Tomorrow night many of the world’s 300 million Orthodox believers will gather in their churches to see in Easter. The great feast will arrive with a blaze of candlelight and a blast of choral singing. On the following day, Catholics will mark the Sixth Sunday of Easter. In places where large numbers of Orthodox and Catholic believers live side by side, the effect is bizarre: to outsiders, there seem to be two Easters a month apart. As Pope Francis has joked, Catholics and Orthodox could say to one another: “When did Christ rise from the dead? My Christ rose today, and yours next week.”
The reason for the different Easter dates is simple: the Eastern Orthodox use the Julian Calendar, established in 46 BC, while Catholics follow the Gregorian Calendar, introduced in the 16th century. Sometimes Orthodox and Catholic Easters fall on the same day (as they will in 2017). In other years, such as this one, they are as many as five weeks apart.
The disagreement over the date of Easter suggests the vast psychological distance between the two communions. Many Catholics know little about the Orthodox, and vice versa. Where there isn’t ignorance, there is sometimes mistrust: the bitter fruit of almost 1,000 years of separation.
But this year could potentially be a happy one for Catholic-Orthodox relations. In June Orthodox leaders will gather in Crete for the Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church. Dubbed “the Orthodox Vatican II” (though the analogy is imperfect), this gathering has been in preparation since 1961. One of the six items on the agenda is “Relations of the Orthodox Church with the Rest of the Christian World”.
Pope Francis has made two big moves this year that seem designed to nudge the synod in a pro-Rome direction. The first was his historic meeting with Russian Orthodox leader Patriarch Kirill in Havana this February. The encounter disturbed Ukrainian Catholics, but marked a breakthrough in relations with one of the most influential of the 14 self-governing Orthodox churches. The second was the Pope’s visit to Lesbos, flanked by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and the Orthodox Archbishop of Athens. The trip was a beautiful illustration of the Pope’s conviction that Catholics and other Christians should draw closer through shared acts of charity. Francis’s hope must be that when the Orthodox hierarchy discuss ecumenism in June they will realise that the Catholic Church is committed to seeking unity in word and deed.
In 2007, Catholic and Orthodox theologians reaffirmed that the Bishop of Rome is the protos, or first, among bishops. Francis has gone to great lengths to show that this position is not one of dominance but service. We will find out soon if he has persuaded Orthodox leaders that the Pope is not an enemy but an ally.
The Lutheran Church in Norway, after a vote by its governing synod, has begun to conduct same-sex weddings. The Catholic bishops of Norway have decided, in the wake of this, that it would be better for them not to conduct civil weddings, and are asking the Vatican for permission to do this.
In the United Kingdom, as in Norway and in many other countries, when a priest marries a couple in a Catholic church, he also acts as an “authorised person” on behalf of the state, and conducts a civil wedding at the same time. In France, by contrast, priests marry couples in church after the couple have been to la mairie for their civil wedding. The religious and civil weddings are separate ceremonies, and the state takes no interest whatever in religious weddings.
One can see why the Norwegian Church wants to get out of the business of conducting weddings on behalf of the state: it fears pressure to conduct same-sex weddings, and understandably worries about having to refuse such requests when they come, as they surely will. Given that a civil wedding in Norway (as in Britain) makes no distinction between opposite-sex and same-sex couples, it is surely wise to put clear blue water between marriage as it has always been understood (the lifelong union between a man and a woman for the procreation of children) and the contemporary wedding.
One result of separating civil and religious weddings would be the necessity of Catholic couples having two ceremonies, one in front of the registrar and one before the priest. But couples in France have lived with this for a long time, and couples in Norway would soon get used to it. Again, such a separation would underline the parting of the ways between Church and state, between religious revealed truth and contemporary perceived truth. Given the mission of the Church to be counter-cultural, would that be such a bad thing?
One matter is certain: priests could well do without the administration of civil weddings and the paperwork that entails. Should Britain follow where Norway leads?
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic.
However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us.
We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching.
We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values. Please consider donating.