Easter

=== Proposed reforms of the date ===
{{See also|Reform of the date of Easter}}

In the 20th and 21st centuries, some individuals and institutions have propounded changing the method of calculating the date for Easter, the most prominent proposal being the Sunday after the second Saturday in April. Despite having some support, proposals to reform the date have not been implemented.<ref name=Britannica>{{cite encyclopedia | url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/176858/Easter | title=Easter (holiday) | publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica | encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online | access-date=9 March 2013 | archive-date=3 May 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503123607/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/176858/Easter | url-status=live }}</ref> An Orthodox congress of Eastern Orthodox bishops, which included representatives mostly from the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Patriarch of Constantinople]] and the [[Serbian Patriarch]], met in [[Constantinople]] in 1923, where the bishops agreed to the [[Revised Julian calendar]].<ref name="Hieromonk Cassian 1998, p.51">Hieromonk Cassian, ''A Scientific Examination of the Orthodox Church Calendar'', Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, 1998, pp. 51–52, {{ISBN|0-911165-31-2}}.</ref>

The original form of this calendar would have determined Easter using precise astronomical calculations based on the meridian of [[Jerusalem in Christianity|Jerusalem]].<ref>M. Milankovitch, "Das Ende des julianischen Kalenders und der neue Kalender der orientalischen Kirchen", ''Astronomische Nachrichten'' 200, 379–384 (1924).</ref><ref>Miriam Nancy Shields, "[http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1924PA.....32..407S The new calendar of the Eastern churches] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150324181450/http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1924PA.....32..407S |date=24 March 2015 }}", ''Popular Astronomy'' '''32''' (1924) 407–411 ([http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1924PA.....32R.411H page 411] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112122020/http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1924PA.....32R.411H |date=12 January 2016 }}). This is a translation of M. Milankovitch, "The end of the Julian calendar and the new calendar of the Eastern churches", ''Astronomische Nachrichten'' No. 5279 (1924).</ref> However, all the Eastern Orthodox countries that subsequently adopted the Revised Julian calendar adopted only that part of the revised calendar that applied to festivals falling on fixed dates in the Julian calendar. The revised Easter computation that had been part of the original 1923 agreement was never permanently implemented in any Orthodox diocese.<ref name="Hieromonk Cassian 1998, p.51"/>

In the [[United Kingdom]], [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] passed the [[Easter Act 1928]] to change the date of Easter to be the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April (or, in other words, the Sunday in the period from 9 to 15 April). However, the legislation has not been implemented, although it remains on the Statute book and could be implemented, subject to approval by the various Christian churches.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200405/ldhansrd/vo050406/text/50406w05.htm#wa_subhd_30 |title=Hansard Reports, April 2005, regarding the Easter Act of 1928 |publisher=United Kingdom Parliament |access-date=14 March 2010 |archive-date=8 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608213713/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200405/ldhansrd/vo050406/text/50406w05.htm#wa_subhd_30 |url-status=live }}</ref>

At a summit in [[Aleppo]], Syria, in 1997, the [[World Council of Churches]] (WCC) proposed a [[Aleppo Easter dating method|reform in the calculation of Easter]] which would have replaced the present divergent practices of calculating Easter with modern scientific knowledge taking into account actual astronomical instances of the spring equinox and full moon based on the meridian of Jerusalem, while also following the tradition of Easter being on the Sunday following the full moon.<ref>[http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=2677 WCC: Towards a common date for Easter] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213064102/http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=2677 |date=13 December 2007 }}</ref> The recommended World Council of Churches changes would have sidestepped the calendar issues and eliminated the difference in date between the Eastern and Western churches. The reform was proposed for implementation starting in 2001, and despite repeated calls for reform, it was not ultimately adopted by any member body.<ref>{{cite web |title=Why is Orthodox Easter on a different day? |url=https://uscatholic.org/articles/201504/why-do-catholics-and-orthodox-christians-celebrate-easter-on-different-days/ |publisher=U.S. Catholic magazine |date=3 April 2015 |access-date=5 April 2021 |archive-date=9 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509040946/https://uscatholic.org/articles/201504/why-do-catholics-and-orthodox-christians-celebrate-easter-on-different-days/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Iati |first=Marisa |title=Why Isn't Easter Celebrated on the Same Date Every Year? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/04/20/why-isnt-easter-celebrated-same-date-every-year/ |newspaper=Washington Post |date=20 April 2019 |access-date=5 April 2021 |archive-date=10 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210230738/https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/04/20/why-isnt-easter-celebrated-same-date-every-year/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In January 2016, the [[Anglican Communion]], [[Coptic Orthodox Church]], [[Greek Orthodox Church]], and Roman Catholic Church again considered agreeing on a common, universal date for Easter, while also simplifying the calculation of that date, with either the second or third Sunday in April being popular choices.<ref>[http://cathnews.com/cathnews/23940-christian-churches-close-to-deal-to-fix-common-date-for-easter "Christian Churches to Fix Common Date for Easter"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609102939/https://cathnews.com/cathnews/23940-christian-churches-close-to-deal-to-fix-common-date-for-easter |date=9 June 2021 }} (18 January 2016).  ''CathNews.com''.  Retrieved 18 September 2018.</ref>

In November 2022, the Patriarch of Constantinople said that conversations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches had begun to determine a common date for the celebration of Easter. The agreement is expected to be reached for the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea in 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hertz |first=Joachin Meisner |date=16 November 2022 |title=Patriarch of Constantinople: Conversations Are Underway for Catholics and Orthodox to Celebrate Easter on the Same Date |url=https://zenit.org/2022/11/16/patriarch-of-constantinople-conversations-are-underway-for-catholics-and-orthodox-to-celebrate-easter-on-the-same-date/ |access-date=18 November 2022 |website=ZENIT – English |archive-date=17 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117185458/https://zenit.org/2022/11/16/patriarch-of-constantinople-conversations-are-underway-for-catholics-and-orthodox-to-celebrate-easter-on-the-same-date/ |url-status=live }}</ref>