In Ukraine, many believers celebrated Epiphany on January 19, despite the "new" church calendar

A significant number of believers in Ukraine celebrated the feast of the Epiphany on January 19, demonstrating their commitment to traditional dates, despite the official announcement by the country’s authorities and the OCU of the transition to the New Julian calendar, according to which Epiphany falls on January 6. The mass celebration was reported by the Ukrainian publication Strana.

Strana published photos and video footage of Ukrainians performing Epiphany rituals in ice-holes according to the ancient tradition. These rituals were organized in a number of large cities and regions, including Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Dnipro and Kharkiv regions. It is noted that mass bathing took place even in the severe frosts that are currently observed in the country.

As reported, in July 2023, the so-called local council of the OCU approved a decision to switch to a new calendar. This change, in particular, provides for the transfer of the celebration of Christmas to December 25. Later, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law on the transfer of this holiday, and January 7 was removed from the list of public holidays.

It is important to emphasize that the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) continues to use the Julian calendar, preserving the traditional dates of all church celebrations.

The New Julian calendar was developed in the early 20s by Serbian astronomer Milutin Milankovic, and has since been adopted by a number of local Orthodox churches. It completely coincides with the Gregorian calendar used by Catholics until February 28, 2800. However, even with the transition to the New Julian calendar, the calculation methodology for celebrating Easter in Orthodox churches is still calculated according to the Julian calendar.

Earlier, we reported that the OCU church in honor of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Kosmach (Ivano-Frankivsk region) did not hold Christmas services on December 25 or January 7. This situation was the result of calendar disputes that arose among the adherents of the OCU in Kosmach, most of whom wished to celebrate Christmas in the old style, but this position was opposed by other villagers who expressed a desire to switch to the Gregorian calendar.