Why the date of Easter remains divisive four centuries later

This Sunday will mark a special moment for Christians, as the Catholic and Orthodox churches celebrate Jesus’ resurrection on the same day.

The rare alignment of the churches, which have been divided on the way to determine the date of Easter for more than 400 years, has sparked hopes for a permanently unified date, even drawing support from Pope Francis.

However, beneath the surface of this shared celebration lay lingering tensions and mistrust between the two major Christian communions.

Calendars and calculations differ

The movable date for Easter follows a seemingly straightforward rule: the Sunday following the first full moon on or after the spring equinox. But the two churches started using different calen...
[Short citation of 8% of the original article]