Editing Reform of the date of Easter (section)

=== 1997 proposal ===

{{main|Aleppo Easter dating method}}
The [[World Council of Churches]] (WCC) proposed a [[Aleppo Easter dating method|reform of the method of determining the date of Easter]] at a summit in [[Aleppo]], [[Syria]], in 1997:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/commissions/faith-and-order/i-unity-the-church-and-its-mission/towards-a-common-date-for-easter/index|title=Towards a Common Date of Easter - World Council of Churches/Middle East Council of Churches Consultation Aleppo, Syria, March 5–10, 1997|publisher=[[World Council of Churches]]|date=10 March 1997|access-date=13 April 2015|archive-date=20 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620205601/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/commissions/faith-and-order/i-unity-the-church-and-its-mission/towards-a-common-date-for-easter/index|url-status=dead}}</ref> Easter would be defined as the first Sunday following the first [[Astronomy|astronomical]] [[full moon]] following the astronomical [[March equinox|vernal equinox]], as determined from the [[meridian (geography)|meridian]] of [[Jerusalem in Christianity|Jerusalem]].<ref>{{cite web|title=World Council of Churches Press Release: THE DATE OF EASTER: SCIENCE OFFERS SOLUTION TO ANCIENT RELIGIOUS PROBLEM|url=http://www.smart.net/~mmontes/pr.wcc.19970324.html|date=24 March 1997|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626033549/http://www.smart.net/~mmontes/pr.wcc.19970324.html |archive-date=2012-06-26}}</ref> The reform would have been implemented starting in 2001, since in that year the Eastern and Western dates of Easter would coincide.

This reform has not been implemented. It would have relied mainly on the co-operation of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], since the date of Easter would change for them immediately; whereas for the Western churches, the new system would not differ from that currently in use until 2019. However, Eastern Orthodox support was not forthcoming, and the reform failed.<ref>{{cite web|author=Luke Luhl|title=The Proposal for a Common Date to Celebrate Pascha and Easter|url=http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/common_luhl.aspx|publisher=Orthodox Christian Information Center|year=1997}}</ref> The much greater impact that this reform would have had on the Eastern churches in comparison with those of the West led some Orthodox to suspect that the WCC's decision was an attempt by the West to impose its viewpoint unilaterally on the rest of the world under the guise of [[ecumenism]]. However, it could also be argued that it is fair to ask a significant change of Eastern Christians, as they would be simply making the same substantial changes the various Western Churches have already made in 1582 (when the Catholic Church first adopted the Gregorian calendar) and subsequent years so as to bring the calendar and Easter more in line with the seasons.