The Orthodox Church of Ukraine is not yet ready for a calendar reform because there has been no demand for it in society, Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the independent local Orthodox Church of Ukraine, has said.
“Now, starting to build our unified local Orthodox Church, we must avoid issues that can divide us. At present, the calendar issue is also capable of dividing the Ukrainian Church,” he said in an interview with Priamy TV channel on December 29 when asked about the transition to celebrating Christmas on December 25, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar.
Metropolitan Epiphanius said this issue is rather thorny because not all the Ukrainians can accept the calendar reform in full.
“We believe that in the future, the Church will be able to respond to this demand of Ukrainian society; however, this is a matter of time—when most of Ukrainians will wish to celebrate Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar,” he said.
