Reform of The Date of Easter - Fixed Date

Fixed Date

It has been proposed that the first problem could be resolved by making Easter occur on a fixed date every year, or alternatively on a Sunday within a fixed range of seven dates. While tying it to one fixed date would serve to underline the belief that Easter commemorates an actual historical event, without an accompanying calendar reform it would also break the tradition of Easter always being on a Sunday, established since the 2nd century AD and by now deeply embedded in the liturgical practice and theological understanding of almost all Christian denominations.

The two most widespread proposals for fixing the date of Easter would set it on either the second Sunday in April (8 to 14), or the Sunday after the second Saturday in April (9 to 15). In both schemes, account has been taken of the fact that—in spite of the many difficulties in establishing the dates of the historical events involved—many scholars attribute a high degree of probability to Friday April 7, 30, as the date of the crucifixion of Jesus, which would make April 9 the date of the Resurrection. Another date which is supported by many scholars is April 3, 33, making April 5 the date of the Resurrection. Many churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, have stated that they have no objection in principle to fixing the date of Easter in this way, but no serious discussions have yet taken place on implementing such a change.

In the late 1920s and 1930s, this idea gained some momentum (along with other calendar reform proposals, such as the World Calendar), and in 1928 a law was passed in the United Kingdom authorising an Order in Council which would fix the date of Easter in that country as the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April. However, this was never implemented. In 1977, some Eastern Orthodox representatives objected to separating the date of Easter from lunar phases.