Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-30
CHURCHES AGREE
ON EASTER DATE
Third Sunday in April Is Sc
Iected as Tentative Day
for Observance.

The Able TIL Moreux. director of
the Observatory of Bourges and emil
nent French savant, recently discussed
in lie Petit Journal of Paris the per-
ennial question of stabilizing the date
of Easter. With other things he said:
mo state could take upon itself to
reform off hand the ancient method o.
counting the days and change the pc
Rod We call the week. And, as there is
not an even number of weeks In year
and after SO weeks there remains day
even two days in leap year-We are
faced with an extremely dlfncult PROB
lem.
Doubtless we could break off the
week at the end of each year and inter-
calate two days without nameS-blank
days-but such decision must be gen.
eral if We do not want to involve his
tory in enormous Commissions.
Question Has Confessional Phase.
Moreover, since the week is in origin
essentially religious and is not founded.
as was once believed, on-the quarters of
the moon, 1t follows that the question
has a sort of confessional phase, and
on this point we must interrogate the
religions interested. For all these rea-
sons we are, in my opinion, far away
from a possible reform of our calendar.
But there remains question almost
as capital, a solution of which is as
much desired and seems to offer less
difficulty. That is the fixation OF
Easter
With view to conserving the apos-
tolic tradition the Council OF Nice, In
the year 325, decided that the feast
should be celebrated on the Sunday
which followed the fourteenth day OF
the MOON arriving either at the equinox
or Immediately afterward.
- E,,M NFoo-
att is then not a question of the full
moon, as is often stated enormously or
for purposes of Simplification. Unfortu-
nately the intent of the Council of Nice
could not be respected long by reason
Of the decalage of the Spring equinox,
which had not been foreseen.
Things have been arranged since the
reform of the calendar brought about
by Pope Gregory in 1882, but none the
less the date of the feast is still purely
conventional, and this is the reason
why.
Churches Use Table of Calvius.
GAS our astronomical tables cannot
predict the movements of the moon to
a second very long in advance, the Ro-
man and Anglican Churches still use
the tables prepared by Calvius, which
are entirely wrong. Hence a difference
which may reach 80 days according to
ecclesiastical computation and exact
astronomical data.
1T appears evident that We are still
far from the time when our astrono-
mers can predict the exact position Of
our satellite in the sky several centuries
ahead, so that we must not count on
them to relieve Easter of its conven-
tional character. But if the date is
pure convention it is manifest that We
can change it. The feast f1uctuates be-
tween March q and April 25, and there
would be a great advantage in fixing it
once for all.
Third Sunday of April Suggested.
1.-THE question is still of an interna-
tional and confessional nature. The
League of Nations has taken up the
matter and has found no systematic
opposition on the part Of the leaders or
the confessions interested. After con-
situations and examinations it seems
that all the world is agreed in principle
in fixing Easter on the third Sunday of
April, and this for liturgical reasons,
which the representatives of Rome have
shown to be valid.
The public processes no opinion on
the subject, but demands that the date
be definitely fixed and what it does not
understand-nor do lis why this ques-
ton, on which the world is in agree
ment, should threaten to be debated
, forever"