UGCC cleric calls for full transition to Gregorian calendar for Easter celebration

In Ukraine, representatives of the UGCC are provoking a public discussion about the need for a final transition to the Gregorian calendar in order to celebrate Easter together with the Western Christian world. A cleric of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), Justin Boyko, has stated that the faithful want to completely break the liturgical connection with the traditions of the Russian Federation. He said this on the air of the First Western TV channel .

Boyko noted that many Ukrainians were dissatisfied with the partial reform of the calendar. The current transition to the New Julian style has affected only Christmas and fixed holidays, while the date of Easter is still determined by the Julian system. According to Boyko, a Facebook poll he conducted gathered more than 5,000 positive responses in support of the transition to the Western Easter.

The cleric emphasized that the people have the will to unite in celebration with the entire Catholic world and do not want to have spiritual similarities with the «Muscovites.» He also pointed out that UGCC structures outside of Ukraine, including Poland and the Mukachevo diocese, already use the Western method of determining the date of Easter. According to Justin Boyko, the hierarchs of the OCU and the UGCC should listen to the progressive sentiments of the parishioners and decide to make a full transition.

At the end of his speech, the representative of the UGCC expressed hope for the successful work of the joint commission of the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Pope.

Earlier, we reported that the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) is considering the possibility of switching to a common date for celebrating Easter in coordination with Rome and Constantinople. As of today, all foreign structures of the organization already celebrate the Resurrection of Christ according to the Western calendar, while inside Ukraine, the Eastern tradition is maintained to ensure church unity.