Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem clarified the Church’s position regarding the date of the Christmas celebration

Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem reaffirmed the official position of the Church of Jerusalem, according to which December 25 is observed only as a social, not a liturgical, event. This was reported by the Orthodoxia News Agency at .

During a meeting with representatives of the Abelin community, the Patriarch explained that the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem continues to celebrate the Nativity of Christ according to the Julian calendar, which corresponds to January 7 on the Gregorian calendar. The Patriarchate adopted a conciliar decision stating that December 25 on the Julian calendar corresponds to the feast day of St. Spyridon of Trimythous.

As the source notes, on December 25, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem maintains social contacts with representatives of other Christian denominations, exchanging visits for the sake of bearing Christian witness to the world. However, liturgically, on this day, churches celebrate exclusively the commemoration of Saint Spyridon, and the Christmas katavasia “Christ is born, glorify Him” is merely prefaced in the hymns.

As a reminder, we previously reported that Pope Leo of Rome and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople initiated a discussion on the possibility of establishing a common date for the celebration of Easter for Christians of the Western and Eastern rites. This step is aimed “at achieving liturgical unity and may lead to a revision of centuries-old traditions for calculating the date of the main Christian holiday.”