This is why Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter later:
Easter is one of the movable holidays and takes place on a different date every year. It always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon in spring and can therefore generally be anywhere between March 22nd and April 25th.
- In the orthodox churches, however, Easter is calculated according to the Julian calendar and is therefore celebrated later.
- Because: According to this calendar, the beginning of spring is celebrated 13 days later than in the Gregorian calendar.
- This period also affects Easter. The date for Orthodox Easter in 2023 is April 16.
- In comparison: The rest of Christianity celebrates Easter this year on April 9th.
- But of course there is also the custom in the Orthodox Church to fast 40 days before Easter. This is meant to commemorate the time when Jesus was fasting in the desert.
There are Orthodox Christians in these countries:
In 1054 AD there was a split between the Catholic and the Orthodox Church due to differences in belief. This split is known today as the Oriental Schism. Both faiths still exist today.
- Most Orthodox Christians in the world live in Russia. However, many do not actively practice their religion.
- In Ethiopia, too, there are many Orthodox Christians in the population. One of the reasons for this is that the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the largest and oldest church in relation to the population. In second place is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which became independent from the Russian Orthodox Church after the collapse of the USSR.
Easter in Orthodox communities:
There are also many Orthodox Christians in Romania, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Belarus, Egypt and Georgia. They celebrate Easter differently than the Catholics:
- The Easter customs are very different in all these religious communities. In many Russian Orthodox communities, for example, it is customary to spread the Good News of the Resurrection at Easter by placing Easter eggs on the graves of the deceased.
- In Greece, on the other hand, a feast with lamb and traditional Easter bread plays an important role at Easter.
