THE EASTER ACT 1928 (Hansard, 27 April 1977)

§ The Earl of LISTOWEL
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

§ Lord HARRIS of GREENWICH
My Lords, the Government remain of the view that the Act should not be brought into force without the full concurrence of the Churches. Our understanding is that the Churches themselves would not welcome such a move at this juncture.

§ The Earl of LISTOWEL
My Lords, I thank my noble friend for his reply. But may I ask him whether he is aware that next year Easter Day falls on 26th March and that most people in this country, especially those with families would prefer to have the Easter holiday weekend in April? May I also ask him whether he does not consider that 49 years is sufficient time for the Government to have regard to the opinion of the Churches, which is the only requirement in the Act? May I further, and finally, ask him whether, if the Act is in fact a dead letter, as I think it must be if the Government continue to wait for the agreement of all the Churches, the Government would consider separating the religious festival from the Bank holiday so that at least the Bank holiday could be fixed on a later date in April?

§ Lord HARRIS of GREENWICH
My Lords, I am obliged for what my noble friend has said. As he will recognise, the language of the Statute itself makes it quite clear that the Government must take account of the views of the Churches in this matter, and there is no unanimity of view. I understand that this matter was discussed last year at the Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Nairobi, and the terms of the Assembly's Resolution which was passed on that occasion were as follows: 558 …recognises that, at this stage, a specific proposal would not lead to a date uniting all Christians in the celebration of Easter on the same day; Expresses the hope that the urgent desire to find a common date can be fulfilled as soon as possible by common decision of all Churches; Instruct the Central Committee to encourage further developments. That is the latest situation.

§ Lord DERWENT
My Lords, as it appears to be the custom for the ex-Chairman of Committees to ask this Question every year, would Her Majesty's Government use their best endeavours to see that the Question need no longer be asked by the time the present Lord Chairman retires?

§ Lord HARRIS of GREENWICH
My Lords, I think it would be the desire in all parts of the House that we should ensure that that should be so.

§ The Lord Bishop of MANCHESTER
My Lords, is the noble Lord aware that the great majority of Church leaders in Britain have declared themselves to be in favour of the principle of an agreed date for Easter, at any rate within Western Christendom, and that the Archbishop of Canterbury is at present in correspondence with the authorities of the Roman Catholic Church on this matter? Is the noble Lord also aware that one of the chief obstacles to a universal agreement in this matter is the difficulty which the leaders of Eastern Orthodox Churches living in Communist countries have in communicating so momentous a change to the members of their Churches without incurring the suspicion of pressure from the secular Government; and that this is a difficulty which has had to be sympathetically considered for a good many years by the Churches in the West?

§ Lord HARRIS of GREENWICH
My Lords, I am sure we have all listened with interest to what the right reverend Prelate has just said.

The Earl of HALSBURY
My Lords, would the noble Lord agree that, in conformity with the modern trend to reduce the incidence of unemployment by reducing the number of working days, there is a case for establishing two approximately equinoctial holidays—a religious one depending upon the lunar calendar and a secular one depending upon the 559 solar calendar, so that we have two holidays and both the religious and the secular are suitably obliged thereby?

§ Lord HARRIS of GREENWICH
My Lords, I take note of what the noble Earl has said, as no doubt will my successors at this Box. I think we should all welcome any movement on this matter which has, quite rightly, been the subject of discussion in this House on a number of occasions.

§ Lord FERRIER
My Lords, while congratulating the noble Earl, Lord Listowel, on re-lighting the torch carried for so many years by the late Lord Merthyr, may I urge the Government to re-address themselves to this subject, particularly in the light of what the right reverend Prelate has just said, because next year is not only the fiftieth anniversary of the passage of the Act, but it is a very peculiar year in that the 1st April falls on a Saturday and therefore under the Act Easter falls on the latest possible day, namely the 16th, so that there is a three week difference between Easter under the Act and Easter under the Prayer Book?

§ Lord HARRIS of GREENWICH
My Lords, I accept that what the noble Lord has just said is right. Easter Day certainly is early next year; but it will reassure him to discover that in the following seven years Easter Day will fall in April, and indeed not much outside the span of the Easter Act, namely, between the 9th and 15th April.

§ Baroness EMMET of AMBERLEY
My Lords, in view of the very interesting interchange there has been today in your Lordships' House, would the noble Lord agree to send the report of it to the most reverend Primate, who is visiting the heads of the Churches at the present moment, with a view to securing his help in this difficult matter?

§ Lord HARRIS of GREENWICH
My Lords, I will gladly ensure that a copy of the exchanges today is passed on to the Archbishop's office.

§ Lord FERRIER
My Lords, if the noble Lord objects to the proposal made by my noble friend Lord Derwent, that 560 the retiring Chairman of Committees should take up this torch, I hereby offer to do it myself, because I supported the late Lord Merthyr in the days of old. The question I should like to ask is this: in the reconsiderations which I hope will take place, will the noble Lord take into account the problems of the Southern Hemisphere and consult the Government of Australia, where an early Easter offers very severe problems to them in connection with their agriculture?

§ Lord HARRIS of GREENWICH
My Lords, I am sure we should like to consult everybody, but I must tell the noble Lord that if we want to get a degree of agreement on this, if we start consulting other Governments as well as all the Churches involved, it may be quite a number of years before we are able to take any action.