A Change of Calendars?
Most of you have likely heard by now that after much prayer and deliberation, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) has decided that they are changing calendars; that they are changing from the Julian Calendar (old calendar), which gives us the 13-day difference between Latin Christmas and ‘Ukrainian’ Christmas, to the revised Julian Calendar (new calendar). But it is important to note that the council of bishops in Ukraine is ultimately leaving the choice to individual parishes if they will switch, or not.
History of the Calendars
First let us explore this difference of calendars. The Julian Calendar is from the time of Julius Caesar (100-44 B.C.), emperor of Rome, when this (solar) calendar was designed with 12 months (and 365 days) to replace the more complicated Roman lunar calendar. Here is a chart showing the differences in the accuracy of different calendars (Reddit).
Note the difference in time scales.
As much as it was an innovation, the calendar did not take into account the length of days in the tropics vs. regions closer to the poles (i.e. Southern Caribbean vs. Germany). And so come 1582, Pope Gregory instituted a reform that changed the way that leap years were calculated, giving us today’s calendar (Gregorian). The current difference between the two calendars is 13 days. It was 12 days from 1800 to 1900 and will be 14 days starting 2100.
Who Uses the Julian Calendar?
Now that we understand the differences between the calendars, let us review who is currently using it and who has changed to the new calendar*.
As we know, the Roman Catholic Church stopped following this calendar with the Gregorian reform in 1582. However, many Orthodox nations continued using it for many centuries. It was not until during World War I that some Eastern European governments adopted the Gregorian calendar (although not necessarily their respective churches). Around 1924, the Greek Orthodox Church, Romanian Orthodox Church, Orthodox Churches of Alexandria, Albania, Antioch, Constantinople, Cyprus, and Finland, Polish Orthodox Church, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (1968) and the Orthodox Church of America (1982), changed to the New Calendar, calling it the Revised Julian Calendar. The remaining Churches of Jerusalem, Georgia, Macedonia, Serbia, Russia, Ukraine (and diaspora, including Canada) while the other Churches chose to remain on the old calendar.
*note that the calculation of Pascha is the same whether following the Julian or Revised Julian calendar. I.e. the date of Pascha does not change.
Why Change?
This has been the burning and contentious question for decades - what do we benefit by using the Julian calendar and what have we been losing by using it and not adopting the New calendar?
Pros
The Julian calendar has been one of the defining factors of our identity for generations, just as our Orthodox faith is the fundament of our identity and culture. For the many waves of Ukrainian immigration throughout the world, the calendar has provided us a sense of otherness, uniting the local community. It gives us a feeling of connection to our ancestors and their traditions. In Ukraine, however, this calendar was also a longtime symbol of anti-latinization (influence of the Roman Catholic Church) and during the Soviet regime, this calendar was a way of protesting the God and Church prohibitions.
Cons
The majority of us reading this likely do not know what we are losing by following the old calendar: we do not get to celebrate the major feast days along with the rest of the Orthodox (and Christian) world. Canada, unlike Ukraine, is not majority Orthodox and so the Orthodox feast days are reflected in our statutory holiday schedule. We have all likely worked or studied on the major feast days the year, missing the festal celebrations, and that is a shame as it is our faith and our right! Instead, our our faith and its traditions have taken a backseat to the western Christian denominations, with us celebrating Christmas on December 25th and Easter on their schedule.
His Eminence, Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv, explained it as such in his welcome statement:
However, in modern conditions, the social and cultural context of the Julian calendar and its perception have fundamentally changed. Nowadays, it is perceived not so much as connected with ancient Ukrainian traditions, but as connected with Russian church culture. After all, the modern calendar is used by those Churches that support our Local Church, on the other hand, our opponents, and primarily the Russian Orthodox Church, adhere to the old calendar.
At the same time, factors from the past that stood in the way of calendar changes are now losing their relevance. Therefore, the desire to preserve and affirm our own, Ukrainian, spiritual identity, protection from the aggression of the "Russian world" requires us to make a timely decision - to join the majority of Local Orthodox Churches by introducing the New Julian calendar, as more accurate astronomically and ecclesiastically accepted, while preserving the traditional Easter.
The Plan of the Calendar Change of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine
The decision made at the Council of Bishops in Ukraine is to adapt to the Revised Julian Calendar as of Sept. 1, 2023. Metropolitan Epifaniy explained that parishes will be able to choose which calendar to follow and that this change will not be enforced.
What this Means for the UOCC
Ultimately we are awaiting the statement from the UOCC council of Bishops and from the Consistory. And being conciliary (soborna-pravna), it is likely to be considered either at a Sobor or at individual parish meetings.
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