Orthodox ‘Pascha’ is Sunday

Site of Calvary?

The Eastern Orthodox have a somewhat different religious calendar than the Roman Catholics and their descended groups. This Sunday will be their biggest holiday of the year:

The Eastern Orthodox Celebrate the Resurrection of Christ

The Phoenix,

Many Christians in the West have no idea that the Eastern Orthodox Church exists…This year Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter on Sunday…

Not Easter, but Pascha

Chances are you will not actually hear the word “Easter” in Orthodox churches. The Orthodox will almost always use the word Pascha for the feast of the resurrection of Christ, as we have since about the time of the Lord’s ascension. “Pascha” is the Greek transliteration of Pesach, which is the Hebrew word for Passover. From apostolic times the Orthodox celebration of the resurrection has been framed within the story of the Passover in Exodus.

This is big. Really, really big

There are 12 major feasts celebrating Christ in the Orthodox year — and Pascha is not among them! Pascha is too big. Pascha is the Feast of Feasts! It gives meaning to everything else we do and believe. So like the woman in the Gospel pouring costly oil on the Lord’s feet, we spare nothing in our love and response to Christ’s resurrection.

We…read aloud the Gospel in many languages, our hearts radiant in the presence of the risen Lord.

Then there is the fellowship meal after the paschal services, which often continues into dawn — tables laden with food and drink, red-dyed eggs and decorated bread, and everyone in bright (or white) festive clothing. No other feast of the Church comes anywhere close to the extravagant, colorful and loud celebration of Pascha.

Pascha, a New Passover

The original Passover is the prophecy for the true Passover, which Christ would accomplish through His death and resurrection on the third day. This is why Christ died during the Passover, and why He celebrated the Passover supper with His disciples. Christ was saying, basically, that this event is only a prophecy, a model of the event that I am now bringing to reality before you. http://www.phoenixvillenews.com/articles/2009/04/17/life/srv0000005118804.txt

While the Orthodox are correct that Passover was not when Roman Catholics and Protestants observed Easter (and at least are closer), they seem to have forgotten that they originally kept Passover on the 14th.

They also seemed to forget that colored eggs are not part of Jesus’ original Passover. They also neglect to realize that Passover was NOT a resurrection holiday.

If the Orthodox would truly go back to the original practices of the Bible, they could be the church that they want to tell others that they are. But instead, this is one of the many things that they have changed (see also Some Similarities and Differences Between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Continuing Church of God).

Early Christians did not keep Easter. And when they kept the Passover, it was after sunset on the 14th of Nisan (which was Thursday evening, April 21, 2016).

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Did Early Christians Celebrate Easter? If not, when did this happen? Where did Easter come from? What do scholars and the Bible reveal? Here is a link to a video titled Why Easter?
Passover and the Early Church Did the early Christians observe Passover? What did Jesus and Paul teach? Why did Jesus die for our sins? There is also a detailed YouTube video available titled History of the Christian Passover.
The Passover Plot What was the first Passover plot? Which plots have Islam and the Greco-Roman faiths perpetuated about Passover? A sermon video of related interest is The Passover Plots, Including Easter.
Melito’s Homily on the Passover This is one of the earliest Christian writings about the Passover. This also includes what Apollinaris wrote on the Passover as well. Here is a related sermon, also titled Melito’s Homily on the Passover.
TPM: Passover on the 14th or 15th? While the real COG observes Passover on the 14th, some observe it on the 15th. Why is the 14th correct? A related sermon is titled Is Passover on the 14th or 15th for Christians?
Some Similarities and Differences Between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Continuing Church of God Both groups claim to be the original church, but both groups have differing ways to claim it. Both groups have some amazing similarities and some major differences. Do you know what they are?
Should You Observe God’s Holy Days or Demonic Holidays? This is a free pdf booklet explaining what the Bible and history shows about God’s Holy Days and popular holidays.
Where is the True Christian Church Today? This free online pdf booklet answers that question and includes 18 proofs, clues, and signs to identify the true vs. false Christian church. Plus 7 proofs, clues, and signs to help identify Laodicean churches. A related sermon is also available: Where is the True Christian Church? Here is a link to the booklet in the Spanish language: ¿Dónde está la verdadera Iglesia cristiana de hoy? Here is a link in the German language: WO IST DIE WAHRE CHRISTLICHE KIRCHE HEUTE? Here is a link in the French language: Où est la vraie Église Chrétienne aujourd’hui?
Continuing History of the Church of God This pdf booklet is a historical overview of the true Church of God and some of its main opponents from Acts 2 to the 21st century. Related sermon links include Continuing History of the Church of God: c. 31 to c. 300 A.D. and Continuing History of the Church of God: 4th-16th Centuries. The booklet is available in Spanish: Continuación de la Historia de la Iglesia de Dios, German: Kontinuierliche Geschichte der Kirche Gottes, and Ekegusii Omogano Bw’ekanisa Ya Nyasae Egendererete.