The Easter Controversy
Everything Everywhere Daily
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The Council of Nicaea and the Date of Easter
In the 4th century, an error in the Jewish calendar meant that Easter couldn't come before the Equinox. The Council of Nicaea didn't have a method for determining the date of Easter so they relied on astronomers from Alexandria to do it. By the 8th century, the Alexandrian system was almost universal amongst Christian churches. In 1963, the Catholic Church agreed to accept a fixed Sunday for Easter if other churches accepted their proposal. Orthodox Christians still don't agree with this plan and use different dates each year. This difference in dates means that the Easter controversy still isn't over.
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