Archbishop of Canterbury ‘Dismayed’ at Ugandan Church Support of New Anti-Gay Law

The archbishop of Canterbury has written to Ugandan Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba to express his “grief and dismay” at the Church of Uganda’s support of the African country’s anti-LGBT law. “Within the Anglican Communion we continue to disagree over matters of sexuality, but in our commitment to God-given human dignity we must be united,” Justin Welby … Read more

Anglicans reject Justin Welby as head of global church amid anger at same-sex blessings

The leaders of Anglican churches in some developing countries, including South Sudan, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have said they no longer recognise Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, as the head of the global church.

Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, addresses delegates during the General Synod on 6 February 2023 in London.

Their decision stems from the decision this month of the Church of England’s governing body, the General Synod, to allow clergy to bless couples in same-sex marriages.

The conservative Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA), which claims to speak for 75% of Anglicans worldwide, said in a statement on Monday that the C of E had “departed from the historic faith” and disqualified itself as the “mother church” of the Anglican communion.

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GAFCON 2023 – Kigali, Rwanda

The Global Anglican Communion meets for the 4th time since 2009. Conservative primates gathered in Kigali and withdrew their recognition of Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, as the “first among equals.” The chair of St Augustine is now empty, as far as leaders representing an estimated 85 percent of the Anglican Communion are concerned. The … Read more

How to calculate the date of Easter in the Western Church

Easter Sunday falls on a different Sunday every year. Using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church, Easter falls on the first Sunday, between March 21st and April 19th, after the Paschal full Moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox. If the full moon lands on a Sunday, then Easter is the following Sunday

The date is fixed in accordance with an ancient ecclesiastical computation, and does not always correspond to the astronomical equinox. The Metonic cycle of 19 years is one in which the phases of the Moon repeat exactly. It is thus possible to have a 19-year cycle for the dates of full or new Moon. In the Julian calendar this 19-year cycle can be fairly easily translated into a date for Easter.

The date of the Paschal Full Moon, used to determine the date of Easter, is based on mathematical approximations following a 19-year cycle called the Metonic cycle.

March 21 is the Church’s date of the March equinox, regardless of the time zone, while the actual date of the equinox varies between March 19 and March 22, and the date depends on the time zone.

In today’s Gregorian calendar the calculation is complicated by the definition of which century years are leap years. These leap years mess up the simple Metonic cycle by altering the number of days in different periods of 19 years.

On page lii and liii of the 1928 BCP, you can find the calculation for determining when Easter Sunday is. It requires the following steps:

  1. Find the Golden number or “Prime”
  2. Find the Sunday (Dominical) Letter
  3. Determine Easter Sunday on Calendar with item # 1,2

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