Rector of KDAS: Christmas in Ukraine isn't a "seasonal interior decoration"

Rector of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary, Bishop Sylvester of Bilohorodka. Photo: kdais.kiev.ua

The rector of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary (KDAiS), Bishop Sylvester of Bilohorodka, expressed his opinion about the date of the celebration of the Nativity of Christ. His article entitled "Should We Celebrate Christmas With All of Europe?" is published on the KDAiS site.

“In the last few years, right on the eve of the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays, a discussion has begun regarding the date of the celebration of the Nativity of Christ. The discussion itself once again shows the bias and unpreparedness of many participants in the debate. It would seem logical that the calendar issue should be resolved by studying the calendar problem, but all kinds of arguments are heard: ideological, culturological, political, and even economic. In general, everything that, in fact, has nothing to do with Christmas itself," wrote Bishop Silvester.

The rector of the Kyiv Theological Schools recalled that in the 16th century, Western church scholars decided to reform the Julian calendar, which at that time was used by the entire Christian world. In 1582, under the pontificate of Pope Gregory XIII, a calendar reform took place, which raised the issue of calculating the celebration of Easter, since in the Gregorian calendar it became impossible to use traditional Easter in the same volume as in the Julian one. And for the Orthodox world, the main thing was not the question of reforming the calendar as such, but the question of calculating the date of the Easter celebration in view of the new calendar.

"There is already an indication of the calendar terms for celebrating Easter in the Seventh Apostolic Canon and then it was repeated more than once in other canonical texts. These rules contain an important instruction: Easter should not be celebrated earlier than the vernal equinox,” said Bishop Sylvester. Under the Gregorian calendar, adherence to this condition of celebrating Christian Easter is impossible. “Compliance with these canonical rules (that is, at the same time, compliance with the Julian calendar) allows us to meet the conditions for finding a period of time consistent with the entire Gospel story of the death and Resurrection of Christ,” wrote the hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Thus, the Julian calendar is part of the church liturgical tradition. And, like any traditional thing, it often becomes the object of criticism. Bishop Sylvester emphasized: "However, these traditional things are a component of cultural and religious self-identification."

The controversy over the celebration of Christmas has once again divided Ukrainian society. “Do those eager to celebrate Christmas “with all of Europe” understand that they will eventually have to abandon the usual date of a number of not just religious holidays but those that have become part of the cultural identity of Ukrainians? For example, the feast of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos,” wrote the KDAiS rector.

According to the bishop, the European format of celebrating Christmas is increasingly focused on entertainment. And this ultimately turns Christmas into “a seasonal interior decoration" (Umberto Eco's expression), which is not the best ideal for a mostly religious Ukraine," Vladyka Sylvester emphasized. The bishop urged the participants in the discussions not to rush into abandoning their native traditions for the sake of fashionable trends.

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