Bob Royalty shared on Facebook this set of new lyrics he wrote for a well-known Easter hymn, with words that reflect the profound divisions between the Eastern and Western churches over the date of Easter:
Jesus Christ is risen today! A-a-a-a-a-le-e-u-u-ia.
Or is it the First of May? A-a-a-a-a-le-e-u-u-ia.
Hung up on 14 Nisan, A-a-a-a-a-le-e-u-u-ia.
Each Church thinks the other’s wrong. A-a-a-a-a-a-le-e-u-u-ia.
And if we could make it worse, A-a-a-a-a-le-e-u-u-ia.
There’s the Filioque curse. A-a-a-a-a-le-e-u-u-ia.
From the Father or the Son? A-a-a-a-a-le-e-u-u-ia.
Theology is so much fun! A-a-a-a-a-a-le-e-u-u-ia.
A thousand years have come and gone, A-a-a-a-a-le-e-u-u-ia.
Singing different Easter songs. A-a-a-a-a-le-e-u-u-ia.
Maybe one day they’ll agree– A-a-a-a-a-le-e-u-u-ia.
Hunting eggs in harmony. A-a-a-a-a-a-le-e-u-u-ia.
I hope you enjoyed singing along with it. For more serious information on this topic, you can see the Greek Reporter article by Jon Magoulias on why Orthodox Easter is so much later this year, and also Roger Pearse’s blog post about the related question of why Easter moves around so much at all.
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