The Holy See has allowed the various rites the freedom to celebrate with the Gregorian or the Julian calendar. The Catholics Bishops of the Holy Land have thus concluded, in order to strengthen the Christian unity in places, where the son of God was born on earth, lived and died on the cross, to follow the Julian Calendar which the Orthodox Christians also use.
From Gregorian to Julian Calendar
The ecumenical gesture which has significant importance also has to do with questions which are significant to members of the Latin and Oriental rites.
Lent, Easter and Pentecost will be celebrated according to a decree published yesterday by the Latin Patriarchate, according to the Julian Calendar, and thus was a suggestion triggered by the Bishops' Synod for the Near East in 2010. The decision addressed the paradox of different feast times in the same territory, and with that the element of division which has reached even into families.
The Ruling is Valid for 2013 ad experimentum
The decree will be issued ad experimentum only for the year of 2013. In 2014 in any case, the dates for Easter fall on the 20th of April and without any help, together on the same day. Til the year 2015 the Latin Patriarchate and the Holy See will meet for a final ruling. The Catholic Bishops of the Holy Land are prepared to give their agreement to a lasting adoption of the Julian Calendar and have expressed the wish that Rome may grant canonical approval.
In Israel, Palestinian Areas, Jordan and Cyprus the Western and Eastern Churches Celebrate Together
For the year of 2013 the ruling will effect the Catholic parishes of Israel, Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Cyrpus and then the complete sphere of influence of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. There will be at least two exceptions in 2013. The parishes of Jerusalem and Bethlehem will celebrate according to the Gregorian Calendar during Easter on the 31st of March.
Exceptions exist in the Holy Sites of Jerusalem and Bethlehem because of the complicated legal system
Both exceptions are dependent upon the legal status quo, which date back to an Ottoman decree which certified the exact times the various confessions would use the various sites. These ordinances are expected to change in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, yet are at present unforeseen where the various confessions are eager to fight for every centimeter and every minute in the Holy Site. For the Catholic pilgrims who will visit the Holy Land and want to celebrate Easter in Jerusalem or Bethlehem, nothing will change.
The sign, which has been established by Catholics for the coming year, will be highly visible for the Christians in the Near East. In the Holy Land the divisions between Christians is clearly visible. It is not seldom that there is evidence of physical animosity between the confessions. The Latin Patriarchate wants to make a gesture of good will with this one-sided step and express the desire that for the faithful, whose families, might celebrate the feast at the same time.
Benedict XVI's desire For Worldwide Easter Between Orient and Occident
Pope Benedict XVI. has expressed many times the hope that Catholics and Orthodox will come to an accord for the celebration of the feast of Easter. The Holy Land represents the first step for that.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: Sizemore Insights
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