(ca. 69 – ca. 155) Polycarp who had worked with Pope Anicetus concerning his view of Easter in trying to resolve this matter Polycarp failed, when Pope Anicetus died Pope Victor I, later became his successor in Rome. Pope Victor I later became involved in the Quartodeciman controversy that originally caused a scandal over his use of the term Easter. The Quartodeciman’s saw Easter associated with its pagan roots [1] and separated itself from messianic teaching.

Pope Victor’s persistence of adopting the word Easter from its pre-Christian roots to replace pagan practices and instead of celebrating the resurrection of Christ this was seen as being associated with pagan customs, this would be a possible explanation as to why atheists and agnostics would call this a zeitgeist.

Easter originally was based on the Babylonian religious practice of phallic and fertility worship, originally Pope Anicetus abandoned this and replaced them to commemorate the resurrection of Christ for the pagans Easter has always been associated with the resurrected celebration of tammuz the son of Ishtar, what Polycarp did moved the original focus of Easter away from its pagan origins because the festival according to Rome was about the resurrection of Christ and abandoned the Jewish festival of Passover celebrated by Christ commemorating his resurrection, this may possibly explain how Pope Victor I justified the use of the word Easter that was celebrated on the Sunday and not the 14th Nissan belonged to pre-Christian practices simply because the pagan celebration around the spring equinox on the first Sunday after the full moon on or after the March equinox this was known as the resurrection of new life, celebrated to awaken the death of winter, this should have been enough to make Polycarp speak out against its customs and stay clear of Easter itself, instead he compromised with Rome by overlooking the matter the problem that was addressed with those who celebrated Christ’s Passover, with Rome it has always been seen to be yoking together with the world, just as much as churches today justify using worldly methods to bring Christ to people’s attention the Bible raises a point on this, Luke 6:43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Nothing good has ever come out of Rome.

This is what eventually lead to corruption in Catholic practices around Easter such as the celebration of the mass, etc, this issue alone had polarised the church into a great conflict, even today this is still argued, from Polycarp’s co-belligerent approach the practice of Easter had eventually became enforced and ritualised from Pope Victor I to the First Council of Nicaea, so that the council could divorce itself from the messianic roots of the Judean Passover celebrated by Christ the Jew on the 14th of Nissan.

This is one of the reasons why the Church of Rome itself is anti-Semitic, addressing the word Easter and looking into where the word was originally rooted, I really doubt that it was Polycarp who came up with its term, this leads me to ask the question did Polycarp take Easter in order to abandon Passover he once observed under the apostle John, as we are instructed to keep the feast mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5:8.

The claim around Easter was made by Alexander Hislop from the two babylons

p.103 "Then look at Easter. What means the term Easter itself? It is not a Christian name. It bears its Chaldean origin on its very forehead. Easter is nothing else than Astarte, one of the titles of Beltis, the QUEEN OF HEAVEN, whose name, as pronounced by the people of Nineveh, was evidently identical with that now in common use in this country. That name, as found by Layard on the Assyrian monuments, is Ishtar.

P.105 "To conciliate the pagans to nominal Christianity, Rome, pursuing its usual policy, took measures to get the Christian and Pagan festivals AMALGAMATED, and, by a complicated but skilful adjustment of the calendar. It was found no difficult matter, in general, to get Paganism and Christianity -- NOW FAR SUNK IN IDOLATRY -- in this as in so many other things, to shake hands"

While the Apostles celebrated and observed Passover Polycarp abandoned it for the reason that he did not want to adopt Jewish practices when Pope Victor I that aventually lead the First Council of Nicaea was born it forced its hand so that the Jews could have no part in the Church of Rome that was deemed to be the only true church of Christ.

The Case Against Easter.

Dates set and rituals was enforced on all believers as an invention of the Church of Rome under Pope Victor I to the First Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, for them they saw it important as a requirement for the Catholics that celebrated their First Communion that they were partakers of the Catholic Mass during Easter, this is goes through Pentecost and 50 days after the Easter holiday the church is self sees that Easter duty is a small obligation for Catholics.

Bringing me to my reasons why we should celebrate Christ’s Passover, not the rabbinical Jewish Passover, this was mainly to bring in another prospective, The imposition of Easter Stated with the RCC and will finish with the RCC please do not be led into thinking that me writing this is a rebuke.

Easter began as a religious holiday and the first council of nicea in Rome was founded by Constantine who knew that its roots were founded in the pagan worship of Ishtar, this is what many have argued, the issue is not so much centred around how a person chooses to celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ as I am sure that on this issue both Catholics and Protestants would agree apart from the Catholic Mass, veneration of Mary, prayers to the dead, praying the rosary, penances and pilgrimages during the Easter holiday itself, to evangelical protestants it should not be the only time to preach the gospel or reach people in different ways, the remembrance of the resurrection should always be celebrated and not just once a year as a significance of Christ’s offer of salvation purchased through his blood, by observing Easter as the only recognised Catholic holiday the real issue is, we should not pollute the Pure waters of Christ with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church even if we choose to divorce Easter itself from Catholic practices.

According to the statements made by the Vatican anyone who celebrates Easter is coming in unity with or aligning themselves under the Authority of the Pope.

People may run to the defence of Easter by saying that it is wrong to shun Easter simply because they accuse Easter of being from a pagan origin, but when you look into the Traditions of Easter brought in by the Council of Nicea that was passed onto the popes in Catholic history, as the Council admits to setting up these traditions of the church to ensure that the separated brethren came in line with Roman Catholicism within these religious holiday's on the same days to them the issue is not about whether you celebrate Easter it was to get people to recognise the holiday itself as a status for the Church of Rome..

We need to understand why the Church of Rome promotes the practice of Easter, and let’s not dilute its historical meaning around Roman Catholicism, as the RCC was the reason why this holiday is still in existence this was one of the main reasons why holidays like Easter was banned by the puritan Oliver Cromwell in England, it was his defiance of the RCC and its traditions and teachings which brought the demise of the Church of Rome.

According to the Book The Vatican Collection, Vatican Council II, Volume 1 The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents published by the Catholic Press, on page 449 subheading "Relations with the brethren of the separated churches", (25 An obligation established by the council regarding our separated eastern brethren and all Orders or whatever degree, weather of divine or ecclesiastical right) states "Nothing more should be demanded of separated eastern Christians who come to Catholic Unity under the influence of grace if the Holy Spirit then what the simple profession of the Catholic Faith requires. And since a valid priesthood has been preserved amongst them, Eastern clerics who came to Catholic Unity may exercise their own Orders, in accordance with the regulations laid down by the competent authority.

On page 451 under Conclusion

Paragraph two "In the meantime however, all Christians, Eastern and Western, are strongly urged to pray to God daily with fervor and constantly in order that, by the help of God's most holy Mother, all may be one,

On page 29 Sacred Liturgy “(106) By a tradition handed down from the apostles, which took its origin from the very day of Christ’s resurrection, the church celebrates the paschal mystery every eighth day, which day is appropriately called the Lords day or Sunday. For this day Christ’s faithful are bound to come together into one place. They should listen to the word of God and take park in the Eucharist, thus calling to mind the passion, resurrection and glory of the Lord Jesus, and giving thanks to God.

On Page 448 Divine worship Easter statement.

(20 Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy) Until all Christians agree, as it is hoped, on the day for the celebration of Easter by all, in the meantime as a means of fostering unity among Christians who live in the same area or country, it is left to the patriarchs or to the supreme ecclesiastical authorities of the place to consult all parties involved and so come to unanimous agreement to celebrate the feast of Easter on the same Sunday.

On Page 490 Directory on Ecumenism Fostering Spiritual Ecumenism in the Catholic Church.

21. "This change of heart and holiness of life, along with public and private prayer for the unity of Christians, should be regarded as the soul of the whole ecumenical movement, and merits the name, 'Spiritual Ecumenism' " (Decree on Ecumenism, n. 8)

In these few words the decree deflines spiritual ecumenism and stresses its importance in order that Christians may, both in prayer and in celebration of the Eucharist and indeed in their entire daily life, through restoring whole Christian life according to the spirit of the Gospel, as has been taught by the Second Vatican Council--leaving out nothing of the common Christian heritage. (Cf. Decree Activity, n. 36).

22. It is fitting that prayers for unity be offered regulary at fixed times, for example:

(d) Easter, when all Christians (inc, RC's) share with one another the joy of Our Lord's ressurection;

(e) on the occasion of meetings or other important events of ecumenical origin or specially likely to serve ecumenical purposes.

[2] GENEVA (AP) - Christianity's largest ecumenical movement expressed hope Thursday that churches were moving closer to a common Easter for the world's Christians, despite a historical debate nearly as old as the religion.

Catholic and Protestant congregations will celebrate their belief in Jesus' resurrection on the same day as Orthodox churches in 2010 and 2011 The common holiday has happened three times this decade. But the World Council of Churches says consensus is emerging that these should not just be occasional occurrences.

At a recent meeting in Lviv , Ukraine , theologians representing nearly the breadth of Christianity agreed in principle on a strategy for all the faithful to continue observing their feast together.

"It's not a problem of principle, of dogma or of doctrine," said Juan Michel, spokesman for the council, whose 350 Protestant, Orthodox and other churches represent more than 560 million Christians. It cooperates with the Roman Catholic Church, which is not a member.

The History of Easter.

[3 Ref: Cath Encycl] "According to The Catholic Encyclopaedia the Council of Niecea was the First Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church, held in 325 AD on the occasion of the heresy of Arius (Arianism). As early as 320 or 321 St. Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria, convoked a council at Alexandria at which more than one hundred bishops from Egypt and Libya anathematized Arius"

[4 Ref: Cath Encycl]"The text of the decree of the Council of Nicaea which settled, or at least indicated a final settlement of, the difficulty has not been preserved to us, but we have an important document inserted in Eusebius's "Life of Constantine" (III, xviii sq.). The emperor himself, writing to the Churches after the Council of Nicaea, exhorts them to adopt its conclusions and says among other things: "At this meeting the question concerning the most holy day of Easter was discussed, and it was resolved by the united judgment of all present that this feast ought to be kept by all and in every place on one and the same day. . . And first of all it appeared an unworthy thing that in the celebration of the Jews, who have impiously defiled their hands with enormous sin. . . for we have received from our Saviour a different way. . . And I myself have undertaken that this decision should meet with the approval of your Sagacities in the hope that your Wisdoms will gladly admit that practice which is observed at once in the city of Rome and in Africa, throughout Italy and in Egypt. . . with entire unity of judgment." From this and other indications which cannot be specified here (see, e.g. Eusebius, "De Paschate" in Schmid, "Osterfestfrage", pp. 58-59) we learn that the dispute now lay between the Christians of Syria and Mesopotamia and the rest of the world. The important Church of Antioch was still dependent upon the Jewish calendar for its Easter. The Syrian Christians always held their Easter festival on the Sunday after the Jews kept their Pasch. On the other hand at Alexandria, and seemingly throughout the rest of the Roman Empire , the Christians calculated the time of Easter for themselves, paying no attention to the Jews. In this way the date of Easter as kept at Alexandria and Antioch did not always agree; for the Jews, upon whom Antioch depended, adopted very arbitrary methods of intercalating embolismic months (see CALENDAR, Bol. II, p. 158) before they celebrated Nisan, the first spring month, on the fourteenth day of which the paschal lamb was killed. In particular we learn that they had become neglectful (or at least the Christians of Rome and Alexandria declared they were neglectful) of the law that the fourteenth of Nisan must never precede the equinox (see Schwartz, Christliche und judische Ostertafeln, pp. 138 sqq.). ThusConstantine in the letter quoted above protests with horror that the Jews sometimes kept two Paschs in one year, meaning that two Paschs sometimes fell between one equinox and the next.

The Alexandrians, on the other hand, accepted it as a first principle that the Sunday to be kept as Easter Day must necessarily occur after the vernal equinox, then identified with 21 March of the Julian year. This was the main difficulty which was decided by the Council of Nicaea. Even among the Christians who calculated Easter for themselves there had been considerable variations (partly due to a divergent reckoning of the date of the equinox), and as recently as 314, in the Council of Arles, it had been laid down that in future Easter should be kept uno die et uno tempore per omnem orbem, and that to secure this uniformity the pope should send out letters to all the Churches. The Council of Nicaea seems to have extended further the principle here laid down. As already stated, we have not its exact words, but we may safely infer from scattered notices that thecouncil ruled:

• that Easter must be celebrated by all throughout the world on the same Sunday;
  
• that this Sunday must follow the fourteenth day of the paschal moon;
  
• that that moon was to be accounted the paschal moon whose fourteenth day followed the spring equinox;
  
• that some provision should be made, probably by the Church of Alexandria as best skilled in astronomical calculations, for determining the proper date of Easter and communicating it to the rest of the world (see St. Leo to the Emperor Marcian in Migne, P.L., LIV, 1055).

Considering that the RCC is full of Idolatry, the worship of Mary (Goddess of Rome) and various pagan, Gnostic and mystic teachings, it is my belief that we need to separate ourselves from Rome the mother harlots.

I leave you with these Scriptures.

In Christ

Miguel Hayworth

Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

"Unto the pure all things [are] pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving [is] nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny [him], being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate." (Titus 1:15 - 16)

Refs

[1] http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Quartodecimanism
[2] http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/may/28/eu-christians-one-easter-052809/?world
[3] http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11044a.htm
[4] http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05228a.htm