CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE BIRTH OF CHRIST ACCORDING TO JULIAN CALENDAR ON 7 JANUARY
All Ukrainian Orthodox churches, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and the majority of Ukrainian evangelical Christians, as well as the Jerusalem, Russian, Serbian, and Georgian Orthodox churches celebrate the birth of Christ in the night of 6-7 January. This day is an official state holiday in Ukraine.
According to the gospel, Jesus Christ was born in the time of the rule of Emperor Augustus, in the Judean city of Bethlehem, in the family of a carpenter, Joseph the Fiance, from Nazareth and Mary the Theotokos, who were in Bethlehem to participate in the census of the population. [. . .]
In Ukraine, Christians of the eastern tradition
celebrate
Christmas on 7 January, when 25 December occurs according to the
Julian
calendar, which is the official date of the birth of Jesus. An
integral part of
the celebration of Christmas in Ukraine are carols, which glorify
the new-born
Christ. Carolers go from house to house, bringing the joyous news
of the birth
of the divine infant. In all churches, the festival Christmas
liturgies are
performed. At the holiday table, the whole family gathers,
greeting one another
with the words: "Christ is born! Let us praise him!" (tr. by PDS,
posted 6 January 2015)
UKRAINIAN CHURCHES CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS ACCORDING TO THE JULIAN CALENDAR FOR FIRST TIME IN CONDITIONS OF WAR
Portal-credo.ru, 6 January 2015
The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church [UGKTs], Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk, noted in an interview with Radio Vatican that for the first time Ukrainian churches are celebrating Christmas according to the Julian calendar in circumstances when the country is in a state of war.
The majority of Ukrainian churches celebrate 7 January as the birth of Christ. "For the first time since World War II we are celebrating Christmas in such a situation. Christmas is a holiday of light and joy. We very much hope that peace will come soon," the head of UGKTs noted.
All three Orthodox and two Catholic churches
that exist in
the country "are more closely tied to one another" because of the
war," Patriarch Shevchuk thinks. "We support dialogues in
international diplomacy, and first of all we do this with the help
of prayer.
All Ukrainians understand that only diplomacy is the way out of
the crisis.
Because we are suffering from the fact that an external aggressor
threatens the
unity of our country. Diplomacy should help the weakest ones and
support
them," the primate of UGKTs emphasized. (tr. by PDS, posted 6
January
2015)
ORTHODOX BELIEVERS AND GREEK CATHOLICS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS
Religiia v Ukraine, 6 January 2015
In Ukraine, the celebration of the birth of Christ is continuing. On 25 December, Roman Catholics and several protestant confessions of Ukraine began celebrating it, and on 7 January the majority of Christians of the country—Orthodox, Greek Catholics, and others—mark the holiday. The heads of Christian churches have sent out Christmas letters, Religiia v Ukraine reports with reference to the websites of the confessions.
The majority of autocephalous Orthodox churches of the world, as well as Roman Catholics and protestants, celebrate Christmas on 25 December. In Ukraine, the Nativity of Christ—the birth of the God-man for the salvation of the world—is celebrated in the "old style," that is, according to the Julian calendar.
In a Christmas letter, the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow patriarchate—the most numerous confession of the country-- Metropolitan Onufrey noted among traditional wishes: "If you, sir, create laws for earthly life, watch closely that they are consonant with the laws of God. If it is not so, then even if the whole land applauds you and praises your laws as the most sublime and humane, from your laws will come the smell of decay and they will bring death to you, for human life is not in the complexities of human wisdom but in the simplicity of the divine will (Ps. 29.6). The holiday of the Nativity of Christ reminds us of the mystery of the coming of the Son of God to earth and brings peace and God's blessings to the home and heart of every person. We ask the Lord that he protect us and grant peace so that bloodshed will cease in our land and so that our troops and civilians will cease perishing. We pray the Lord for mercy toward us, sinners, and that the Lord will bless our church and all of our Ukrainian people with peace."
The head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev patriarchate, Patriarch Filaret, writes specifically in his letter: "At the present time we have one thought and one desire—that peace will be established in Ukraine, but not merely any peace, that is unjust peace, peace in bondage and slavery. The desire for peace does not obviate the resolve to defend our land, our motherland, from foreigners and our internal enemies. In the Christmas days, when the heavenly good news about peace is especially received in the heart, when the angelic song about God's good will for humanity triumphantly chimes in our churches and the words "God with us" fill our spirits with joy, let us pray to the Lord that he grant us victory over visible and invisible enemies and peace in Ukraine and in all the world."
Patriarch Filaret gave Christmas and New Year's greetings "to the whole Ukrainian flock of the Kiev patriarchate, to our brothers and sisters of the Moscow patriarchate, to all Christians of Ukraine, and also Ukrainians in America and Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia, and throughout the world," to the president of Ukraine, the government, the Supreme Soviet, the Ukrainian Armed Forces and volunteer battalions who are defending the Ukrainian land in the Donbass, and to the whole Ukrainian people.
The primate of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Mefody, states in his Christmas letter: "Christ is now being born again in the small and dark cave, scorned by all. How will we greet him? What present will we bring him? Bloody events tormenting our state do not permit us, like the wise men, to bring rich gifts. Born in poverty, he does not need them. He wants to receive the gift of our hearts. 'My son, give me your heart' (Pr. 23.26). The heart is the source of life. The Lord wants to be in our heart in order to give to us fullness of life. . . . Now is the acceptable time to give your heart, which the Lord does not commandeer, but filled with yet greater love returns to the land for further sacrificial service to people, fulfilling his holy commandment, love your neighbor, in order to save people from madness and to reconcile those who are divided by hatred, having forgotten that shedding the blood of fellow believers is not forgiven either in this life nor in the life eternal."
In his Christmas letter, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav, mentions recent events in the life of the country: "There is not a single Ukrainian who would not take part in this trial of the Lord's providence, which keeps on keeping on. In some sense all of us are today in the zone of risk, the zone of the ATO. Like the shepherds, who were pasturing their flock, heard the singing of the angels in heaven and brought the news about the savior's birth, so each of us has our place of spiritual vigil, our 'check point' in which we must exercise our own Christian and civil mission. . . . Our current road to Christmas was expensive for the wounded and hounded. Our church in a literal sense has become a field hospital, established in order to shelter the hounded and heal the wounds of the victims."
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, in his letter also referred to events in Ukraine. He notes the special role of the "baptizer of Rus, the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles and Great Prince Vladimir." The millennium of his blessed death we will mark this year. It is to him that we are indebted for the fact that we bear the high Christian calling and constitute a united family of Orthodox fraternal nations of historic Rus. Thus it was, and is, and will be. And no temporary tribulations and trials and no foreign forces will be able to dissolve these centuries-old spiritual and cultural bonds of the heirs of the Kievan baptismal font, the letter says. "In these sacred Christmas days, the prayers of the whole church and my ardent prayer are for peace in the Ukrainian land. Regardless of the place of residence of its children or their political views or preferences, the Russian Orthodox Church is fulfilling that responsible mission that Christ himself laid upon it (see Mt.5.9 [i.e. peacemaking—tr.]). It has done and is doing everything possible for reconciling people and helping them overcome the consequences of hostility."
Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew blessed Ukraine on Christmas Eve. The Lvov city chairman, Andrei Sadovy, and his family visited the ecumenical patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkey, on the eve of the holiday. The meeting was arranged with the cooperation of the Center of Interconfessional and Inter-religious Dialogue "Libertas," Igor Galushchak reports for the portal Religiia v Ukraine.
The visit began with a liturgy in the patriarchal church of St. George the Conqueror, after which the guests were invited to a meeting with Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew. During conversation the patriarch assured the guests of his prayers for Ukraine and noted the importance of continuing interconfessional dialogue in the whole world: "Ukraine and the Ukrainian people are in my heart and in my prayers."
In his turn, Andrei Sadovy thanked the patriarch for the recent declaration signed by Roman Pope Francis and by Patriarch Bartholomew himself in which the heads of the churches call the world to pray for peace in Ukraine. "In the city of Lvov, diverse Christian confessions coexist harmoniously, and we can be proud of how an ecumenical dialogue is happening among us. In addition, in view of the social transformations of the past year, the church has properly received the greatest credit of trust from society," the mayor of Lvov stressed at the meeting.
We recall that Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Francis, who are the leaders of a number of Ukrainian churches, gave Christmas greetings on the day before 25 December, when the majority of Christians of the world celebrate this holiday.
The editorial board of the portal Religiia v Ukraine unite with New Year's and Christmas greetings. (tr. by PDS, posted 6 January 2015)
POROSHENKO GREETS UKRAINIANS ON CHRISTMAS AND URGES THEM NOT TO VIOLATE COMMANDMENTS
Interfax-Religiia, 6 January 2015
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko greeted Ukrainians on the holiday of the Nativity of Christ.
"From all my heart I greet you on the Nativity of Christ. Our country has belonged to the Christian European civilization for more than a thousand years now, but it is today that it is being born anew and our plans to change life for the better for all citizens of Ukraine will come true only under the conditions that we will respect God and not violate the sacred commandments," the head of state said in a video address.
P. Poroshenko addressed the citizens of the country with a request to pray on the day of Christmas for the troops who are defending Ukraine.
"The deep essence of today's holiday is faith, hope, love, and especially peace," he noted. (tr. by PDS, posted 7 January 2015)
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