Bishop leads backlash against fixed date for Easter

Mar 27, 2016 by Jill

by John Bingham, Telegraph:

Arguments over Easter date could make rows over same-sex marriage look easy, warns Bishop of Salisbury.

A prominent Church of England bishop has spoken out against plans by the world’s main Christian denominations to fix the date of Easter to the same Sunday every year.

Anglican primates agreed earlier this year to join discussions involving Coptic Orthodox and Roman Catholic leaders to set a common date for the festival for the first time.

Such a move would not only simplify economic planning but unite different traditions around the world and end almost 2,000 years of theological controversy.

However the Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Rev Nicholas Holtam, warned that the move would detach Christianity from its Jewish roots by breaking the link between the timing of Easter and Passover.

According to the New Testament, Jesus was crucified during the Passover festival and the Last Supper, commemorated in the Christian Communion service, is widely thought to have been a Passover meal.

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Read also: It’s Easter Sunday! But what are we celebrating this weekend? by Cameron Mcphail, Telegraph