From the Revd Martin Snellgrove
Sir, — A variable date for Easter (Letters, 9 May), however venerable, is not easy to justify unless the festival of the resurrection closely follows the Jewish Passover because of it, but, in a year such as this, Easter precedes Passover by four weeks. The disadvantages of a moveable Easter are most keenly felt by educational establishments and by tourist facilities that open then.
Two options suggest themselves when considering a fixed date. One is to work out when the resurrection actually happened, and celebrate it then. A problem here is that an error in identifying the year may lead to a date incorrect by more than a month. The other is to choose a date in the middle of the range of possibles between 22 March and 25 April. The Easter Act of 1928 largely followed this principle by suggesting the second Sunday in April.
Although I would not wish to return to the situation before the Synod of Whitby, it is quite possible that the first country or communion to fix the date of Easter would find itself joined by an increasing majority of others within a decade.
MARTIN SNELLGROVE
The Rectory, Kiln Lane
Hope
Flintshire LL12 9PH
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