The Orthodox Church of Ukraine switches to a new calendar: when will be Christmas, Easter, Intercession and St. Nicholas

On Wednesday, May 24, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine approved a reform of the church calendar. From September 1, 2023, Ukrainians will begin celebrating Christian holidays according to the New Julian calendar, that is, 14 days earlier.

Bishop Varsonofy informed about the historical decision of the OCU. "The Orthodox Church of Ukraine approved an important reform at a meeting of the Council of Bishops - the transition to the New Julian calendar of the Church took place from September 1, 2023. Congratulations to all Ukrainians!" - the clergyman wrote on Facebook.

Christmas will now be celebrated on December 25 (instead of January 7), the Intercession of the Theotokos - October 1 (instead of October 14), Epiphany - January 6 (instead of January 19), St. Nicholas Day - December 6 (instead of December 19).

At the same time, the transition to the new Julian calendar will not affect the date of Easter and some other holidays, particularly Trinity.

The final decision will be made at the Local Council on July 27.

As is known, the New Julian calendar is used by Orthodox churches in Europe, which have a different approach to determining the date of Easter compared to the churches that use the Gregorian calendar.

These are most of the Orthodox churches, particularly those in Constantinople, Greece, Romania, and Poland.

The Russian, Georgian, Jerusalem, and Serbian Orthodox Churches use the older Julian calendar.

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