Quartodecimanism (from the Vulgate Latin quarta decima in Leviticus 23:5,[1] meaning fourteen) refers to the custom of some early Christians celebrating Pasch (related to modern Easter) beginning with the eve of the 14th day of Nisan (or Avivin the Hebrew Bible calendar), which at dusk is Biblically the "LORD's passover".
The modern Jewish Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread is seven days, starting with the sunset at the beginning of Nisan 15. Judaism reckons the beginning of each day at sunset, not at midnight as is common in Western reckoning. The Biblical law regarding Passover is said to be a "perpetual ordinance" (Exodus 12:14), but what it means to observe Biblical law in Christianity is disputed.
The Gospel of John (e.g., 19:14, 19:31, 19:42) implies that Nisan 14 was the day that Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem. The Synoptic Gospels place the crucifixion on the first day of Unleavened Bread (Matthew 26:17), usually understood as Nisan 15 given a seven-day feast (Leviticus 23:6), leading to holdings of contradictory chronology.
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