Gaussian Formulae
The Gaussian Formulae for Pascha were created by the prolific German mathematician Karl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855).
In these formulae, mod indicates the Modulus, a mathematical operator that returns the remainder from division. For example, <math>8 mod 3 = 2</math> because <math>8 / 3 = 2 remainder 2</math>.
In addition, int indicates the Integer Part of a number. For positive numbers, it returns the greatest integer less than the number. For example, <math>Int(8.25) = 8</math>.
Year indicates the year of interest (AD).
The formulae:
a = Year mod 4
b = Year mod 7
c = Year mod 19
d = (19c + 15) mod 30
e = (2a + 4b - d + 34) mod 7
f = Int((d + e + 114) / 31)
g = ((d + e + 114) mod 31) + 1
f is the month of Pascha.
g is the day of Pascha. For example, if f is 3 and g is 27, then Pascha occurs on March 27.
Important, this returns the date of Pascha ONLY on the Old Calendar. To get the Gregorian date, add 13 days during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Related Links
External Links
- Source: Hieromonk Cassian, A Scientific Examination of the Orthodox Church Calendar, ISBN 0911165312. Available from The Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies
- Programs using these formulae: Menologion
