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Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Coptic churches seek to unify Easter Day

Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Coptic churches seek to unify Easter Day

Posted January. 18, 2016 07:37,   

Updated January. 19, 2016 13:53

한국어

Will all different Christian churches be able to commemorate the Easter Day on the same date?

According to the BBC on Friday, Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby of the British Anglican church, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of the Greek Orthodox Church, and Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church recently met, and discussed a way to designate a common date for the Easter and commemorate together. The date in consideration is the second or third Sunday of April.

The date of the current Easter, which is the first Sunday that comes after the first full moon following the vernal equinox, was picked by the Council of Nicea in AD 325. Generally, the date comes between March 22 and April 26, and the Greek Orthodox Church designates the Easter by following the Julian calendar, which was created in the 1st Century BC, while the Roman Catholic and the Protestant Church pick the date according to the Gregorian calendar of the 16th Century.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said that efforts to unify the Easter Day have been made even before the 10th Century, adding that it is hoped to reach an agreement this time even though it would take five to 10 years.

This year, the Korean Catholic, and the Protestant Church will offer mass and worships by picking March 27 as the Easter Day. Notably, the Protestant Church will hold Easter worship service with its more than 60 orders participating, which will be spearheaded by the Moderators` Summit of Korean Churches, in a bid to coincide its Easter date with that of the Communion of Churches in Korea. Orders participating in this Easter date are the Presbyterian Church of Korea’s Tonghap, Hapdong, Goshin and Daeshin, the Korean Methodist Church, the Assemblies of the God of Korea (Yeouido Full Gospel Church), the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, and the Korea Evangelical Holiness Church.



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