THE coincidence of Easter Day falling this year on the same date in the calendars used by Eastern and Western Churches should be a spur to greater unity in a world of conflict, Easter messages issued by church leaders have said.
Meanwhile, the King’s Easter message, published on Maundy Thursday, focused on the “paradox” of humanity’s capacity for “both great cruelty and great kindness”.
This paradox was evident in the Easter story, he said, as well as the “scenes that daily come before our eyes — at one moment, terrible images of human suffering and, in another, heroic acts in war-torn countries where humanitarians of every kind risk their own lives to protect the lives of others”.
Jesus’s life “reflected the Jewish ethic of caring for the stranger and those in need, a deep human instinct echoed in Islam and other religious traditions, and in the hearts of all who seek the good of others.
“The abiding message of Easter is that God so loved the world — the whole world — that He sent His son to live among us to show us how to love one another, and to lay down His own life for others in a love that proved stronger than death,” he said.
The King and Queen attended the Royal Maundy Service in Durham Cathedral, where the King distributed specially-minted coins to 152 members of the public (76 men and 76 women: signifying the age of the Monarch).
The service is held in a different cathedral each year. The King missed last year’s service, in Worcester Cathedral, because he was receiving treatment for cancer (News, 5 April 2024).
Also on Thursday, the Prime Minister wished Christians a happy Easter. “As churches hold special services across the UK, and gather to celebrate with friends and family, we remember those Christians facing hardship, persecution or conflict around the world who cannot celebrate freely,” he said.
Sir Keir also expressed gratitude to Christians “for the ways in which you follow Christ’s example of love and compassion in serving your communities”.
An Easter message from the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem conveyed “special greetings” to clergy in the Orthodox and RC churches in Gaza, and staff at the Anglican-run Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, which was struck by Israeli missiles last weekend (News, 17 April).
The group of church leaders, which includes the Archbishop in Jerusalem, Dr Hosam Naoum, also observed that this year the Eastern and Western dates for Easter coincide, and that “providentially, this coincides with the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the first of the great ecumenical councils”.
“We pray that this happy confluence of events may inspire our churches to increasingly strive for greater unity in Christ,” they wrote.
A group of 12 “world communions”, including the Anglican Communion, the World Methodist Council, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, issued a joint letter in which they described the shared date of Easter as a “great gift”.
Joint Christian witness was particularly important, they wrote, “at this time of great political instability in the world, when so many live with fear, suffering, persecution, famine, and other forms of instability and vulnerability”.
In a Holy Week message last week, the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Revd Professor Jerry Pillay, and the Moderator of the WCC Central Committee, the Rt Revd Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, called for the Eastern and Western dates for Eastern to be aligned every year (News, 17 April).
“It would be a profound sign of reconciliation and a tangible expression of the unity for which Christ prayed. It would also spur more common witness: speaking truth to power and engaging in joint action for justice, peace, and reconciliation,” they wrote.
The Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew of Constantinople, have both previously suggested that they are open to establishing a common date for the celebration of Easter.
The common date for Easter, and anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, was also referenced in a statement from the presidents of Church Together in England, who said that they “proclaim and dedicate this year to the Council of Nicaea and we pledge to look to the unity of the faith, as did those elders seventeen hundred years ago”.
The UK-based Council of Christians and Jews (CCJ) also issued an Easter message this week, which said that Holy Week and Passover were being held “as conflict continues in Israel and Gaza”.
The co-directors of the CCJ, Georgina Bye and Nathan Eddy, wrote: “Easter may be a time when reflection reflection is turned especially towards the experience of Palestinian Christians living in conflict, as indeed Pesach [Passover] renews our commitment to bringing home the remaining 59 hostages that are held captive in Gaza by Hamas.”
On Good Friday, it was reported that Hamas had rejected an Israeli ceasefire proposal to release ten of the remaining hostages, while indicating that the group was ready to negotiate a deal to end the war.
BBC News reported Hamas’ chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, as saying: “Netanyahu and his government use partial agreements as a cover for their political agenda, which is based on continuing the war of extermination and starvation, even if the price is sacrificing all his prisoners [hostages]”.
