Patriarch Bartholomew Advocates for Unified Easter Celebration With Catholic Church

The Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I recently expressed a strong desire for Eastern and Western Christians to commemorate Easter on a singular date.

Voiced during a homily, he said, “it is a scandal to celebrate separately the unique event of the one resurrection of the one Lord.”

The call for a unified Easter date is not new but gains particular significance as the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea approaches in 2025. This council historically addressed the matter of Easter’s celebration.

“We are optimistic, as there is goodwill and willingness on both sides,” Bartholomew said.

Pope Francis has expressed a similar intention to find a common ground for Easter celebrations. In 2015, he joked that “my Christ rose today, and yours next week.”

The division stems from the use of different calendars by the Eastern Orthodox and Western Churches, with most Orthodox churches using a revised Julian calendar and the Roman Catholic Church following the Gregorian calendar.

This discrepancy results in Easter being celebrated on different dates.

Photo credit: Apatak via Wikimedia Commons