From the twilight of Jewish ritual to the dawn of Christian celebration, the Paschal mystery rose to preeminence as the heartbeat of the church year—a sacred convergence of sorrow and joy, death and resurrection, grief and glory. The Christian Passover, or Easter, emerged not as a mere adaptation of Jewish tradition but as its fulfillment and transfiguration, centering the liturgical consciousness of early Christians upon the crucified and risen Christ. Within this luminous season, the faithful beheld the drama of redemption unfold, remembering the cross, awaiting the resurrection, and rejoicing in the risen Lord who conquered the grave.
The Foundations of the Christian Year
In the earliest centuries of the church, three feasts composed the rudimentary architecture of the Christian liturgical year: Easter, Pentecost, and Epiphany. These feasts remained closely tethered to New Testament events, forming a sacred triad that expressed the foundational mysteries of Christ’s incarnation, passion, and glorification.
Strictly speaking, the ante-Nicene church recognized two principal festive seasons. The first was the Pascha, commemorating the sufferings and death of Christ; the second was Pentecoste, celebrating the Lord’s resurrection and exaltation—beginning with Easter and culminating in Pentecost. Together, these commemorations framed a single redemptive arc, suffused with both lamentation and jubilance. The term pascha, used in both Greek and Latin, encompassed the entire Easter season, just as in French (pâques) and Italian (pasqua), the word embraced both passion and resurrection.
This continuous celebration echoed the Jewish observance of Passover, which likewise extended across a full week and culminated in Pentecost—the feast of weeks. In Christian liturgical consciousness, the death of Christ bore fruit in His resurrection. Without the latter, the former was bereft of redemptive force.
Passion and Resurrection: Two Faces of Pascha
The early Christians distinguished within the broader Paschal observance two focal commemorations: the pascha staurosimon—the Passover of the cross, remembering Christ’s crucifixion; and the pascha anastasimon—the Passover of the resurrection, later known simply as Easter. The one corresponds to the somber observance of Friday, the other to the exultant celebration of Sunday. These twin observances—sorrowful and joyful—became the sacred poles around which the weekly and yearly rhythm of Christian worship revolved.
As the Lord’s Day emerged from the Sabbath, so too did the Christian Passover rise from the Jewish Passover, now illumined by the belief that Christ was the true Paschal Lamb, slain to redeem the world from sin (1 Cor. 5:7–8). The exodus from Egypt became a shadow of a greater deliverance—the liberation from sin and death. Thus, the Christian Passover is not only the church’s oldest annual feast but its most theologically rich, reaching back to the apostolic era or, at the very latest, to the mid-second century when it was universally observed, albeit with varying customs regarding timing and fasting.
Jewish and Gentile Emphases
Among Jewish Christians, it was natural to continue observing the Passover, yet now interpreted through the lens of Christ’s sacrifice. Their focus remained largely upon the passion and death of the Savior. For Gentile believers, who had no ancestral connection to Jewish feasts, the resurrection took precedence. They celebrated the victory of life over death, not only annually but weekly, in every Sunday gathering.
Easter, therefore, emerged as the true commencement of the Christian year, just as Nisan, with its vernal equinox, inaugurated the Jewish sacred calendar. Between the solemn memory of the crucifixion and the triumphant joy of the resurrection lay “the Great Sabbath”—a day set apart even by the Greek church for fasting in contrast to its usual Sabbath repose. That night—the Easter vigil—was marked by extraordinary devotion. The entire congregation kept watch until dawn, many believing that Christ would return in glory during those holy hours.
The Supremacy of the Resurrection
Over time, the resurrection came to overshadow the cross in popular devotion, becoming the focal point of the Paschal celebration. Easter, in its full splendor, came to symbolize the completion of Christ’s redemptive work. Yet the crucifixion did not fade into obscurity. It remained fixed in the hearts of believers and found liturgical expression in what came to be known as “Good Friday.”
Thus, from mourning to rejoicing, the Christian Passover encompassed the entire salvific mystery, reminding the faithful that the glory of the resurrection is born only through the agony of the cross.
Lent and the Evolution of Fasting
The Paschal feast was not entered lightly. It was preceded by a season of penitence and preparation, which eventually took the form of Lent. This period of fasting culminated in the Holy Week, from Palm Sunday to Easter Eve. The duration of this preparatory fast varied considerably in the early church—from one day or forty hours to several weeks, depending on local custom. Irenaeus records that even in the second century, churches differed not only in the date but in the mode and length of their fasts.
By the fifth century, Roman influence had established uniformity: the fast was fixed at forty days, echoing Christ’s forty days in the wilderness and the fasts of Moses and Elijah—Old Testament types pointing forward to the greater obedience of the Messiah. This season of reflection deepened the church’s participation in Christ’s sufferings, culminating in the joy of Easter morning.
Pascha and the Vocabulary of Redemption
The term pascha derives not from the Greek verb πάσχειν (to suffer), as some of the early Fathers erroneously believed, but from the Hebrew פֶּסַח (pesach), meaning “to pass over.” This sacred term bore three meanings in the Septuagint and New Testament: the festival of unleavened bread (celebrating Israel’s deliverance), the Paschal lamb sacrificed on the fourteenth of Nisan, and the Passover meal itself. In Christian theology, these meanings found their fulfillment in the person and work of Christ—the true Lamb of God.
The English term “Easter,” by contrast, comes from a Germanic root—related to East, sunrise, and the dawn. It recalls the old Teutonic spring goddess Ostara, whose festival coincided with the vernal season. The early Christians saw in this symbolic rising light a providential prefiguration: nature’s renewal became a signpost toward spiritual rebirth. Thus, in the Christian imagination, Easter united the truths of nature and grace in a single luminous mystery.
The Liturgical Drama of the Paschal Triduum
The days leading to Easter became a sacred drama. On Good Friday (παρασκευή μεγάλη), the church mourned the crucified Christ. The Great Sabbath (τὸ μέγα σάββατον) was a day of quiet sorrow, punctuated by fasting and expectation. On Easter Eve, the church entered the vigil of vigils, keeping watch through the night with prayer, scripture, and hymnody. These παννυχίδες (vigils) were believed to be the most sacred hours of the liturgical year—a night pregnant with resurrection hope.
These customs, though not uniformly observed in every region, gradually coalesced into a coherent and powerful liturgical cycle, whose influence continues to echo in Christian worship today.
The Sacred Memory Endures
Thus, the Christian Passover—Easter in its fullness—emerged as the luminous crown of the church year. From its Jewish roots to its Christian blossoming, from cross to empty tomb, from fasting to feasting, it shaped the soul of Christian devotion and theology. In this holy season, the church does not merely recall an ancient event—it participates anew in the mystery of redemption. With fasting and vigil, with prayer and praise, with sorrow and triumph, the faithful walk once more the path from Golgotha to the garden, and cry with joyful wonder: “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed.”
