological epidemics, brought down fiery hail, and plunged the population into darkness for three days. And when all this did not help, he resorted to extreme measures - mass murder: killing all first-born children (with the exception of Jewish ones). (Ex.12:29) .

In general, the next day, the frightened Pharaoh, whose first-born son also died, released all the Jews with their livestock and belongings.
And Moses commanded that Passover be celebrated every year in memory of the day of liberation from slavery.

The exodus of Jews from the devastated Egyptian lands.

But what do colored eggs and holiday cakes have to do with it?

New Testament.

It was in memory of those events that Jesus Christ celebrated Easter for the last time in 33 AD. The table was modest: wine - as a symbol of the blood of the sacrificial lamb, unleavened bread and bitter herbs as a sign of memory of the bitterness of former slavery. This was the last supper of Jesus and the apostles.
(By the way, I will tell you about another ritual associated with the mass killings of artiodactyl mammals before Kurban Bayram).

Last Supper: the last meal of Jesus Christ with His twelve closest disciples, during which He established the sacrament of the Eucharist and predicted the betrayal of one of the disciples.

However, the Bible says that on the eve of his arrest, Jesus changed the meaning of the holiday foods. The Gospel of Luke says the following: “Then he took the bread, gave thanks to God, broke it and gave it to them, saying: “This means my body, which will be given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took the cup after supper, saying: "This cup signifies a new agreement based on my blood, which will be shed for you."(Luke 22:19,20)

Thus, Jesus predicted his death, but somehow He didn't order His disciples celebrate Easter in honor of His resurrection. There is not a single mention of this in the Bible.

The apostles and early Christians celebrated the anniversary of the remembrance of the death of Jesus, every year on the 14th of Nisan according to the Jewish calendar (late March / early April in our opinion). It was a memorable supper at which ate unleavened bread and drank wine.

Thus, while the Jews celebrated their Passover as liberation from Egyptian slavery, Paska was a day of mourning for the first Christians. Since over the next two centuries Christianity successfully gained popularity, rapidly increasing “its electorate,” the first contradictions began to appear both in the celebration of Easter and in the date itself. But more on that a little later.

The First Nicene (Ecumenical) Council.

Long before the arrival of Christianity, the Romans worshiped their own God, Attis, the patron of plants. An interesting coincidence can be traced here: the Romans believed that Attis was born as a result of an immaculate conception, died young due to the wrath of Jupiter, but was resurrected a few days after death. And in honor of his resurrection, people began to organize a ritual every spring: they cut down a tree, tied a statue of a young man to it and carried it to the city square, crying. Then they began to dance to the music, and soon fell into a trance: they took out knives, inflicted minor injuries on themselves in the form of stab wounds, and sprinkled their blood on the tree with the statue. Thus the Romans said goodbye to Attis. By the way, they observed fasting and fasted until the feast of the resurrection.

There is one interesting moment in Dan Brown's novel "The Da Vinci Code" where one of the characters talks in detail about how Christ's candidacy was approved "for the position of God" at the First Nicene (Ecumenical) Council, held in 325. This event took place in history.

The First Nicene (Ecumenical) Council. 325 On it Jesus was established and the celebration of Easter was reformed.

It was then that the Roman Emperor Constantine I, fearing a split in society along religious lines, managed to unite two religions together, making Christianity the main state religion. That is why many Christian rituals and sacraments are so similar to pagan ones and have such diametrically opposed meanings “to the original source.” This also affected the celebration of Easter. And in the same year 325, the Christian Easter was separated from the Jewish one.

But where are the eggs, you ask? We'll get to them soon. In the meantime, one more necessary clarification:

Easter date calculation.

Disputes about correct definition The dates of Easter celebrations are still ongoing.

The general rule for calculating the date of Easter is: “Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after spring full moon».

Those. it should be: a) in the spring, b) the first Sunday, c) after the full moon.

The complexity of the calculation is also due to the mixing of independent astronomical cycles:

The Earth's revolution around the Sun (date of the vernal equinox);
- revolution of the Moon around the Earth (full moon);
- The established day of celebration is Sunday.

But let’s not get into the weeds of these calculations and go straight to the main thing:

Replacement of paganism in Rus' by Christianity.

We will also not delve into the main historical sad facts of those distant years so as not to turn the post into a kilometer-long treatise on history Ancient Rus'- but we will only touch on it lightly and only on one side, naming the main events that predetermined the planting of Christianity on the territory of our state.

Byzantium was interested in the Christianization of Rus'. It was believed that any people who accepted the Christian faith from the hands of the emperor and the Patriarch of Constantinople automatically became a vassal of the empire. Contacts between Rus' and Byzantium contributed to the penetration of Christianity into the Russian environment. Metropolitan Michael was sent to Rus', who, according to legend, baptized the Kyiv prince Askold. Christianity was popular among the warriors and merchant class under Igor and Oleg, and Princess Olga herself became a Christian during a visit to Constantinople in the 950s.

In 988, Vladimir the Great baptizes Rus' and begins to fight pagan holidays on the advice of Byzantine monks. But then, for the Russians, Christianity was a foreign and incomprehensible religion, and if the government had begun to openly fight paganism, the people would have rebelled. In addition, the Magi had enormous authority and influence on minds. Therefore, a slightly different tactic was chosen: not by force, but by cunning.

Each pagan holiday was gradually given a new, Christian meaning. Also, the signs of pagan gods familiar to Russians were attributed to Christian saints. Thus, "Kolyada"- ancient holiday winter solstice- gradually transformed into the Nativity of Christ. "Kupailo" - summer solstice- renamed the Feast of John the Baptist, who is still popularly called Ivan Kupala. As for Christian Easter, it coincided with a very special Russian holiday called . This holiday was the pagan New Year, and it was celebrated on the day of the spring equinox, when all nature came to life.

Holiday Velikodnya: the most important holiday in the calendar of the Eastern and Western Slavs.

Our ancestors, preparing for the Great Day, painted eggs and baked Easter cakes. But the meanings of these symbols were not at all similar to Christian ones. When the Byzantine monks first saw How people celebrate this holiday - they declared it a terrible sin, and began to fight it in every possible way.

Easter eggs and Easter cakes.

There used to be a game called “red egg”. The men took painted eggs and fought them with each other. The winner was the one who broke the most other people's eggs without breaking his own. This was done in order to attract women, since it was believed that the winning man would be the strongest and best. Women had the same ritual - but their battle with colored kagbe eggs symbolized fertilization, since the egg has long been considered by many peoples of the world to be a symbol of spring rebirth and new life.

Beating eggs was carried out not only for entertainment and gaming purposes, but also in order to appease the goddess of fertility. By appeasing her in this way, they hoped for a future rich harvest, breeding of livestock and the birth of children.

According to one of the variations Makosh - Mokosh. It arose from the word “get wet.” The symbol of Mokosh was water, which gives life to the earth and all living beings.

Some believe that the custom of baking Easter cakes came from the Jews, who baked their own Easter bread, which is called matzo. This is wrong. Jesus himself broke bread and treated it to the apostles at the Last Supper, but this bread was flat and unleavened. And the cake is made loose, with raisins, and sprinkled with glaze on top, and then they compare to see whose type has grown higher.

This tradition arose long before Christianity came to Rus'. Our ancestors worshiped the sun and believed that Dazhdbog dies every winter and is reborn in the spring. And in honor of the new solar birth in those days, every woman had to bake her own cake in the oven (a symbol of the female womb) and perform a birth ritual over her. When baking Easter cake, women raised their hem, simulating pregnancy. This was considered a symbol of new life.

As you might guess, the baked Easter cake, which has a cylindrical shape, covered with white icing and sprinkled with seeds, is nothing more than an erect male penis. The ancestors treated such associations calmly, because for them the main thing was that the land should produce crops and women give birth. Therefore, after Easter was taken out of the oven, a cross was drawn on it, which was a symbol of the sun god. Dazhdbog was responsible for the fertility of women and the fertility of the earth.

These similarities between Dazhdbog and Jesus Christ: the resurrection and the main symbol - the cross, according to historians, were the main signs by which the Byzantine church managed to successfully merge paganism and Christianity.

Maundy Thursday and the zombie apocalypse.

Unlike Easter of the first Christians, who consumed exclusively unleavened bread with wine, our ancestors celebrated Great Day in full: with meat, sausages and other delicacies. With the establishment of Christianity, the church banned the consumption of meat for the holiday. However, once a year they treated meat dishes not to ordinary guests, but to the dead. This ritual was called “Radunitsa”:

People gathered in cemeteries on Thursday, before the Great Day. They brought food in baskets, laid it out on the graves, and then began to call their dead loudly and protractedly, asking them to return to the world of the living, and try Tasty food. It was believed that it was on the Thursday before the Great Day that the ancestors came out of the earth and remained close to living people until the next Sunday after the holiday. At this time, they could not be called dead, because they hear everything they say and may be offended. People carefully prepared for the “meeting” with relatives: they appeased the brownies with small sacrifices, hung amulets and cleaned their houses.

Today, this completely unkind holiday is divided into two joyful ones: on Maundy Thursday - when housewives arrange general cleaning in the house, and on Sunday - when all our grandmothers rush to the cemeteries in a friendly crowd and lay out colored eggs and Easter cakes there on the graves of their relatives.

But this change did not happen immediately. They fought against pagan rituals for quite a long time and harshly, and in the 16th century even Ivan the Terrible joined this fight, who tried to get rid of dual faith. In pursuance of the decrees of Ivan the Terrible, priests began to oversee religious order and even spy. But this did not help, the people still honored their traditions, and, as before, in their homes people continued to perform pagan rituals, and before our eyes they went to church. And the church gave in. In the 18th century pagan symbols were declared Christian, they even had a divine origin. Thus, fertility eggs became a symbol of Christ’s resurrection, and Dazhdbog’s bread turned into a symbol of Jesus Christ.

Epilogue.

Now, brothers and sisters, you know almost everything about Easter. It remains only to draw a small parallel.
Over many centuries, Easter, like our Victory Day, has turned from a Day of Mourning for the dead into a festive bacchanalia. Almost no one knows or remembers how it all started and why all this is needed. Just another holiday from which you can get Orthodox drunk and go off on a hellish Christian drunken stupor with impunity.

Now you will KNOW what to drink for. And should I drink at all? After all, perhaps for some this day will be a day of sorrow. Or a day of great sad thoughts...