Important Dates in the Lives of Jesus and Mary 

be the correct day for the celebration of Mary's birth. And the other days of the liturgical calendar will be able 

to be placed in their proper month and day also. 

    Second, moving the Spring Equinox to March 23 removes a current obstacle to the unification of all the 

Christian Churches in One Holy Catholic Church. Orthodox Christians still follow the Julian calendar system, 

which places leap years every four years without exception. This system results in a calendar year which, on 

average, is slightly longer than the true solar year. The result is that the date given for the Spring Equinox has 

receded through the Julian calendar. Currently, the Julian calendar calls the day of the Spring Equinox, March 

7. In the Gregorian calendar, the same day is called March 20. During the time of Christ's Ministry, the day of 

the Spring Equinox was generally called March 23. In order to have a unified Christian Church, we must have 

a unified Christian calendar. All Christians should be able to agree that the day of the Spring Equinox of 

Jerusalem should be given the same calendar day as it was during Christ's Ministry. 

A Uniform Date for Easter 

    In the early Church, there was a controversy about when to celebrate the Crucifixion and Resurrection of 

Christ. Christ died on a Friday, which was also the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan. Since Nisan 14 

does not always fall on a Friday, Christians had to decide whether to celebrate the Passion of Christ always on 

a Friday, regardless of the number of the day, or always on the 14th of the month, regardless of the day of the 

week. The eventual decision of the Church was to celebrate the Crucifixion always on a Friday, Good Friday, 

and so also to celebrate the Resurrection always on a Sunday, Easter Sunday.

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    Similarly today, the Christian Church is divided concerning when to celebrate Good Friday and Easter 

Sunday. We all celebrate these events on a Friday and a Sunday, but not on the same Friday and Sunday. The 

basis for such a decision must be the life of Christ. Since Christ's death and Resurrection occurred at the 

beginning of Passover, and Passover was determined by the Spring Equinox and the lunar cycle, Easter should 

be determined by mean of the Spring Equinox and the lunar cycle. 

    The current date for Easter is determined based on the date of the Spring Equinox of Jerusalem from the 

year 

A.D.

 325 (the year of the Council of Nicaea), which was March 20 in the Julian calendar. The date for 

Easter used by Catholics and Protestants does not depend on the current date for the Spring Equinox, but 

rather still uses the fixed date of March 20, in the Gregorian calendar. Easter is the first Sunday after the first 

full moon after March 20. However, the date used for the full moon is not the exact astronomical full moon for 

Jerusalem, nor for any specific location, but is based on charts giving an approximate date for the full moon 

(termed the Ecclesiastical Full Moon).

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    In the Julian calendar, the date given for the Spring Equinox of Jerusalem has gradually changed to its 

current date of approx. March 7. This change from March 23 to March 7 for the Spring Equinox occurred 

because the Julian calendar system has too many leap days, approximately 3 too many leap days for every 400 

years. The excessive number of leap days leads to a calendar year which is, on average, longer than the true 

solar year. Thus the date given to the Spring Equinox of Jerusalem in the Julian calendar now differs by 13 

days from the Gregorian calendar date of March 20, and by 16 days from the date during the time of Christ's 

Ministry (March 23). 

    The Orthodox Church still uses the date of March 20 in the Julian calendar to determine the date of Easter, 

even though the Spring Equinox in the Julian calendar now falls on March 7. The date of March 20 in the 

Julian calendar was the date established by the Council of Nicaea in determining dates for Easter. Since the 

date of March 20 in the Julian calendar now falls 13 days later than the date of March 20 in the  Gregorian 

calendar, the dates for Easter in the East and West usually do not agree. Easter is generally celebrated at a later 

date in the East than in the West. 

    The main source of the different dates for Easter is the use of the fixed date of March 20 in place of the date 

of the Spring Equinox. If all Christians would agree to use the actual date for the Spring Equinox, then all 

Christians will be able to agree on a uniform date for Easter. The correct placement of the Spring Equinox is 

essential to any calendar system which seeks to conform itself to the true dates of events in the life of Jesus 

Christ. All Christians should agree on when to celebrate the Crucifixion and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus 

Christ. A uniform date for Easter requires a uniform date for the Spring Equinox. The date for the Spring 

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