Three OCU parishes in Carpathian region to celebrate Christmas in the old style in 2025

In the Ivano-Frankivsk region, three parishes of the OCU have decided to celebrate Christmas on January 7, 2025, continuing to follow the old style. This comes amid a general transition of the Church to the New Julian calendar, which provides for the celebration of Christmas on December 25.

According to Pravda.if.ua, this concerns a religious community in the village of Kosmach, as well as two parishes located in the Horodenkivsky district. The clergymen note that although the OCU Council decided to switch to the New Julian calendar, it also provided for the possibility for parishes that wish to remain on the old style to continue to adhere to it.

This decision was made in view of the faithful’s commitment to the established traditions and their unwillingness to abandon them at this time. No clear deadlines for the full transition to the new calendar have been set, emphasizing that this issue remains within the sphere of internal discretion of each individual religious community.

Earlier, we reported that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine received draft law No. 14261, which proposes to make November 30, the Day of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called, a public holiday and, accordingly, a non-working day. This initiative is aimed at strengthening the spiritual unity of society, enhancing Ukraine’s national identity and cultural independence, and aligning the state and church calendars with European tradition.