Easter Controversy
Ecclesiastical history preserves the memory of three distinct phases of the dispute regarding the proper time of observing Easter. It will add to clearness if we in the first place state what is certain regarding the date and the nature of these three categories .
First phase
The first was mainly concerned with the lawfulness of celebrating Easter on a weekday. We read in Eusebius ( Church History V.23 ): "A question of no small importance arose at that time [i. e. the time of Pope Victor. about A. D. 190]. The dioceses of all Asia. as from an older tradition. held that the fourteenth day of the moon, on which day the Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb. should always be observed as the feast of the life-giving pasch [ epi tes tou soteriou Pascha heortes ], contending that the fast ought to end on that day, whatever day of the week it might happen to be. However it was not the custom of the churches in the rest of the world to end it at this point, as they observed the practice, which from Apostolic tradition has prevailed to the present time, of terminating the fast on no other day than on that of the Resurrection of our Saviour. Synods and assemblies of bishops were held on this account, and all with one consent through mutual correspondence drew up an ecclesiastical decree that the mystery of the Resurrection of the Lord should be celebrated on no other day but the Sunday and that we should observe the close of the paschal fast on that day only." These words of the Father of Church History. followed by some extracts which he makes from the controversial letters of the time, tell us almost all that we know concerning the paschal controversy in its first stage. A letter of St. Irenæus is among the extracts just referred to, and this shows that the diversity of practice regarding Easter had existed at least from the time of Pope Sixtus (c. 120). Further, Irenaeus states that St. Polycarp. who like the other Asiatics. kept Easter on the fourteenth day of the moon, whatever day of the week that might be, following therein the tradition which he claimed to have derived from St. John the Apostle. came to Rome c. 150 about this very question, but could not be persuaded by Pope Anicetus to relinquish his Quartodeciman observance. Nevertheless he was not debarred from communion with the Roman Church. and St. Irenæus. while condemning the Quartodeciman practice, nevertheless reproaches Pope Victor (c. 189-99) with having excommunicated the Asiatics too precipitately and with not having followed the moderation of his predecessors. The question thus debated was therefore primarily whether Easter was to be kept on a Sunday. or whether Christians should observe the Holy Day of the Jews. the fourteenth of Nisan, which might occur on any day of the week. Those who kept Easter with the Jews were called Quartodecimans or terountes (observants); but even in the time of Pope Victor this usage hardly extended beyond the churches of Asia Minor. After the pope's strong measures the Quartodecimans seem to have gradually dwindled away. Origen in the "Philosophumena" (VIII, xviii) seems to regard them as a mere handful of wrong-headed nonconformists .
Second phase
The second stage in the Easter controversy centres round the Council of Nicaea (A. D. 325). Granted that the great Easter festival was always to be held on a Sunday. and was not to coincide with a particular phase of the moon, which might occur on any day of the week, a new dispute arose as to the determination of the Sunday itself. The text of the decree of the Council of Nicaea which settled, or at least indicated a final settlement of, the difficulty has not been preserved to us, but we have an important document inserted in Eusebius's "Life of Constantine" (III, xviii sq.). The emperor himself, writing to the Churches after the Council of Nicaea. exhorts them to adopt its conclusions and says among other things: "At this meeting the question concerning the most holy day of Easter was discussed, and it was resolved by the united judgment of all present that this feast ought to be kept by all and in every place on one and the same day. And first of all it appeared an unworthy thing that in the celebration of the Jews. who have impiously defiled their hands with enormous sin. for we have received from our Saviour a different way. And I myself have undertaken that this decision should meet with the approval of your Sagacities in the hope that your Wisdoms will gladly admit that practice which is observed at once in the city of Rome and in Africa. throughout Italy and in Egypt. with entire unity of judgment ." From this and other indications which cannot be specified here ( see, e. g. Eusebius. "De Paschate" in Schmid. "Osterfestfrage", pp. 58-59) we learn that the dispute now lay between the Christians of Syria and Mesopotamia and the rest of the world. The important Church of Antioch was still dependent upon the Jewish calendar for its Easter. The Syrian Christians always held their Easter festival on the Sunday after the Jews kept their Pasch. On the other hand at Alexandria. and seemingly throughout the rest of the Roman Empire, the Christians calculated the time of Easter for themselves, paying no attention to the Jews. In this way the date of Easter as kept at Alexandria and Antioch did not always agree; for the Jews. upon whom Antioch depended, adopted very arbitrary methods of intercalating embolismic months (see CALENDAR. Bol. II, p. 158) before they celebrated Nisan, the first spring month, on the fourteenth day of which the paschal lamb was killed. In particular we learn that they had become neglectful (or at least the Christians of Rome and Alexandria declared they were neglectful) of the law that the fourteenth of Nisan must never precede the equinox (see Schwartz, Christliche und judische Ostertafeln, pp. 138 sqq.). Thus Constantine in the letter quoted above protests with horror that the Jews sometimes kept two Paschs in one year, meaning that two Paschs sometimes fell between one equinox and the next.
The Alexandrians. on the other hand, accepted it as a first principle that the Sunday to be kept as Easter Day must necessarily occur after the vernal equinox, then identified with 21 March of the Julian year. This was the main difficulty which was decided by the Council of Nicaea. Even among the Christians who calculated Easter for themselves there had been considerable variations (partly due to a divergent reckoning of the date of the equinox), and as recently as 314, in the Council of Arles. it had been laid down that in future Easter should be kept uno die et uno tempore per omnem orbem . and that to secure this uniformity the pope should send out letters to all the Churches. The Council of Nicaea seems to have extended further the principle here laid down. As already stated, we have not its exact words, but we may safely infer from scattered notices that the council ruled:
that Easter must be celebrated by all throughout the world on the same Sunday ;
that this Sunday must follow the fourteenth day of the paschal moon;
that that moon was to be accounted the paschal moon whose fourteenth day followed the spring equinox;
that some provision should be made, probably by the Church of Alexandria as best skilled in astronomical calculations, for determining the proper date of Easter and communicating it to the rest of the world (see St. Leo to the Emperor Marcian in Migne. P. L. LIV, 1055).
This ruling of the Council of Nicaea did not remove all difficulties nor at once win universal acceptance among the Syrians. But to judge from the strongly worded canon i of the Council of Antioch (A. D. 341; see Hefele-Leclereq, "Conciles", I, 714), as also from the language of the Apostolic Constitutions and Canons (see Schmid. Osterfestfrage, p. 63), the Syrian bishops loyally co-operated in carrying into effect the decision of the Council of Nicaea. In Rome and Alexandria the lunar cycles by which the occurrence of Easter was determined was not uniform. Rome. after the hundred-and-twelve year cycle of Hippolytus. adopted an eighty-four year cycle, but neither gave satisfactory results. Alexandria adhered to the more accurate nineteen-year cycle of Meton. But it seems to be clearly established by the most recent researches (see Schwartz, op. cit. pp. 28-29) that the lunar cycles were never understood to be more than aids towards ascertaining the correct date of Easter. also that where the calculations of Rome and Alexandria led to divergent results, compromises were made upon both sides and that the final decision always lay with accepted ecclesiastical authority.
Third phase
It was to the divergent cycles which Rome had successively adopted and rejected in its attempt to determine Easter more accurately that the third stage in the paschal controversy was mainly due. The Roman missionaries coming to England in the time of St. Gregory the Great found the British Christians. the representatives of that Christianity which had been introduced into Britain during the period of the Roman occupation, still adhering to an ancient system of Easter-computation which Rome itself had laid aside. The British and Irish Christians were not Quartodecimans. as some unwarrantably accused them of being, for they kept the Easter festival upon a Sunday. They are supposed (e. g. by Krusch) to have observed an eight-four year cycle and not the five-hundred and thirty two year cycle of Victorius which was adopted in Gaul. but the most recent investigator of the question (Schwartz, p. 103) declares it to be impossible to determine what system they followed and himself inclines to the opinion that they derived their rule for the determining of Easter direct from Asia Minor. ( See, however, the very opposite conclusions of Joseph Schmid. ("Die Osterfestberechnung auf den britischen Inseln", 1904.) The story of this controversy, which together with the difference in the shape of tonsure. seems to have prevented all fraternization between the British Christians and the Roman missionaries. is told at length in the pages of Bede. The British appealed to the tradition of St. John. the Romans to that of St. Peter. both sides with little reason. and neither without the suspicion of forgery. It was not until the Synod of Whitby in 664 that the Christians of Northern Britain. who had derived their instruction in the Faith from the Scottish (i. e. Irish ) missionaries. at last at the instance of Bishop Wilfrid and through the example of King Oswy accepted the Roman system and came into friendly relations with the bishops of the South. Even then in Ireland and in parts of the North some years passed before the adoption of the Roman Easter became general (Moran, Essays on the Origin, Doctrines and Discipline of the Early Irish Church. Dublin, 1864).
Points of obscurity
These are the facts regarding the Easter controversy which are now generally admitted. Many other subsidiary details have an important bearing on the case but are more matters of conjecture. There is, for example, the perplexing doubt whether the Crucifixion of Christ took place on the fourteenth or fifteenth of Nisan. The Synoptists seem to favour the latter, St. John the former date. Clearly we should expect to find that according to the answer given to this question, the position of the earliest possible Easter Sunday in the lunar month would also change. Again, there is the problem, much debated by modern scholars, whether the Pasch which the early Christians desired to commemorate was primarily the Passion or the Resurrection of Christ. Upon this point also our date do not admit of a very positive answer. It has been very strongly urged that the writers of the first two centuries who speak of the Pasch have always in view the pascha staurosimon . the Crucifixion Day, when Jesus Christ Himself was offered as the Victim, the antitype of the Jewish paschal lamb. Supporters of this opinion often contend that the Resurrection was held to be sufficiently commemorated by the weekly Sunday. on the vigil of which the night-watch was kept, the Liturgy being celebrated in the morning. In any case it must be admitted that while in the New Testament we have definite mention of the observance of the Sunday. or "Lord's Day", there is no conclusive evidence in the first century or more of the keeping of the Pasch as a festival. Some are inclined to think that the Christian Easter first appears as setting a term to the great paschal fast which, as we learn from Irenaeus. was very variously kept in the sub-Apostolic Age. Another class of obscure and rather intricate questions, about which it is difficult to speak positively, regards the limits of the paschal period as laid down by the computation of rome before the tables of Dionysius Exiguus and the Metonic cycle were finally adopted there in 525. According to one system Easter Day might fall between the fourteenth and twentieth day inclusive of the paschal moon; and although this implies that when Easter fell on the fourteenth it coincided with the Jewish Pasch. the Roman Church. observing its eighty-four-year cycle, at one time permitted this (so at least Krusch contends; see "Der 84-jahrige Ostercyclus und seine Quellen", pp. 20 and 65). Certain it is that the data of the supputatio Romana did not always agree with those of Alexandria. and in particular it seems that Rome. rejecting 22 March as the earliest possible date of Easter. only allowed the 23rd, while, on the other hand, the latest possible date according to the Roman system was 21 April. This sometimes brought about an impasse which was relieved only by accepting the Alexandrian solution. Other computations allowed Easter to fall between the fifteenth and twenty-first day of the paschal moon and others between the sixteenth and the twenty - second.
What is perhaps most important to remember. both in the solution adopted in 525 and in that officially put forward at the time of the reform of the Calendar by Gregory XIII. is this, that the Church throughout held that the determination of Easter was primarily a matter of ecclesiastical discipline and not of astronomical science. As Professor De Morgan long ago clearly recognized, the moon according to which Easter is calculated is not the moon in the heavens nor even the mean moon, i. e. a moon traveling with the average motion of the real moon, but simply the moon of the calendar. This calendar moon is admittedly a fiction, though it departs very little from the actual astronomical facts; but in following the simple rule given for the dependence of Easter upon the moon of the calendar. uniformity is secured for all countries of the world. According to this rule, Easter Sunday is the first Sunday which occurs after the first full moon (or more accurately after the first fourteenth day of the moon) following the 21st of March. As a result, the earliest possible date of Easter is 22 March, the latest 25 April.
Sources
The bibliography of this subject is vast, and most ecclesiastical encyclopedias devote more or less space to it. For practical purposes the text and notes of HEFELE-LECLERCQ, Conciles, I, 133-151 and 450-488, supply all that is necessary; though LECLERCQ refers to the article Comput paschal in the Dictionnaire d'Archéologie for fuller treatment.
Among the more important contributions to the subject the following may be named: KRUSCH, Studien zur christlichmittelalterlichen Chronologie (Leipzig, 1880); IDEM in Neues Archiv (1884), 101-169; RUHL, Chronologie des Mittelalters und der Neuzeit (Berlin, 1897), 110-165; SCHMID, Die Osterfestfrage auf dem ersten allgemeinen Conzil von Nicaa (Vienna, 1905); IDEM, Die Osterfestberechnung auf den britischen Inseln (Ratisbon, 1904); HILGENFELD, Der Paschastreit der alten Kirche (1860); SCHWARTZ, Christliche und judische Ostertafeln (Berlin, 1905) in the Abhandlungen of the Gottingen academy: this is a work of the very highest importance; SCHURER, Die Passastreitigkeit en des 2. Jahrhunderts in Zeitschrift f. histor. Theol. (1870); DUCHESNE, Hist. Anc. de l'Église (Paris, 1906), I, 285-291; KELLNER, Heortologie (1906); DUCHESNE in Revue des Quest. Hist. (1880); ANSCOMBE and TURNER in Eng. Historical Review (1895), 515, 699; WICKLN in Journal of Philology (1901), 137-151. See also the bibliography given under CHRONOLOGY, GENERAL; and DOMINICAL LETTER.
About this page
APA citation. Thurston, H. (1909). Easter Controversy. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www. newadvent. org/cathen/05228a. htm
MLA citation. Thurston, Herbert. "Easter Controversy." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. <http://www. newadvent. org/cathen/05228a. htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Michael T. Barrett.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. May 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
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Bethany-Beyond-The-Jordan
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The Baptism Site (Arabic: el-Maghtas ) on the Jordan side of the Jordan River is one of the most important recent discoveries in biblical archaeology. Excavations only began here in 1996, following Jordan's peace treaty with Israel in 1994, but have already uncovered more than 20 churches, caves and baptismal pools dating from the Roman and Byzantine periods.
Although the identification is not absolutely certain, archaeology has shown that the area known as Wadi Kharrar has long been believed to be the biblical Bethany-beyond-the-Jordan . where John the Baptist lived and Jesus was baptized.
This area is also associated with the ascension of the Prophet Elijah into heaven, which is commemorated at a hill called Tell Mar Elias .
Note: This Bethany should not be confused with Bethany in Jerusalem. where Mary Magdalene lived and Lazarus was raised from the dead.
In the Bible
Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the Lord has sent me to the Jordan .". Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan . Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. (2 Kings 2:6-12)
Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" "I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie." This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan . where John was baptizing. (John 1:25-28)
Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. Here he stayed and many people came to him. They said, "Though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true." And in that place many believed in Jesus. (John 10:40-42)
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.". People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River . (Luke 3:1, 5-6)
And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River . At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert. (Mark 1:4-5, 9-12)
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:13-17)
When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. (Luke 3:21-23)
History of Bethany-Beyond-The-Jordan
The first historical mention of this site is in the writings of the anonymous Pilgrim of Bordeaux in 333 AD, which say Jesus was baptized five Roman miles (7400m) north of the Dead Sea, which is where Wadi Kharrar enters the Jordan River.
The pilgrim Theodosius was the first to mention a church at the Jordan River, which was built at the end of the 5th century by the Emperor Anastasius (491-518) to commemorate St John the Baptist. Built on arcades and square in shape, the church had a marble column with an iron cross marking the spot where the people then thought that Jesus had been baptized.
Various other church writers and pilgrims in the 5th through 7th centuries mentioned churches in the lower Jordan River-Bethany region commemorating the baptism of Christ.
The 7th-century pilgrim Arculf mentioned seeing the ruins of the church at this spot on the east bank, a wooden cross in the river, and steps leading into the water from the west bank. Another nearby chapel was said to have marked the spot where Jesus' clothes were kept while he was being baptized.
In more recent times, the site was long off limits due to its position along a disputed border that was dotted with thousands of land mines. It was only in 1996 . following the peace treaty of 1994 and two years of clearing the mines, that archaeologists were able to excavate Wadi Kharrar.
Using some pre-1948 studies and the early pilgrim accounts as their guide, archaeologists quickly uncovered an astonishing 21 ancient sites . These include five baptismal pools (shallow pools lined with plaster) from the Roman and Byzantine periods; a Byzantine monastery; 11 Byzantine churches (many with mosaics and Greek inscriptions); caves of monks and hermits; and lodgings for pilgrims.
These findings have led most scholars to conclude that this is the biblical Bethany-beyond-the-Jordan . where John baptized Jesus Christ. This is not certain, however, as the ruins do not date to the time of Christ and there are some early sites across the river as well. Some still believe Jesus was baptized on the west bank in Israel, but the majority opinion firmly rests with this site in Jordan.
In January 2000 . on Epiphany, more than 40,000 people gathered at the Baptism Site along with church leaders from 15 world churches in a massive pilgrimage. Shortly after, the Armenian Church officially declared the site to be the location of the baptism fo Christ. And on March 20, Pope John Paul II held an outdoor Mass at the site with 25,000 worshippers in attendance.
What to See at Bethany-Beyond-The-Jordan
Since the excavations of the late 1990s, the site has been extensively developed by the Jordan Tourism Authority, but sensitively so - visitor numbers are controlled and the Visitors' Centre has been located at some distance from the site in an effort to preserve its sanctity. Other facilities include a restaurant, shops, and even a plush VIP Lounge.
The ticket office is at the Visitors' Centre, which has plenty of parking. All private cars are prohibited within the archaeological zone itself, so an electric minibus brings visitors to their choice of three different sites: Tell Mar Elias, the Baptism Pools and/or John the Baptist's Church.
Alternatively, you can walk the 2.5km from the Visitor Centre to Tell Mar Elias, then along the south bank of the Wadi Kharrar for another 2km to John the Baptist's Church and the Jordan River.
Would-be walkers should note that the Baptism Site is located in a desolate and difficult climate . It is nearly the lowest point on earth, at over 350m below sea level. The ground is dry and chalky and vegetaton is sparse except on the banks of the river. The air is thick and hot, with temperatures soaring to 45°C anytime but the winter.
The first stop on most tours of Bethany is Tell Mar Elias ("el-yass"), Elijah's Hill. The small hill has the ruins of three churches, three caves and three baptism pools, accessable by a wooden catwalk. Starting on the west side, a cave forms the apse of a small Byzantine church . with small south and east apses and a few fragments of a mosaic floor.
Northwest of this are the covered ruins of a larger Byzantine church. Built into the apse is a black stone, commemorating the fire that accompanied Elijah's ascent into heaven. The mosaic floor includes a cross made of diamond shapes and a Greek inscription dating it to the time of Rhotorious (which is the early 6th century).
Up a couple steps on the northeastern side of the tell are two pools from the Roman period . one cut later with the addition of a 14m-deep well. Further around the tell is a large rectagular pool, plastered on the bottom and with four steps leading into it. This is believed to have been used for group baptisms.
A few meters south of the tell are a number of other sites of interest. The major one is a large freestanding arch . which was constructed in 1999 out of 63 stones to commemorate the death of King Hussein, who was 63 years old. On March 21, 2000, Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass beneath this arch, and ever since it has been known as the Church of John Paul II.
A few meters from the arch are the foundations of a large rectangular building that has been called a prayer hall . with some fragments of a mosaic floor.
Also nearby is a system of water channels, pools, a well (pulled out of its original round shape by movements of the earth), and a large cistern with its original plastered interior. A smaller cistern was later built nearby. Water was channeled to these from several kilometers away in order to serve all the baptisms that took place here.
Paths lead down from from Tell Mar Elias to a path on the south side of Wadi Kharrar, which passes several Byzantine sites as it heads west towards the Jordan River. One of these, about 500m west of the tell, is a complex of hermits' cells .
Nearby is the Large Baptism Pool . fed by spring water. It is made of rough stone on the bottom section but finely dressed ashlars at the top. Directly above the pool is a promontory on which a building was excavated. Affording fine views of the valley, it may have been a pilgrims' hostel. Baptisms still take place here today.
Just west of the pool is the zor . a deep flood plain flanking the River Jordan on both sides. Steps provide access to two Byzantine hermits' caves with prayer niches. One of them also has three apses.
An 8th-century account records the sojourn here of a monk who fell ill on his way from Jerusalem to Mount Sinai. While recovering from fever in one of these caves, he had a vision of John the Baptist, who said to him, "This little cave is greater than Mount Sinai, for our Lord Jesus Christ himself visited me here."
As Wadi Kharrar approaches the Jordan River, the change in the environment is dramatic and it becomes clear why Prophet Jeremiah described "the jungle of the Jordan " (Jer. 49:19). The dry desert transforms into a tropical climate as the paths lead into a thicket of reeds and tamarisk bushes. The air here is filled with sounds: birdsongs, buzzing insects, and the sound of running water from the 14 springs that flow all around. The name "Kharrar" for this area may actually be an imitation of these sounds.
After five or ten minutes' walking, the path leads into a clearing marked by a modern pool and the ruins of the 7th-century Church of John the Baptist . Here you can see the original altar and mosaic floor, which was originally placed atop an arch to prevent flooding. The support pillars of the arch lie on the north side of the church, in the very spot they fell many centuries ago.
A marble fragment inscribed "IOY. BATT." was found in the church, confirming its dedication to John the Bapist. A Byzantine marble stairway leads from the apse of the church to the Spring of John the Baptist .
Next to this are two more churches . the lower one of which features marble tiles in geometrical shapes. Nearby are marble Corinthian capitals.
About 150m west of the Byzantine church, via a new path through the tamarisks, is the River Jordan itself. Today it is little more than a muddy stream, since much of it is removed upstream for use by Israel and Jordan.
The opposite bank is Israel . where a small 1950s chapel, "baptism site" (for which no archaeological evidence has been found), and copious fences can be seen.
A modern Orthodox church dedicated to St. John the Baptist has been built next to the Jordan River as part of the development of the site. The small church has a golden dome and is painted with Byzantine-style murals inside.
Pilgrimage
Pilgrims to the site can request a religious ceremony at either of the two new baptism pools that have been built along Tell Mar Elias, or at the ancient Large Baptism Pool midway along the wadi. You can bring your own priest or minister or ask (ahead of time) for a local Greek Orthodox priest.
Quick Facts on Bethany-Beyond-The-Jordan
Russian Orthodox Church
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The Russian Orthodox Church ( ROC ; Russian. Русская Православная Церковь. tr. Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov ), alternatively legally known as the Moscow Patriarchate (Russian. Московский Патриархат. Moskovskiy Patriarkhat [ 2 ] ), also known in English as the Orthodox Christian Church of Russia . is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches, in communion with other Eastern Orthodox churches. The Primate of the ROC is the Patriarch of Moscow. The ROC officially ranks fifth - right under the ancient Greek Patriarchates of: Constantinople. Alexandria. Antioch. and Jerusalem. [ 3 ]
It currently claims its exclusive jurisdiction over the Orthodox Christians living in the former member republics of the USSR. excluding Georgia and Armenia. although this claim is disputed in such states as Estonia and Moldova and consequently parallel canonical Orthodox jurisdictions exist in those countries (Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church and Metropolis of Bessarabia. respectively). It also exercises ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the autonomous Church of Japan and the Orthodox Christians resident in the People's Republic of China. The Moscow-based administration of the ROC has exceedingly limited powers over the ROC's constituent semi-autonomous church structures in such countries as Ukraine and Belarus. where, along with the Russian Federation. it enjoys the position of numerically dominant religious organisation.
The ROC should not be confused with the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), another autocephalous (since 1970, albeit not universally recognised in this status) Orthodox Church, that traces its existence in North America to the time of the Russian missionaries in Alaska (then part of the Russian Empire ) in the late 18th century, and still largely adheres to the ROC liturgical tradition .
The ROC should also not be confused with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (also known as the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, or ROCOR), headquartered in New York. The ROCOR was instituted in the 1920s by Russian communities outside then Communist Russia, which refused to recognize the authority of the Moscow Patriarchate then de facto headed by Metropolitan Sergius Stragorodsky. The two Churches reconciled on May 17, 2007; the ROCOR is now a self-governing part of the Russian Orthodox Church.
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History [ edit ]
The Christian community that became the Russian Orthodox Church is traditionally said to have been founded by the Apostle Andrew. who is thought to have visited Scythia and Greek colonies along the northern coast of the Black Sea. According to one of the legends, Andrew reached the future location of Kiev and foretold the foundation of a great Christian city. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] The spot where he reportedly erected a cross is now marked by St. Andrew's Cathedral .
As a result of the Christianization of Kievan Rus' in 988, Prince Vladimir I of Kiev officially adopted Byzantine Rite Christianity — the religion of the Eastern Roman Empire — as the state religion of Kievan Rus'. This date is often considered the official birthday of the Russian Orthodox Church. Thus, in 1988, the Church celebrated its millennial anniversary. It therefore traces its apostolic succession through the Patriarch of Constantinople .
Armenian Apostolic Church
Armenian Apostolic Church , independent Oriental Orthodox Christian church and the national church of Armenia .
According to tradition, Armenia was evangelized by the apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus. Armenia became the first country to adopt Christianity about 300 ce. when St. Gregory the Illuminator converted the Arsacid king Tiridates III. The new Armenian church soon struck a course independent of the founding church at Caesarea Cappadociae (now Kayseri, Turkey), though it developed in close relationship with the Syrians, who provided it with scriptures and liturgy and much of its basic institutional terminology. The Armenian church’s dependence on the Syriac alphabet ended in the 5th century, when Mesrop Mashtots invented an Armenian alphabet and undertook numerous translations of the scriptures into Armenian.
Scholars
Definition of Terms
A. D. Latin: "the year of the Lord." A sectarian designation for dates which always goes before the numerical date. Examples: A. D. 1987. A. D. 70. Dates A. D. are the same as those C. E. Used together with B. C. flh
Angel Greek: "messenger." The Hebrew term mal'ak can refer either to a human messenger such as a prophet or to a heavenly messenger. In the NT the term refers exclusively to heavenly beings. See below: gods . flh
Apocalypse Greek: "revelation." A written account of a vision of the heavenly world and/or of the future. As a genre the apocalypse is characterized by bizarre imagery which the prophet does not understand and which must be explained to him by a heavenly guide. The difficult imagery reflects the understanding of a sectarian group about the meaning of the present time in relation to the heavenly world and about the future. "The Apocalypse" refers to the Book of Revelation. Other apocalypses may be found in Daniel 7-12. flh
Apocalytpic Short for "apocalyptic eschatology ," the understanding of the future based upon a revelation (Greek: apocalypsis ) rather than upon speculation or calculation. flh
Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical Books Greek "hidden," a term employed by St. Jerome (died 420 C. E.). The books in the Greek Septuagint but not in the Hebrew Bible. These books are accepted as canon among most Christian churches, though rejected as canon by the Protestant churches in favor of the shorter list of books found in the Hebrew Bible. Though the exact list differs from church to church, the main collection of "extra books" consists of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Ben Sira (Ecclesiasticus), Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees, and additions to Esther and Daniel. See also Septuagint Vulgate . and Jamnia . flh
Apophthegm A very thin story built up around a saying (of Jesus or of a prophet). The function of the story is to explain or to exemplify the content of the saying, and the interest of the story remains with the saying even when the narrative includes a wondrous act. flh
Aramaic A Semitic language which came to be the official language of the western Persian Empire and, consequently, a language spoken by the Jews during the Persian Period (late sixth century B. C. E.) and continued in use for many centuries thereafter. Portions of Ezra and Daniel are in Aramaic, and a few of Jesus' sayings in the NT are given in Aramaic. flh
Aramaism A Semitism best explained on the basis of Aramaic grammar, syntax, or vocabulary. flh
B. C. English: "before Christ." A sectarian notation to designate dates before the birth of Christ. This notation is placed after the numerical date. Used together with A. D. flh
B. C. E. English: "before the common era," a non-sectarian notation equivalent in meaning to the sectarian B. C. The notation is placed after the numerical date. Used together with C. E. flh
Belief An intellectual conviction of some kind. In the study of religion it usually has reference to an intellectual conviction about the world of the gods or the relationship of that world to the world of ordinary experience. Except in the case of the Pastoral Epistles, the word "belief" is not equivalent to the word "faith." flh
Bible Greek biblos , "scroll," or "book." In modern English the term refers to the scriptures . This word has become common because of the invention of printing that made it possible to generate exactly the same text in codex form time after time. In this course "Bible" will be synonymous with "Christian scripture(s)." In reference to the Masoretic Text . we shall refer either to the Hebrew scripture(s) or to the Hebrew Bible. flh
C. E. English: "common era." A non-sectarian notation for dates preferred in biblical studies. Although the dates are exactly the same as dates introduced with A. D. . it does not force non-Christians to express their dates as "in the year of the Lord." Used together with B. C. E. flh
Canon Greek: "rule" or "measure." In Christian usage canon refers to rules adopted by a council. Protestants use the word almost exclusively to refer to their canon of scripture . often specified in a confession of faith. This usage has become common in English even among non-protestant writers as a way of referring to the scriptures, but this usage obscures the differences between the texts each religious sect recognizes as canonical. Thus, Catholics, Orthodox, and Anglicans recognize Ben Sirach as scripture, but Moravians, Presbyterians and Baptists do not. Especially confusing is the expression "the canon" in reference to scripture in that it begs the question as to what works are meant. Because the word "canon" derives from Christian practice, it is never appropriate to refer to Jewish scriptures as "the Jewish canon." Recently, Catholic writers have used the term "deuterocanonical" in reference to the Apocrypha to underscore their belief that these books cannot be used alone to determine matters of faith or morals. flh
Characterization The modes employed by an author in to describe to the reader the personality and mind of a character in a narrative. flh
Christ Hymn Philippians 2:6-11, widely believed to be a pre-Pauline Christian hymn to Christ used by Paul and amended by him only with the words "and death on a cross" in verse 8. See also kenosis . flh
Codex What we in modern English would call a "book." The codex replaced the scroll as the preferred means of reproducing long documents after its introduction in the second or third century C. E. by the Christians of Egypt. See Bible . flh
Cult See cultus below. The term "cult" in religious studies does not automatically refer to a fanatical sect as it does in contemporary English. flh
Cult Objects Implements used in the performance of cultic acts . These might include vessels for sacrifices . special clothing for cultic officials, written texts. Architectural features such as altars and pillars might also be termed by some authors cult objects. flh
Cultic A modern adjective that refers to those ritual activities that relate human beings to the world of the gods . These include such activities as sacrifices . washings, dances, drama, and others. flh
Cultus A specific organized body of ritual activities that relate human beings to the world of the gods . See cultic above. The term may also be used loosely to refer to the institution which supports the practice of those ritual activities. Thus one may speak of the "Temple cultus," meaning both the ritual acts of the temple and to the temple as the institution under whose auspices these activities occur. flh
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