Easter Procession in the Russia, painted by Ilya Repin
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Eastern Orthodoxy is the dominant religion in Greece, Serbia, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Cyprus, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro. There are also significant Orthodox communities in Middle East, Western Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, North America and South America as well. |
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In Orthodox Church, the preparation for Orthodox Easter (Pascha) begins on Clean Monday with starting of Great Lent, which lasts for forty continuous days. Easter is a moveable feast, it does not have fixed date on the calendar. The date of Easter was established by the First Council of Nicaea as the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox. Therefore Easter Sunday lays between March 22 and April 25. The Orthodox Church bases calculations on the Julian Calendar. In the Julian Calendar March 21 corresponds to April 3 in the Gregorian Calendar. So, Orthodox celebration of Easter varies between April 4 and May 8. |
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