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Saint Michael's Orthodox Church |
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465 Morris Street Clymer, PA 15728 |
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| Newest question: |
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WHAT DO WE ΜΕΑΝ
ΒY ΤΗΕ WORD ORTHODOX
BY St John Maximovich
Shortly after the doctrine of Christ began to be propagated among the Gentiles, the followers of Christ in Antioch began to be called Christians (Acts ΧΙ:26). Ίhe word "Christian" indicated that those who bore this name belonged το Christ -- belonged in the sense of devotion to Christ and his Doctrine. From Antioch the name of Christian was spread everywhere. Ίhe followers of Christ gladly called themselves by the name of their beloved Teacher and Lord; and the enemies of Christ called His followers Christians by carrying over to them the ill will and hatred which they breathed against Christ. However, quite soon there appeared people who, while calling themselves Christians, were not of Christ in spirit. Of them Ι Christ had spoken earlier: Νοt everyone that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven (5τ. Matt. VII: 5). Christ prophesied also that many would pass themselves off for Christ Himself: Many shall come in my name, sayings I am Christ (Matt. XXIV: 5). Ίhe Apostles in their epistles indicated that false bearers of the name of Christ had appeared already in their time: as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists (Ι John ΙΙ:19). Ίhey indicated that those who stepped away from the doctrine of Christ should not be considered their own: Ίhey went out from us but were not of us (Ι John ΙΙ:19)" Warning against quarrels and disagreements in minor matters (Ι Cor. 1:10-14), at the same time the Apostles strictly commanded their disciples to shun those who do not bring the true doctrine (ΙΙ John 1:10). Ίhe Lord, through the Revelation given to the Apostle John the Ttheologian, sternly accused those who, calling themselves faithful, did not act in accordance with their name; for in such a case it would be false for them. Of what use was it of old to call oneself a Jew, an Old Testament follower of the true faith, if one was not such in actuality? Such the Holy scripture calls the synagogue of Satan (Apocalypse ΙΙ:9). Ιn the same way, a Christian in the strict sense is he only who confesses the true doctrine of Christ and lives in accordance with it. Ίhe designation of a Christian consists in glorifying , the Heavenly Father by one's life: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (St. Matt. V:I6). But true glorification of God is possible only if one rightly believes and expresses his right belief in words and deeds. Therefore , true Christianity and it alone may be named "right-glorifying" (Ortho-doxy). Thus, by the word 'Όrthοdοxy" we confess our firm conviction that it is precisely our Faith that is the true doctrine of Christ. When we call anyone or anything Orthodox, we by this very fact indicate his or its non-counterfeit and uncorrupted Christianity, rejecting at the same time that which falsely appropriates the name of Christ. ORTHODOX HERITAGE -JUNE 2005-
BROTHERHOOD OF ST. POIMEN
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| Feel free to email Father Michael any
questions concerning the Orthodox Church. He will respond with a privately emailed answer and, if appropriate, post the question and answer here |
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| Previous
questions |
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| What
is the biblical passage that shows that Easter was after Passover and that the Last Supper was not the Sedar dinner? |
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| On
March 27th of this year, Roman Catholics and Protestants celebrated Easter. Five weeks later, Orthodox Christians celebrated the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. I believe most of our faithful are familiar that we, as Orthodox Christians, continue to follow the decree of the First Ecumenical Council in 325 A.D. in Nicaea that stated, "The Resurrection of our Lord should be celebrated on the First Sunday, after the first full moon, after the Vernal (Spring) Equinox and after the Jewish Passover and never coinciding with the Passover. On Saturday, April 23rd, the Jewish faithful observed Passover. On May 1st Orthodox Christians celebrated Pascha. We continue to not only follow the decree of the First Ecumenical Council, but, historically from the scriptures, Christ rose after the Passover, whereas this year, Western Christians celebrated Easter 5 weeks before Passover. Was the Last Supper the Passover meal or not? As Orthodox Christians, the answer is "NO!" The time our Lord was crucified, Jews were to celebrate Passover on a Saturday (actually the Jewish way of reckoning time was from sunset on Friday till sunset on Saturday). Therefore at the meal called the Last Supper, Jesus gave the Apostles leavened bread to eat. Passover is also known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread and again, Jews during the time of our Lord's death would have been eating unleavened bread (no yeast), starting that Friday evening with the setting of the sun. The result of the above is that as Orthodox Christians we use leaven bread for Holy Communion, while Western Christians use unleavened (wafers). To further defend our point of when Passover started that year, we go to John 18:29: where Jesus is being taken from Caiaphas, the high priest, to Pilate, the governor. The chief priest and elder only took Christ to the entrance of Pilate's courtyard (Praetorium) for, "But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled (become unclean) and not eat of the Passover meal." Thus, Passover had not yet started. Just an added note: If the chief priests, elders and scribes would have done all that is recorded in the scriptures on the day of Passover, the seizing and arrest of Christ, his trial, the mob that led Jesus to the place of the Skull, as well as the Crucifixion of Jesus and two others, would have been political suicide to some, public embarrassment and humility to others and a huge loss of respect from the people. Father R. Michael Zak |
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| Why does the date of Pascha differ from Western Easter so much? | |||
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Determining
the date of Pascha has been an issue for the Church since its earliest
days. Christian converts from Judaism who were familiar with the date
of Passover would often celebrate Pascha on the same date of Passover.
That date was the 14th day of the Hebrew month Nisan. In Asia Minor,
the churches celebrated Pascha on the 14th of Nisan whether it fell on
Sunday or a weekday. Many other churches celebrated Pascha on the
Sunday that followed the 14th of Nisan.
Eventually, somewhere towards the end of the Second Century, the churches of Asia Minor agreed to celebrate Pascha with the other churches on the Sunday after the 14th of Nisan. So the date for the observance of Pascha was based on the Jewish Passover. The Jews celebrated the Passover on the first full moon following the vernal equinox. With the dispersion of the Jews after the Destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., the date of calculating the beginning of the month of Nisan and the full moon of Passover varied due to the use of local pagan calendars. For this reason, many Christians stopped utilizing the Jewish Passover to determine the date for Pascha. “Paschal cycles” were then devised as a way to determine the date of Pascha. Two cycles developed. In the East, they adopted a 19-year-cycle, while in the West they used a less accurate 84-year-cycle. Due to the usage of two different “Paschal cycles,” the Eastern and Western Churches had differences in when they would observe Pascha. Also added to the problem was the observance of the vernal equinox: the West used March 18th and the East March 21st. Finally, in 325 A.D. at the First Ecumenical Council in Nicea, the Church officially addressed the problem and stated how to determine the date of Pascha. The following rules are to be applied: 1) Pascha must be celebrated after the vernal equinox; 2) it must be celebrated after the first full moon following the vernal equinox; 3) it must be celebrated on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox; 4) and it must also follow the seven day period of the Passover. |
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| Saint
Michael's Orthodox Church 465 Morris Street Clymer, PA 15728 Very Rev. R. Michael Zak, Pastor Phone: (724) 254-4343 |
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