Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-05-07
MODERN POPE GREGoRlES
PLANNING NEW CALENDAR

Continued from page sosenteenD
is complicated by religIous-historicaI
factors. The present way of determine
ing Easter dates from 335 a. ID. when
the Council NiCea decided that Easter
day was the first Sunday after spring
full moon, that is. the first fun moon
after vernal equinox. When Pope
Gregory XIII appointed his calendar
COmml ssiOn 10 reform the Julian Calen-
dar he retained this movable Easter,
though Easter has nothing 70 do with
verual equiuoxes, being purely a church
feast. The chambers Of commerce adj
init that Easter should be fixed I'm
accordance with Christian history AC-
Cording 10 Hontheim's computations.
which support the statements Of the
evangelists and the early fathers.
Christ was crucifed on Friday, the
1th Of April. 30 A. ID. and rose on the
9th Of April The Prague congress
therefore. declared that Easter day
should be the first Sunday after the eth
Of April, but the congress had not in
mind the regIlarization Of the whole
calendar scientific authority. Prof.
Forester OF the Berlin observatory, is
champloning the third Sunday after
tho spring equinox. To meet the Objec-
ton that the equinox does not occur
exactly az the same time in different
lougitudes DR. Forester proposes that
% should be calculated on the meridian
Of Jerusalem. If this were strictly adj
hercd 20 places in the Iougitudcs OF
Jerusalem would tn some years cole-
brata Easier on the nth OF April and
places 20 che west Of the Jerusalem
meridian on the 9Th of April.
VARIOUS PROPOSITIONS.
Prof Hermann. the creator Of the
saxon Normal Calendar" urges the
fixing OF Easter on the first sunday
after the Bird of April This would give
one Easter for the part Of the world
which observes the GreEorian calendar.
but Faster would stil 0uCtu4te To- the
extent Of a week. Baron Won Hasse-
Wartegg's proposal that Easter shall be-
fixed as part Of the wider Normal tal-
endar scheme gets rid Of these inron-
veniences. Easter he argues. should
Doe fixed on the Ith of April of the re-
formed Normal Calendar, which will
be a Sunday to the end Of time This
not only gets rid Of all fluctuations.
and approximates 20 the historic date
Of the resurrection, but strikes an cX-
act mean between the 22nd Of March
and tho 25th of April. the present cx-
tremos Of oscillation.
To make the calendar symmetrical
IiI tHIA ItL INiNIltANliAH AA.Analfh anu AAIf
Balkan states must accede All these
Greek orthodox states retain the Julian
calendar. and their dates are 10 days
behind Europe and the United states.
The Greek church Easter is subject %
great oscillations and in the present
year. 1910, falls as late as the 3lst az
April Of our calendar. II is expected
that Russia and the minor orthodox
states will accede 20 the new normal
calendar. They have already decided
to abandon the Julian calendar and fall
into line with the rest Of Christendom
and "a Is as easy for them 10 make a
big change as a small one. The Rus
stan government has long been engaged
on a project Of its own which IL will
lay before the douma next year. The
whole question will have been thor
oughly thrashed out before then at the
London conference.
HAMILTON DAVIS.