The Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) is switching to a new calendar, changing the date of celebration of most religious holidays.

Why did the Church make such a decision and whether it has advantages for Ukrainians, said Metropolitan of Pereyaslav and Vishnevsky OCU Alexander (Drabinko) in an interview with the Telegraph.

Drabinko explained that the calendar issue became even more relevant after millions of Ukrainians left for Europe, and there they use either the New Julian calendar (the OCU switched to such a calendar) or the Gregorian calendar.

"And the weekend, on the same Christmas, is associated with the New Julian calendar, which actually coincides with the Gregorian. The opportunity to take a vacation, go to the temple to pray on a day off, will not contradict the spiritual tradition of the OCU from now on," the metropolitan explained.

The hierarch recalled that the New Julian calendar is used by those Orthodox churches that recognize the autocephaly of the OCU: the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, the Church of Cyprus and Greece.

"That is, our friends who have been living according to the new calendar for many years, which is more accurate than the one that was before," said Metropolitan Oleksandr.

Why some Ukrainians still hesitate to celebrate holidays in a new style

He explained why some Ukrainians are still hesitant to switch to a new style. According to the hierarch, this is a certain sacredness for the older generation, which finds it difficult to accept changes.

"We must not forget that for many years, or even several centuries, the church calendar of the old style was a form of self-identification of Orthodox Ukrainians, as Latinization spread in the western regions. And Orthodoxy was associated with the Julian calendar – the old style. But today the diametrically opposite situation - adherence to the old calendar - indicates belonging to Russian culture," summed up Metropolitan Alexander.

Recall that the OCU and the UGCC are switching to a new calendar. How the dates of religious holidays will change after that, read the article and see the infographics at the link.

Earlier, Metropolitan Epifaniy assured that communities that want to stay on the old style will be able to do so.

Read also:

• Church calendar for 2023: great holidays, fasts and memorial days
• If we celebrate Christmas on December 25: new dates in the church calendar for 2023
• Church calendar for June 2023: what holidays await believers in the first summer month

Subscribe to our channels in Telegram and Viber.