Easter & Orthodox Easter Date Calculator
Enter a year and choose Western Easter, Orthodox Easter, or both. Results use the standard computus algorithms churches publish for civil planning — useful when the two calendars diverge.
Calculate
Calculate
Result
The formula
Western Easter follows the Gregorian computus (Anonymous / Meeus–Jones–Butcher): the first Sunday after the ecclesiastical full moon on or after 21 March in the Gregorian calendar. Orthodox Easter uses the same Paschal rule on the Julian calendar, then converts that Julian date to the civil Gregorian calendar.
Worked example
- Year 2026, both traditions
- Western (Gregorian computus) → 5 April 2026
- Orthodox (Julian computus → Gregorian) → 12 April 2026
Result: Western 5 April 2026 · Orthodox 12 April 2026 (7 days apart)
How Easter dates are calculated
Christian Easter is a movable feast tied to an ecclesiastical lunar calendar, not a modern astronomical full-moon observation. Western and Orthodox churches share the Nicaea rule in spirit but apply it on different civil calendars.
Western (Gregorian) Easter
After the 1582 Gregorian reform, Western churches use tables and algorithms that keep the vernal equinox near 21 March in the Gregorian calendar. The Meeus–Jones–Butcher algorithm reproduces those tables for years after the reform.
Orthodox (Julian) Easter
Most Orthodox churches still compute Pascha on the Julian calendar, then express the feast on the civil Gregorian date. In the 20th–21st centuries that conversion adds 13 days; the gap grows after century years that are not Gregorian leap years.
When the dates coincide
Some years Western and Orthodox Easter fall on the same Gregorian Sunday (for example 2025). In other years they differ by one to several weeks. Finnish Orthodox and a few communities may follow the Gregorian computus — this tool reports the common Julian-based Orthodox date.
What we do not claim
We do not replace a diocesan calendar, local parish bulletin, or rare national exceptions. Holy Week schedules and related movable feasts should follow your church’s published yearbook.
Interesting facts
A movable feast
Easter can fall from late March to early May on the Gregorian calendar. The span comes from waiting for the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon.
Same rule, different calendars
Both traditions aim for “Sunday after the full moon after the equinox,” but Julian 21 March no longer matches the astronomical equinox the way Gregorian 21 March does.
Occasional alignment
Western and Orthodox Easter coincide in some years (2025, 2028) and diverge widely in others (2024: 31 March vs 5 May).
Related Holy Week dates
Once Easter Sunday is known, Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Pentecost are fixed offsets — handy for travel and leave planning.
Pairs with date tools
Use days-until or date-difference calculators after you know the feast day to count down or compare years.
Frequently asked questions
Enter the year and select Western, Orthodox, or both. The result is the Gregorian civil date of Easter Sunday for that tradition.
Western churches use the Gregorian computus; most Orthodox churches compute on the Julian calendar and then convert to the civil date. The calendars drift, so the Sundays often differ.
Usually yes on the civil calendar, but not always by the same gap. In coincidence years they fall on the same Sunday.
No. Churches use an ecclesiastical moon (computus tables), which can differ by a day from the astronomical full moon.
This calculator reports standard Western Gregorian and common Orthodox (Julian computus → Gregorian) dates. Follow your local church if it publishes a different rule.
Yes as a planning aid: Good Friday is two days before Easter Sunday, and Pentecost is 49 days after. Confirm worship times with your parish.
References
- Easter Overview of the movable feast and calendar traditions.
- Astronomical Algorithms (computus) Documents Gregorian and Julian Paschal calculations used in software and almanacs.