Easter - What are people celebrating March 31 2024

Polycarp was a 2nd-century Christian bishop of Smyrna, now modern-day Izmir in Turkey. He is regarded as an Apostolic Father, one of the three chief Apostolic Fathers, along with Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch. His importance lies in his link to the apostolic age, as he was a disciple of John the Apostle. Polycarp was known for his piety and his stand against heresy. He was martyred at the age of 86, and the account of his martyrdom is one of the earliest preserved, authentic records of Christian martyrdom.

The Quartodeciman controversy was an early dispute in Christianity regarding the date for celebrating Easter. Quartodecimanism refers to the practice of celebrating Easter on the 14th of Nisan, the date of the Jewish Passover, regardless of which day of the week it fell. This practice was particularly prevalent in Asia Minor and was supported by Polycarp, who claimed to have received it from John the Apostle. In contrast, the Roman Church celebrated Easter on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. The controversy was significant because it highlighted the tension between the Jewish roots of Christianity anon Sunday d the desire of the church to establish a distinct Christian identity. The dispute was eventually settled in favor of the Roman practice at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD.

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The Roman Church in 2024 is Celebrating Easter on Sunday March 31.

The Eastern Orthodox Church is celebrating Easter on Sunday May 5th.

Christians who go by the bible and Jews will celebrate PASSOVER on Monday April 22, Sundown Monday starts the Paschal Sabbath (First Day of Unleavened Bread). Jesus had to be off the cross and in the tomb before Sundown which commences the Paschal Sabbath in the bible, referred to in many english bibles as the "High Sabbath".

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Melito of Sardis was one of the leaders of the Quartodecimans, who celebrated Easter on the 14th of Nisan, the same day as the Jewish Passover. He believed that this was the original and apostolic tradition, and that the other Christians who celebrated Easter on a different date were following a human invention. He wrote a letter to the emperor Marcus Aurelius, asking him to stop the persecution of the Christians and to respect their freedom of worship. In this letter, he criticized the non-Quartodecimans for celebrating Easter on a different date than the Jews, and for following the “error of the nations” and the “decree of Caesar.”¹

By the “error of the nations,” Melito meant the pagan customs and practices that influenced the way some Christians calculated the date of Easter. He accused them of adopting the solar calendar of the Romans, instead of the lunar calendar of the Jews, and of following the cycles of the sun and the moon, instead of the word of God. He also implied that they were compromising their faith by conforming to the world, and by mixing the Christian celebration of the resurrection with the pagan celebration of the spring equinox.²

By the “decree of Caesar,” Melito meant the imperial authority that enforced the uniformity of the date of Easter. He claimed that the non-Quartodecimans were obeying the orders of the emperor, instead of the commands of Christ. He also suggested that they were betraying their loyalty to God, by submitting to a human ruler, and by accepting a political decision over a religious one.³

Melito's purpose in using this phrase was to defend the Quartodeciman practice of celebrating Easter on the 14th of Nisan, and to challenge the non-Quartodeciman practice of celebrating Easter on a different date. He wanted to show that the Quartodecimans were faithful to the original and apostolic tradition, and that the non-Quartodecimans were deviating from it. He also wanted to show that the Quartodecimans were loyal to God, and that the non-Quartodecimans were loyal to Caesar. He wanted to persuade the emperor to respect the diversity of the Christian communities, and to allow them to celebrate Easter according to their own conscience.⁴

Source: Conversation with Bing, 1/14/2024
(1) Easter Controversy | Encyclopedia.com. https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/easter-controversy.
(2) How the celebration of Easter caused dramatic conflicts within the .... https://www.historyskills.com/classroom/ancient-history/easter-controversy/.
(3) Worship: The Passover-Easter-Quartodeciman Controversy. https://www.gci.org/articles/the-passover-easter-quartodeciman-controversy/.
(4) undefined. https://pixabay.com/photos/cross-jesus-believe-church-4941685/.
(5) undefined. https://pixabay.com/vectors/last-supper-jesus-leonardo-da-vinci-4997322/.
(6) undefined. https://pixabay.com/photos/christ-icon-hagia-sophia-istanbul-1618197/.