At the Orthodox Church with Catholicism. Differences between Orthodoxy and Catholicism in theology and rituals. Immaculate Conception of the Virgin

Christianity is the world's largest religion in terms of the number of believers. His followers live on all continents.

However, there is no integrity in religion. It consists of three main branches - Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Protestantism.

The history of the split

In the early period of its existence, the Christian church represented a single whole. Believers performed the same rites, recognized the same theological traditions. After the division of the Roman Empire into two parts: Western and Eastern, a gradual transformation of the general religious organization began. In Constantinople, its own religious center was formed, headed by the patriarch. The initial close cooperation between the leaders of the Roman and Constantinopolitan branches was replaced by rivalry. As a result, the church split into two parts. Relations were officially broken off in 1054.. There were three good reasons for this:

The declaration of the Catholic Pope of Rome as the head of the entire Christian Church.
Rome's claim to leadership in world Christianity.
Making changes to the text, which the Eastern believers considered inviolable.

The clergy of both Christian branches anathematized each other. It was officially abolished only in 1964. However, the schism in the church has not been eliminated. The centuries-old isolated existence led to the formation of noticeable differences between Orthodoxy and Catholicism in theology, sacraments, and religious paraphernalia.

The number of believers and the geography of confessions

Eastern Christians, after the separation, they began to call the western branch the Greek word "catholikos" ("universal"). Currently, Catholicism is the most massive of the Christian churches. Its adherents make up over 1.2 billion people. Catholics recognize as their supreme head the Pope, who is called the vicar of God on Earth.

The followers of Eastern Rite Christianity are called orthodox (“correct”) or Orthodox by Catholics. There are approximately 200 million of them in the world. Orthodoxy became widespread among the Slavic peoples of the CIS countries, as well as in a number of European countries. The Orthodox Church is divided into 15 local churches and does not have a unified leadership. Orthodox Christians call Jesus Christ the head of the church.

Differences

Theology

For clergy and laity Creed is paramount. This is the main dogma of Christianity, on which all dogma is based. Both denominations recognize the trinity of God, incarnated in the image of the Holy Trinity:

Father;
Son;

However, the Orthodox believe that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. Catholics believe that it is equally inherent in both the Father and the Son.

The view on the Mother of God - the Virgin Mary is also different.. In the understanding of Orthodox believers, Mary was born and died like ordinary people.

After death, she was taken to heaven. She is glorified, first of all, as the Mother of God.

For Catholics, the Mother of God is originally holy and sinless. They believe that her birth was blameless, like that of Jesus Christ. In addition, the Virgin Mary was taken up to heaven alive when her earthly life came to an end. The cult of the Virgin Mary is extremely widespread in Western countries. In both denominations, believers recite the "Hail Mary" ("Ave Maria") prayer, but with a noticeable difference in form.

Orthodox think that after death, according to their deeds, a person goes to heaven (for the righteous) or hell (for sinners). Catholics, in addition, distinguish purgatory- a place where souls stay after the Last Judgment, in anticipation of paradise.

In matters of faith, Eastern Christians recognize the commandments adopted at the first 7 Ecumenical Councils before the collapse of the common church. Western Christians follow the decrees of all past Ecumenical Councils. The last, 21st Ecumenical Council, which was convened in 1962, allowed services to be held in Catholic churches in national languages along with Latin.

Included in Catholic Bibles 7 more apocryphal (non-canonical) books located between the Old and New Testaments. In the Orthodox Bible 9 . Christians believe they were inspired by the Word of God.

Construction of temples, service regulations, clergy

The differences between Orthodoxy and Catholicism are clearly visible in the arrangement of churches, the rules for conducting church services.

Orthodox cathedrals have a traditional the orientation of the altar to the east towards Jerusalem. The inner part of the altar is separated from the temple premises by an iconostasis. Only priests are allowed to enter the altar. The arrangement of the internal space in the churches differs in the location of the altar. He, sometimes, stands in the central part and is separated from the general space with the help of a partition.

Among the Orthodox, the main daily service is called the Divine Liturgy, while among Catholics it is called the Mass. Eastern Christians stand during a church service, showing their humility before God. To demonstrate unconditional submission to God's Will, believers kneel. In Catholic churches, it is customary to listen to the priest's sermon while sitting on the benches. During prayers, the laity stand on special stands.

Both churches agree on the need for clergy as a conductor between God and people. In the orthodox denomination, the clergy are divided into 2 groups. "White" clergy are those who have parishes under their control and marry. "Black" - those who take the vow of celibacy, monastics. The highest ranks are elected exclusively from among the "black" clergy. In the Catholic world, all priests take a vow of celibacy (celibacy) before taking office.

Sacraments

From birth to death, Catholics and Orthodox are accompanied by 7 sacred sacraments:

baptism;
chrismation;
eucharist();
confession;
wedding;
unction;
ordination (ordination to the dignity).

In Catholicism, it is generally accepted that the sacrament is valid regardless of the desire or mental disposition of a person. Orthodox priests hold the exact opposite view - the sacrament is invalid if a person is not attuned to it.

When performing rituals, significant differences are noticeable. During baptism into the Orthodox faith, a person is completely immersed in water. Western Christians practice water sprinkling. Confirmation in Orthodoxy immediately follows baptism. Catholics arrange a separate ceremony - confirmation, when a child reaches a conscious age (10-13 years). Unction, that is, anointing with oil, is also different. For the Orthodox, it is carried out over a sick person, and for Catholics, over a dying person.

Communion is a meal of bread and wine. By eating them, Christians remember the death of Jesus on the cross. Communion in the two Christian denominations differs markedly. Catholic priests distribute to the laity thin flatbreads of unleavened bread called wafers. Communion with wine and bread is awarded only to the clergy. Orthodox believers receive wine, bread, warm water at the moment of communion. Yeast dough is used for baking bread.

It turned out differently attitude towards marriage in two faiths. For Catholics, marriage is indissoluble. According to Orthodox canons, in the event of a confirmed fact of adultery, the injured spouse has the right to conclude a new marriage.

As a sign of reverence for the Holy Trinity, Christians make the sign of the cross at the entrance and exit from the temple. The methods of baptism are different. Orthodox believers traditionally lay the cross with three pinched fingers, from right to left. Catholics perform the sign in the opposite direction. They can be baptized with folded fingers or with an open palm.

Holidays and fasting

Christmas, Easter and Pentecost- the most revered Christian holidays. In the Western and Eastern denominations, they adhere to different systems of chronology, therefore the dates of the holidays do not coincide. The difference concerns, first of all, Easter and Christmas. The coming of the Holy Resurrection of Christ is calculated according to the calendar, so in 70% of cases it will be different. Orthodox Christians traditionally celebrate Christmas on January 7, and Catholics on December 25. Each church has its own revered holidays.

The date of the beginning of Great Lent in Catholicism is considered to be Ash Wednesday, and in Orthodoxy - Clean Monday.

paraphernalia

The main symbolic sign of Christianity is the cross. It symbolizes the crucifixion on which Jesus Christ took death torments. The appearance of the cross and the image of Christ on it are very different in different denominations.

Catholics have a cross with four ends. The Orthodox have 8-end, because they exactly copy the crucifix. Three vertical bars have been added to the main vertical bar. The upper one symbolizes a tablet with the inscription "Jesus of the Nazarene, King of the Jews." The lower one served as a support for the legs. It is called the “righteous measure”: one side is raised as a sign of repentance of the robber who believed in the Mission, and the other side is lowered to the ground, indicating hell for the second villain.

On Catholic crosses, Christ is depicted as a man enduring unimaginable suffering. His feet are nailed with one nail. On an orthodox cross, Jesus looks like a man who has overcome death. His feet are nailed individually.

The way of depicting Jesus Christ, the Virgin, saints, scenes based on biblical stories is different. Orthodox iconography adheres to strict canonical requirements. In Catholicism, more free treatment with drawing. Differences also affected the use of sculptures. They prevail in churches, and in churches they are practically non-existent.

The final division of the United Christian Church into Orthodoxy and Catholicism took place in 1054. However, both the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church consider themselves only "the one holy, catholic (cathedral) and apostolic Church".

First of all, Catholics are also Christians. Christianity is divided into three main areas: Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism. But there is no single Protestant Church (there are several thousand Protestant denominations in the world), and the Orthodox Church includes several independent Churches.

Besides the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), there is the Georgian Orthodox Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Romanian Orthodox Church, etc.

The Orthodox Churches are governed by patriarchs, metropolitans and archbishops. Not all Orthodox Churches have communion with each other in prayers and sacraments (which is necessary for individual Churches to be part of the one Ecumenical Church according to the catechism of Metropolitan Philaret) and recognize each other as true churches.

Even in Russia itself there are several Orthodox Churches (the Russian Orthodox Church itself, the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, etc.). It follows from this that world Orthodoxy does not have a unified leadership. But Orthodox believe that the unity of the Orthodox Church is manifested in a single dogma and in mutual communion in the sacraments.

Catholicism is one Universal Church. All its parts in different countries of the world are in communion with each other, share a single creed and recognize the Pope as their head. In the Catholic Church there is a division into rites (communities within the Catholic Church, differing from each other in forms of liturgical worship and church discipline): Roman, Byzantine, etc. Therefore, there are Roman Catholics, Byzantine Rite Catholics, etc., but they are all members of the same Church.

The main differences between Orthodoxy and Catholicism:

1. So, the first difference between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches lies in the different understanding of the unity of the Church. For the Orthodox, it is enough to share one faith and sacraments, Catholics, in addition to this, see the need for a single head of the Church - the Pope;

2. The Catholic Church confesses in the Creed that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (the filioque). The Orthodox Church confesses the Holy Spirit, which proceeds only from the Father. Some Orthodox saints spoke of the procession of the Spirit from the Father through the Son, which does not contradict the Catholic dogma.

3. The Catholic Church confesses that the sacrament of marriage is concluded for life and forbids divorces, while the Orthodox Church allows divorces in some cases.

Angel Delivering Souls in Purgatory, Lodovico Carracci

4. The Catholic Church proclaimed the dogma of purgatory. This is the state of souls after death, destined for paradise, but not yet ready for it. There is no purgatory in the Orthodox teaching (although there is something similar - ordeal). But the prayers of the Orthodox for the dead suggest that there are souls in an intermediate state for whom there is still hope of going to heaven after the Last Judgment;

5. The Catholic Church accepted the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. This means that even original sin did not touch the Mother of the Savior. Orthodox glorify the holiness of the Mother of God, but believe that she was born with original sin, like all people;

6. The Catholic dogma about the taking of Mary into heaven body and soul is a logical continuation of the previous dogma. The Orthodox also believe that Mary is in Heaven in body and soul, but this is not dogmatically fixed in Orthodox teaching.

7. The Catholic Church adopted the dogma of the primacy of the Pope over the entire Church in matters of faith and morality, discipline and government. Orthodox do not recognize the primacy of the Pope;

8. The Catholic Church has proclaimed the dogma of the infallibility of the Pope in matters of faith and morality in those cases when he, in agreement with all the bishops, affirms what the Catholic Church has already believed for many centuries. Orthodox believers believe that only the decisions of the Ecumenical Councils are infallible;

Pope Pius V

9. Orthodox are baptized from right to left, and Catholics from left to right.

For a long time, Catholics were allowed to be baptized in either of these two ways, until in 1570 Pope Pius V ordered them to do it from left to right and nothing else. With such a movement of the hand, the sign of the cross, according to Christian symbolism, is considered to come from a person who turns to God. And when the hand moves from right to left - coming from God, who blesses the person. It is no coincidence that both Orthodox and Catholic priests cross those around them from left to right (looking away from themselves). For the one standing in front of the priest, it is like a blessing gesture from right to left. In addition, moving the hand from left to right means moving from sin to salvation, since the left side in Christianity is associated with the devil, and the right side with the divine. And with the sign of the cross from right to left, the movement of the hand is interpreted as the victory of the divine over the devil.

10. In Orthodoxy, there are two points of view on Catholics:

The first considers Catholics heretics who distorted the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (by adding (lat. filioque). The second - schismatics (schismatics) who broke away from the One Catholic Apostolic Church.

Catholics, in turn, consider Orthodox schismatics who broke away from the One, Ecumenical and Apostolic Church, but do not consider them heretics. The Catholic Church recognizes that the local Orthodox Churches are true Churches that have preserved apostolic succession and the true sacraments.

11. In the Latin rite, it is common to perform baptism by sprinkling rather than immersion. The baptismal formula is slightly different.

12. In the Western rite for the sacrament of confession, confessionals are widespread - a place reserved for confession, as a rule, special cabins - confessionals, usually wooden, where the penitent knelt on a low bench to the side of the priest, sitting behind a partition with a lattice window. In Orthodoxy, the confessor and the confessor stand in front of the lectern with the Gospel and the Crucifix in front of the rest of the parishioners, but at some distance from them.

Confessionals or confessionals

The confessor and the confessor stand in front of the lectern with the Gospel and the Crucifixion

13. In the eastern rite, children begin to receive communion from infancy, in the western rite they come to the first communion only at the age of 7-8 years.

14. In the Latin rite, a priest cannot be married (with the exception of rare, specially stipulated cases) and is obliged to take a vow of celibacy before ordination, in the Eastern (for both Orthodox and Greek Catholics) celibacy is required only for bishops.

15. Lent in the Latin rite begins on Ash Wednesday, and in the Byzantine rite on Maundy Monday.

16. In the Western Rite, prolonged kneeling is customary, in the Eastern Rite - prostration, in connection with which benches with shelves for kneeling appear in Latin churches (believers sit only during Old Testament and Apostolic readings, sermons, offertoria), and for the Eastern Rite it is important that there was enough space in front of the worshiper to bow to the ground.

17. Orthodox clergy mostly wear beards. Catholic clergy are generally beardless.

18. In Orthodoxy, the departed are especially commemorated on the 3rd, 9th and 40th day after death (the day of death is taken on the first day), in Catholicism - on the 3rd, 7th and 30th day.

19. One of the sides of sin in Catholicism is considered an insult to God. According to the Orthodox view, since God is impassive, simple and unchanging, it is impossible to offend God, we only harm ourselves with sins (one who commits sin is a slave of sin).

20. Orthodox and Catholics recognize the rights of secular authorities. In Orthodoxy, there is a concept of a symphony of spiritual and secular authorities. In Catholicism, there is a concept of the supremacy of church power over secular. According to the social doctrine of the Catholic Church, the state comes from God, and therefore it should be obeyed. The right to disobey the authorities is also recognized by the Catholic Church, but with significant reservations. The Fundamentals of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church also recognizes the right to disobey if the authorities force them to deviate from Christianity or commit sinful acts. On April 5, 2015, Patriarch Kirill in his sermon on the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem noted:

“... The same is often expected from the Church that the ancient Jews expected from the Savior. The Church should help people, supposedly, solve their political problems, be ... a leader in achieving these human victories ... I remember the difficult 90s, when the Church was required to lead the political process. Addressing the Patriarch or one of the hierarchs, they said: “Post your candidacies for the post of President! Lead the people to political victories! And the Church said: "Never!". Because our work is completely different… The Church serves those purposes that give people the fullness of life both here on earth and in eternity. And therefore, when the Church begins to serve the political interests, ideological fashions and passions of this age, ... she descends from that meek young donkey on which the Savior rode ... "

21. In Catholicism, there is a doctrine of indulgences (liberation from temporary punishment for sins in which the sinner has already repented, and the guilt for which has already been forgiven in the sacrament of confession). In modern Orthodoxy, there is no such practice, although earlier “permissive letters”, an analogue of indulgences in Orthodoxy, existed in the Orthodox Church of Constantinople during the period of Ottoman occupation.

22. In the Catholic West, the prevailing opinion is that Mary Magdalene is the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus in the house of Simon the Pharisee with chrism. The Orthodox Church categorically disagrees with this identification.

Apparition of the Risen Christ to Mary Magdalene

23. Catholics are obsessed with fighting any form of contraception, which is especially appropriate during the AIDS pandemic. And Orthodoxy recognizes the possibility of using some contraceptives that do not have an abortive effect, such as condoms and female caps. Of course, legally married.

24. Grace of God. Catholicism teaches that Grace is created by God for people. Orthodoxy believes that Grace is uncreated, eternal and affects not only people, but the whole creation. According to Orthodoxy, Grace is a mystical attribute and the Power of God.

25. The Orthodox use leavened bread for communion. Catholics are insipid. Orthodox receive bread, red wine (the body and blood of Christ) and warm water (“warmth” is a symbol of the Holy Spirit) during communion, Catholics receive only bread and white wine (laity only bread).

Despite differences, Catholics and Orthodox profess and preach throughout the world one faith and one teaching of Jesus Christ. Once upon a time, human mistakes and prejudices separated us, but until now, faith in one God unites us. Jesus prayed for the unity of His disciples. His students are both Catholics and Orthodox.

The doctrine of the Catholic Church emphasizes the reality of the existence of Divine Persons, truly different from each other.

Although God is one, there are three Persons in Him, which are really different from each other. This means that “Father”, “Son”, “Holy Spirit” are not only three different names, but real Persons.

To define the unity of God and His trinity, the Church uses the concepts:

nature (or essence, being, nature),
person (otherwise, person or hypostasis),
internal interpersonal relationships.

According to the teaching of the Church, in God nature (essence, being) is one, and the Persons really differ from each other only by relationships. “All is one in God “where there is no question of opposition of relationship.” In other words, everything is one and common in God, except for the relation of the Father to the Son, the Son to the Father, and the Holy Spirit to the Father and the Son.

Divine Persons do not differ from each other in their nature. “The Father is the same as the Son, the Son is the same as the Father, the Son and the Father are the same as the Holy Spirit, that is, one God by nature.” "Each of the three persons is this reality, that is, the Divine essence, being or nature." There is only one Divine Being common to all the Persons of the Holy Trinity.

When Jesus said: “I and the Father are one” (Jn 10:30), He meant the one Divine nature, which is common and one for all the Persons of the Most Holy Trinity. "The Divine Persons do not share a single Divinity, but each of Them is God as a whole." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 253)

The Father differs from the Son and from the Holy Spirit not by His divine nature, but by the fact that He is not born from anyone and does not proceed. Only the Father gives birth to the Son, who became a man for our salvation.

The Son of God is eternally born from God the Father, and in this He is really different from Him and from the Holy Spirit. This is the only difference. Neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit is born as the Son. The holy evangelist John calls the Son of God the Word: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn 1:1). In this Word, the Father eternally and completely expresses Himself, that is, gives birth to the Son.

The faith of the Church in the true Divinity of the Son of God, born from eternity of the Father, is expressed by the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed:

I believe “and in the One Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born from the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, through whom all things were created.”

The Holy Spirit differs from other Divine Persons in that He proceeds from the Father and the Son. The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed expresses this by saying: “And in the Holy Spirit (I believe), the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son; Who, together with the Father and the Son, deserves worship and glory.” The Holy Spirit is Self-possessed Love, by which the Father loves the Son, and the Son loves the Father.

The Orthodox Church teaches that the Holy Spirit does not proceed from the Father and the Son (in Latin Filioque), but from the Father through the Son. According to the teachings of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, these two ways of understanding the procession of the Holy Spirit, the Eastern and Latin traditions, do not contradict each other, but complement each other.

“The Eastern tradition primarily reflects the nature of the Father's first cause in relation to the Spirit. Confessing the Spirit as One who "proceeds from the Father" (Jn 15:26), she affirms that the Spirit proceeds from the Father through the Son. Western tradition expresses above all the consubstantial communion between the Father and the Son, saying that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (Filioque). She says this "according to law and reason," for the eternal order of the Divine Persons in their consubstantial communion implies that the Father is the first cause of the Spirit as a "beginning without beginning," but also that, as the Father of the Only Begotten Son, He, together with Him, constitutes "one principle, from which the Holy Spirit proceeds. This legitimate complementarity, if it does not become the subject of aggravation, does not affect the essence of belief in the reality of the same confessed secret. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 248)

The Catholic Church believes that the Son, who was born from eternity from the Father, received absolutely everything from Him, also that the Holy Spirit can proceed from Him, as He proceeds from the Father.

"The Latin tradition of the Creed confesses that the Spirit proceeds 'from the Father and the Son (Filioque)'." The Council of Florence (1438) clarifies: “The essence and being of the Holy Spirit proceeds simultaneously from the Father and the Son, and He eternally proceeds from the One and the Other as from one beginning and one breath ... And since everything that the Father has, the Father Himself gave to the Only Begotten Son, in giving birth to Him – everything except His Fatherhood – insofar as the Son receives this procession of the Holy Spirit from the Son eternally from the Father, from whom He is eternally begotten.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 246)

Really differing from each other, the Persons of the Most Holy Trinity are inseparable, since They have one single Divine nature. They are one God. “Because of this unity, the Father is wholly in the Son, wholly in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit wholly in the Father, wholly in the Son.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 255)

Where Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father and the Holy Spirit are also present. This mystery of the inseparability of Divine Persons was meant by Jesus when he said: "Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me" (Jn 14:11); “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30); “He who sees me sees him who sent me” (Jn 12:45).

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Trinity among Catholics in 2018 is celebrated on May 27. The entire Catholic world celebrates one of the main Christian holidays exactly one week after the day of the Holy Spirit, which occurs on the fiftieth day after Easter.

On this day, all Catholics glorify the Holy Trinity and listen to sermons that reveal the whole meaning of the divine trinity. Believers decorate their homes with fresh flowers, and the clergy dress in festive white robes and decorate temples.

Trinity among Catholics in 2018: historical significance and designation of the holiday

The feast of the Holy Trinity has been traditionally celebrated since apostolic times. It is historically known that the fiery element descended from heaven on the apostles and endowed them with spiritual strength and joyful inspiration. For Christians, the meaning of the Holy Trinity is interpreted as follows:

Feeling the divine grace on themselves, the apostles began to preach joyfully with an inspiring exclamation. However, while the disciples loudly praised the Lord God, they noticed with surprise that they were carrying the true teaching for the townspeople in different languages.

The locals, who as a rule were not educated, after the joyful exclamations of the apostles, discovered in themselves the ability to also speak various languages.

The Apostle Peter, in order to dispel bewilderment, spoke to the townspeople and explained that the moment had come when the descent of the Holy Spirit foreshadowed the fulfillment of an ancient prediction.

Trinity among Catholics in 2018: church customs

During the liturgy, parishioners and clergy kneel. Thus ends the post-Easter period. In the Catholic world, the descent of the Holy Spirit has the status of a celebration, and therefore, as on other great holidays, priests wear white vestments.

Parishioners speak of the Trinity as a feast of the soul. For many, this event is a family tradition, which consists of attending a service and then having a home feast.

It is believed that on this day the holy spirit descended to Earth in the form of large flames. This fire did not burn to wounds, but warmed and spiritually ennobled. After this action, the disciples of Christ spoke in a variety of world languages and went to preach Christianity throughout the world.

Trinity among Catholics in 2018: common traditions among different peoples

Traditionally, before the holiday, Catholics living in various countries carefully prepare for the upcoming Trinity. General cleaning is carried out in residential buildings, and temples are decorated with fresh flowers, various branches with leaves and fragrant herbs.

Fresh vegetation after the service is brought into the house and stored until the next holiday. It is believed that illuminated herbs and plants are able to heal in the event of various diseases.

In the morning, on Trinity Day, believers visit the temple, pray and thank the Holy Spirit for the protection and salvation of the human soul. After mass, Catholics invite guests to their home and treat them with various treats.

On this day, believers are especially reverent towards the distressed and suffering. It is believed that according to religious canons, it is on the Trinity that all the poor should be given treats. Festive alms usually consist of various pastries and sweets.

Catholic Trinity in 2017: what date is celebrated

What date the Catholic Trinity of 2017 falls depends on the date. Since Easter is celebrated on different days every year, Trinity Day also does not have a fixed date. So Trinity 2017 is celebrated by Western Christians on Sunday, June 11th.