Council Day 5 Reflection

Dear my most honorable Emperor Constantine, Ossius, and fellow council members,

I am disappointed by the lack of cooperation that was demonstrated in the previous council meeting. For instance, there was no cooperative action taken to further the progress of the council and both sides refused to find middle ground and once again, it came down to the most powerful bishops achieving their goals. With regards to Easter, I was somewhat indeterminate but chose to support a set date for Easter because it offers organization, less confusion, and does not follow Judaism or a lunar calendar, neither of which are very logical, in my humble opinion. It is unfortunate that each side was so set in their ways that there was no room to compromise, even after we agreed to it being on a Sunday after a specific date was turned down. Those who wanted (and won) Easter being in conjunction with the passover are misled because we are not Jewish, and while our religion is built off of Judaism and while Jesus was indeed Jewish, his followers are not, and Jews do not believe in the power of Christ. So why should we not establish ourselves as individual? Furthermore, when Alexander argued that he should find an astrological date for Passover separate from the Jewish calendar, I must say that it was noble of him to suggest this compromise. However, I do not believe that he took into consideration the political implications that it may have brought up in the Empire and across the two religions.

I am however, in firm support of the celibacy of the clergy, and the decision we arrived at with regards to that canon because it is extremely important that clergymen and women are placing their religious intentions at the forefront of their minds and are not distracted by familial matters, as God is now their spouse and the church, their children.

I look forward to more discussion tomorrow.

Humbly,

Theclus