Millions of Orthodox Christians currently live in Germany. This year, all of the Christian churches around the world are celebrating Easter on the same dates — a synchronicity that only happens every few years.

"Every time all Christians around the world celebrate Easter simultaneously, it awakens a deep longing in us," Bishop Grigorije Duric, head of Serbian Orthodox Christians in Germany, told DW. He said that strengthened "the will to continue on the path toward church unity." Grigorije is one of the four Orthodox bishops in Germany who spoke with DW on the subject.

Why do Western churches — especially the Catholic Church and Protestant churches — celebrate Easter on different dates than the Eastern churches? To understand why, we need to take a look at the churches' long history.

2025 is the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which was held in 325. One of the most important church meetings ever, it was accepted by all churches, and it decreed that Easter would be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon in spring.

At the end of the 16th century, Pope Gregory XIII (1502-1585) reformed the "Julian calendar" and replaced it with the "Gregorian calendar" — Western churches have used that calendar ever since. However, many Orthodox churches continued to use the "Julian calendar," which stems from Julius Caesar (100-44 BC). The two calendars most often calculate different dates for........

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