With an agreement signed yesterday afternoon, December 24, Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and Metropolitan Svyatoslav, head of the Greek Catholic Church of Ukraine, sealed their intention to definitively modify and harmonize their calendars. It is a definitive and necessary formalization that opens the process for moving Christmas to December 25, distancing itself from Moscow and aligning itself with the Western world.
The complex mosaic of Christmas in Ukraine in times of war with Russia could be observed this morning in the Monastery of St. Michael and in the adjacent Orthodox church. Exceptionally, a market with handicrafts and Christmas sweets was set up in the courtyard. The faithful lit candles inside the monastery and stopped to pray. A boy scout choir sang Christmas carols. But the same priest guarding the monastery couldn’t tell if it was an exceptional participation, “after all, it’s Sunday”. Certainly extraordinary was the celebration of the two “Christmas” masses in the church, on the evening of the 24th and today’s morning, with a turnout “certainly greater than a normal weekend”.
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Until recently, in fact, both the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church followed the Julian calendar and celebrated Christmas on January 7 together with the Russian Orthodox Church. While the Roman Catholic Church follows the Gregorian calendar.
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With a provision issued last October, the Orthodox Church of Kiev allowed Christmas celebrations on December 25, while also maintaining those of January 7, as part of a broader operation to distance itself from the Church of Moscow in times of war.
Lastly, last December 2, Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky signed a highly controversial decree banning the Church in Moscow. The law still needs to pass the approval of the Verkhovna Rada (Kiev’s parliament). On the same occasion, he announced that the country would celebrate Christmas on two dates: December 25 and January 7. And this is the factual situation. Even if the polls indicate that only 11% of the Orthodox of Ukraine have changed their habits this year (according to data from the Rating Institute).
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It is clear that the double Christmas cannot be the definitive solution. And the pact signed yesterday between the two Ukrainian Churches is important in this sense. “The leaders of the Churches have paid particular attention to the coordination of positions regarding the reform of the ecclesial calendar”, reads the joint release issued yesterday evening, “this becomes increasingly urgent before the Christmas and Easter holidays. After the discussion, it was proposed to create a joint working group, which should thoroughly study this issue.” We are therefore moving towards a definitive change, which does not concern only December 25 but also the other holidays.
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However, the Ukrainian branch of the Orthodox Church of Moscow remains outside this mosaic, which still represents tens of thousands of faithful and which however risks being prohibited by law by the Kiev Parliament.