2023-05-30 12:48:46
Kyiv: The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has announced a historic decision to celebrate Christmas on December 25 with the Catholic Church. The decision was unanimously announced by the Council of Ukrainian Orthodox Bishops, which met on May 24. The decision to switch the liturgy from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar paved the way for the Orthodox Church in Ukraine to celebrate Christmas alongside the Catholic Church.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church will henceforth celebrate all other holidays according to the Gregorian calendar, except for a few holidays such as Easter and the Feast of the Trinity. Currently, the Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on 7th January. Metropolitan Epiphany, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, stated that the said decision was not easy and was reached following long discussions.
In the context of Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine, the need for such a decision was strong within the Church. However, there are also observations that the relationship of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with the Russian Orthodox Church will be in trouble with this decision. In any case, the Christian community in Ukraine will celebrate December 25 as Christmas Day, a historic moment.
The Ukrainian Catholic Church, which is part of the Catholic Church but follows Eastern liturgies, took a similar decision in February. Accordingly, the celebration of special days in the Ukrainian Catholic Church will be according to the Gregorian calendar from this September. Following this decision, the Orthodox Church, which is the majority of Christians in Ukraine, is making a new decision.
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