Orthodox Easter 2027, called Pascha, falls on Sunday, May 2, 2027. That is 35 days — five full weeks — after Western Easter on Sunday, March 28, one of the widest separations between the two traditions in the current century.
The gap is not fixed. In 2025 the two fell on the same day, April 20. In 2028 they will coincide again, on April 16. In 2027 they diverge by the maximum the system allows.
Understanding why requires two separate mechanisms, not one, and most explanations only give the first.
Table of Contents
When is Orthodox Easter 2027?
Orthodox Easter 2027 falls Sunday, May 2, thirty-five days after Western Easter on March 28.
The full Orthodox paschal calendar:
| Observance | Date 2027 | Weekday |
|---|---|---|
| Clean Monday, Great Lent begins | March 15 | Monday |
| Sunday of Orthodoxy | March 21 | Sunday |
| Great Lent ends | April 23 | Friday |
| Lazarus Saturday | April 24 | Saturday |
| Palm Sunday | April 25 | Sunday |
| Great and Holy Thursday | April 29 | Thursday |
| Great and Holy Friday | April 30 | Friday |
| Great and Holy Saturday | May 1 | Saturday |
| Pascha, Orthodox Easter | May 2 | Sunday |
| Ascension | June 10 | Thursday |
Great Lent runs 39 days from Clean Monday, March 15 to Friday, April 23.
It is a distinct season from Western Lent, not a translation of it: it begins on a Monday rather than a Wednesday, it ends before Holy Week rather than inside it, and there is no Ash Wednesday.
Why Orthodox Easter 2027 is five weeks later
Two separate mechanisms produce the gap, and they compound.
First, the calendar offset. Eastern churches compute Pascha using the Julian calendar for the equinox reference. The Julian calendar now runs 13 days behind the Gregorian, so the Julian March 21 falls on the Gregorian April 3. That alone pushes the earliest possible Orthodox Easter well past the Western one.
Second, the lunar table. The two traditions use different tables for the paschal moon. When the 13-day offset moves the reference equinox past the Gregorian paschal moon, the Orthodox calculation has to wait for the next full moon, adding a whole lunation of roughly 29.5 days on top of the 13 days.
In 2027 both effects apply. The Gregorian paschal moon falls on March 22, two days after the Gregorian equinox, but before the Julian reference equinox of April 3.
The Orthodox calculation therefore skips it and takes the following moon, which produces a Pascha on May 2 — the 13-day offset plus a full lunar month, minus the alignment to the nearest Sunday.
This is why the gap comes in discrete jumps rather than sliding smoothly.
The two dates either coincide, or differ by one week, or by four or five weeks. Nothing in between is possible.
Orthodox and Western Easter dates 2025 to 2032
| Year | Western Easter | Orthodox Pascha | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | April 20 | April 20 | Same day |
| 2026 | April 5 | April 12 | 7 days |
| 2027 | March 28 | May 2 | 35 days |
| 2028 | April 16 | April 16 | Same day |
| 2029 | April 1 | April 8 | 7 days |
| 2030 | April 21 | April 28 | 7 days |
| 2031 | April 13 | April 13 | Same day |
| 2032 | March 28 | May 2 | 35 days |
The pattern repeats: 2032 mirrors 2027 exactly, with the same two dates and the same 35-day gap.
Coincidence years, one-week years and five-week years recur on the 19-year Metonic cycle that underlies both computations.
Where Orthodox Easter 2027 is a public holiday
Orthodox Easter has no status in the United States federal calendar.
In countries with Orthodox majorities, Pascha and the days around it are the largest public holiday of the year, and in 2027 those closures fall in early May rather than late March.
| Country | Public holiday dates 2027 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Greece | April 30 – May 3 | Good Friday through Easter Monday |
| Cyprus | April 30 – May 3 | Extended school holiday |
| Romania | May 1 – May 3 | Overlaps Labour Day |
| Bulgaria | April 30 – May 3 | |
| Serbia | April 30 – May 3 | |
| Ukraine | May 2 | |
| Ethiopia | May 2 | Fasika, on the Ethiopian calendar |
| United States | None | No federal or state observance |
Romania is the case worth noting: Pascha on May 2, 2027 falls directly alongside International Workers’ Day on May 1, producing an unusually long combined holiday.
What Orthodox Easter 2027 is not
Orthodox Easter is not calculated on a different rule from Western Easter.
Both apply the same Nicaean principle — the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox. Only the calendar and the lunar tables differ.
It is not always later than Western Easter. The two coincided in 2025 and will coincide again in 2028 and 2031.
Orthodox Pascha can never fall before Western Easter, but it can fall on the same day.
It is not observed on the Julian calendar by every Orthodox church. Several, including the Finnish Orthodox Church, follow the Gregorian date.
The Armenian Apostolic Church in Jerusalem uses the Julian reckoning while Armenian churches elsewhere use the Gregorian.
Great Lent is not the Orthodox equivalent of Western Lent in structure.
It begins on Clean Monday, March 15, 2027, not on an Ash Wednesday, and it ends before Holy Week rather than within it.
Frequently asked questions
When is Orthodox Easter 2027?
Sunday, May 2, 2027. Orthodox Holy Week runs from Palm Sunday on April 25 through Great and Holy Saturday on May 1. Great Lent begins on Clean Monday, March 15.
Why is Orthodox Easter later than Western Easter in 2027?
Because the Julian calendar reference equinox falls after the Gregorian paschal full moon, forcing the Orthodox calculation to the next lunation. The Julian calendar runs 13 days behind the Gregorian, and in 2027 that pushes the reference past the March 22 paschal moon, adding a full lunar month. The result is a 35-day gap.
Do Orthodox and Catholic Easter ever fall on the same day?
Yes, and reasonably often. They coincided on April 20, 2025 and will coincide on April 16, 2028 and April 13, 2031. Coincidence happens when the Julian and Gregorian calculations land on the same paschal moon, which occurs in roughly one year in four.
