The Development Of The Season

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is, of course, the focal point of the Christian faith. In the primitive church there was no special day singled out to celebrate the Lord's resurrection. Every Sunday was a mini-celebration of the Lord's victory. Since the resurrection occurred around the same time as the Jewish Passover, early Christians referred to the church's chief festival as the Pasca, the Greek word for the Passover. Jesus became the Passover Lamb who frees us from the bondage to sin and death. The efficacy of his sacrifice is shown in the fact that God raised him from the dead.

There is sparse written evidence for yearly liturgical celebration of the resurrection before 200 A.D., but it is likely that it was well established in most churches by 100 A.…