From Mr T P O’Sullivan SIR– The date of Easter (Comment, Mar 11) was in co-ordination with the Jewish Passover which is determined by the lunar calendar. This was approved by the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD and remained undisturbed and celebrated by all Christians together on the same day until the year 1582 AD.
In that year, Pope Gregory XIII authorised the new improved calendar which we still use today. However, this calendar often moves the date of Easter away from the traditional time and, as the Eastern Churches declined to accept this innovation, the Christian world found itself celebrating Easter twice – except now and again when the new calendar happened to coincide with the correct reckoning.
It was we in the Western Church who broke away from the tradition. It is to be noted that the Greeks willingly accepted the new calendar – including even Christmas on the same date as our selves – but with one exception: they refused to accept any tampering with the great feast of Easter which they still celebrate at the traditional time.
On visiting Greece, I noticed that the Roman Rite Catholic Church there also celebrates Easter on the same day as the Orthodox each year.
May I suggest that we do the same, return to the correct tradition, and so the whole Christian world will celebrate this great feast together once again.
The adoption of John Gillum’s proposal would be yet another step which would take us even further away from tradition and would no doubt please the secular world far more than it would our fellow Christians of the East.
Yours faithfully, T P O’SULLIVAN Stourbridge, W Midlands