St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-03-25


Gentle Christians-phe Cen
tile Easter Eventually Pre-
vailed Through the Church Of
Rome-Other Features.
The old, old story-old, yet new and
Joyous as ON that glorious morning
when the two Marys found the stone
rolled away from the sepulchre! The
old, old story shining through the veil
of centuries is proclaimed today
throughout the Christian world with all
the ecstasy that thrilled the hearts of
the eleven disciples as they followed
their arisen Lord to Galilee.
Through all the centuries the divine
story has been repeated at this annual
festival. yet the Christian world listens
to it today with Joy no song nor word
can express. 1t can never grow old, for
it is the light of the world. Without it
there would be no hope, and the ter
TlUle vision of Lord Byron would be d
reality.
"Ihe bright sun was extinguished, and the
stars
Did wander darkling in the eternal space,
Rayless and pathless, and the icy earth
Swung blind and blackening il the moonless
air"
But the Lord has risen. The gloom of
despair is the creature of the faithleSS.
The fangs Of blasphemy are harmless.
The light of the world shines today
with all the splendor of its rising from
the sepulchre eighteen centuries and a
half ago.
The festival has not always been cele-
brated on the Easter now observed nor
has the Christian world always been
agreed upon the same day. But this
matters not. The glory of the occasion
lies not i'll the calendar day. but in the
divine event commemOrated.
Tie New Testament makes no men,
tion of the celebration OF Easter. The
sanctity of special times or places was
an idea quite alien from the early
Christian mind, too profoundly absorbed
In the events themselves to think OF
their external accidents" The eecles-
iastical historian, Socrates, says that
neither Christ nor his apostles en-
Joined the keeping of this or any other
festival. The apostles had 10 thought
of appointing festival days, but of Or
noting life of blamelessness and
pietV." He attributes the introduc-
tion of the festival of Easter Tito
the church to the perpetuation OF
an old usage, lust as many
other customs have been estab-
nshed' The first Christians were de-
rived from or intimately connected with
the Jewish church, and naturally con-
tinued 20 observe The Jewish festivals,
but in new spirit, commemorative OF
events of which these had been the
shadows. The Passover. ennobled by
the thought of Christ the true Paschal
Lamb, the first-frults from the dead,
continued to DE celebrated, and became
the Christian Easter. THUS the human
instinct which everywhere Graves for
the cOmmemoration of marked epochs
in the personal, social ecclesiastical or
national life found its legitimate gratifi-
cation in the public celebration of the
events which are the foundation of the
Christian faith"
The observance of the Paschal festi-
val became the rule in the Christian
church at an early period: but differ
ence as to the time of observance sprang
up between the Christians of Jewish
and Gentle descent. This led to long
continued and bitter controversy, and
an unhappy severance of Christian
union. Christians followed their OWL
instincts. These were naturally differ
ent IL the jewish and Gentle churches
The point at issue was the date of the
termination OF the Paschal fasE. With
the jewish CHRISTIANS the leading
shough1,, was the death OF Christ as the