Wednesday, April 8, 2015

THYME Magazine: Orthodox Good Friday

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor

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Written 1000 years before Jesus died, Psalm 22 foretells His death by crucifixion -- a practice yet to be invented by the Romans. [View Larger] Illustration © 2015, by Kristina Elaine Greer

The Calendar Conundrum

In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII reworked the traditional Julian Calendar into what came to be known as the more astronomically correct Gregorian Calendar. There is a difference of thirteen days between the Julian and the Gregorian Calendars. As the Western Church adopted the newer calendar, the Eastern Church retained the Julian, thus the feasts overlayed on the modern calendar are celebrated about a week later. Good Friday for the Orthodox Christians will be April the 10th this year and Easter will be on the 12th. Another Orthodox tradition is that Easter, the Pascha, always follows the Passover.

That is why our Orthodox brothers and sisters celebrate the great Holy Days on a "different" date!

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