One piece of recent Orthodox history and continued current controversy that often strikes those first learning about the church as odd is the controversy between the old and new, or Julian and revised Julian, calendars. For those outside the church, and even some inside, this controversy may seem odd. The difference in celebrating the immovable feasts two weeks earlier or later may seem almost irrelevant. The tenacity with which people hold to one calendar or the other and the vehemence which the arguments between them can reach may seem strange or misplaced. The idea that it is one date for everyone else in the world and a different date at church in an old calendar parish may even seem fanciful…
In 1 Corinthians 5:7, St. Paul states that Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us. Though St. Paul’s identification is incredibly clear and straightforward, the identification of Christ as Passover lamb and of his death and resurrection as a new Passover are ubiquitous in the scriptures. In Orthodox liturgical practice in English, we tend not to translate the word Pascha. Pascha is simply the Greek word for Passover wherever it occurs liturgically. Therefore, we call our festal celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection ‘Passover’ on a regular basis. The Old Testament establishes patterns of God’s working with humanity and in his creation, including our redemption. These patterns are then taken up and fulfilled, i.e. filled to overflowing, by Christ. …
