After Centuries, Orthodox and Catholic Christians Unite to Celebrate Easter Together

Orthodox and Catholic Christians, after centuries have passed, have united with each other on the occasion of Easter this year and are celebrating together.

Easter is one of the holidays on a Sunday in March or April when Christians commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and celebrate this day. This holiday occurs at the end of Holy Week, which began with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, followed by his suffering and pain on the cross in Golgotha, and then his burial, after which on Sunday he triumphed over death and rose from the dead.

For nearly 400 years, the Orthodox and Catholic churches used different methods to determine the date of Easter, but in the current year (2025), after centuries, both churches are celebrating this holiday, known as Easter or the Resurrection, on the same day.

Pope Francis, the leader of Catholics worldwide, and Patriarch Bartholomew, the Primate of the Ecumenical Orthodox Church, have announced their willingness to hold this celebration jointly and permanently. Patriarch Bartholomew, welcoming this idea, called this joint celebration a genuine step toward resolving the long-standing disputes between the churches.

The idea of holding this holiday simultaneously was raised since the 1960s, and every year after celebrating Easter at different times, it was raised again, but none of the leaders were willing to back down from their position on when to hold this celebration. However, the World Council of Churches, based in Geneva, proposed a solution that meant calculating Easter using modern astronomy and based on the time of Jerusalem.

When religious analysts increasingly emphasized “global unity,” close associates of the Pope and Patriarch became the key to this agreement for holding a joint celebration.

Now all Catholic and Orthodox Christians around the world have united to celebrate Easter on Sunday and will hold this magnificent celebration together.