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Resurrection

Faith Q&A › Metropolitan Youssef › Our Lord and the Faith › Resurrection

The question

Why is it that every so many years we celebrate the feast of the Holy Resurrection more than 4 weeks after the Jewish Passover?

The answer

This is because the current Jewish calendar was not in effect at the time of the Crucifixion. The date of the Jewish Passover originally depended on the date of the spring harvest in Palestine. After the rebellion of Simon bar Kochba in AD 135, it became impossible to determine the date of Passover, because the Romans banned all Jews from Jerusalem. (The ban lasted for centuries.) So the rabbis reformed the Jewish calendar at least twice, the first time was about AD 200.

Answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab)

Related questions

Questions answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab) of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. Question 370 on the Diocese’s Q&A site. Questions and answers © Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. All rights reserved.