{"id":579747,"date":"2026-03-31T14:02:41","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T11:02:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/korabelov.info\/2026\/03\/579747\/the-pope-and-the-ecumenical-patriarch-are-discussing-a-joint-easter-if-they-agree-ukraine-will-celebrate-together\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T14:02:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T11:02:44","slug":"the-pope-and-the-ecumenical-patriarch-are-discussing-a-joint-easter-if-they-agree-ukraine-will-celebrate-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/korabelov.info\/en\/2026\/03\/579747\/the-pope-and-the-ecumenical-patriarch-are-discussing-a-joint-easter-if-they-agree-ukraine-will-celebrate-together\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch are discussing a joint Easter: if they agree, Ukraine will celebrate together"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch began talks last year on agreeing a common date for celebrating Easter for Christians of the Western and Eastern traditions. The head of the information department of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Father Ihor Yatsiv, told the news outlet “Ukrinform” about the progress of this dialogue, noting that if an agreement is reached the churches would celebrate the Resurrection together.<\/p>\n

According to the UGCC representative, since 1 September 2023<\/strong> the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, together with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, has moved to a new calendar style, but Easter is still calculated according to the old paschalion. In many UGCC communities outside Ukraine the Western system for determining the date of Easter is already in use.<\/p>\n

Explaining how this has affected the liturgical cycle, Father Ihor Yatsiv gave examples of immovable feasts and stressed that the paschalion has not changed so far.<\/p>\n

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\u2014 This means that feasts such as Christmas, Theophany, and the Dormition of the Mother of God, which fall on fixed dates each year, are celebrated on the same day \u2014 together with the rest of the world. Regarding Easter, the paschalion has remained as it was.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In the priest\u2019s view, the optimal solution would be to agree on a single paschalion at the level of church leaders, which would allow the celebrations to be synchronized.<\/p>\n

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\u2014 Ideally, the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople would agree on the date of a common paschalion. Unfortunately, this has not happened yet, but we have good signals that this dialogue has been initiated.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He also noted that the issue of a common date was at the center of attention during the celebration of the 1700th anniversary<\/strong> of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea<\/strong>, where meetings between the Pope and the Patriarch took place.<\/p>\n

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\u2014 As soon as agreements are reached at that level, we in Ukraine will automatically celebrate Easter all together.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The date of Easter changes every year because it is determined by the church paschalion: the feast falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon that occurs after the nominal vernal equinox. The difference between the Orthodox and Catholic dates is due to different calendars and calculation systems. In 2026<\/strong> Orthodox and Greek Catholics will celebrate Easter on 12 April<\/strong>, while Roman Catholics will celebrate it on 5 April<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Earlier we wrote:<\/h3>\n