DESS head calls Julian Calendar “petty Orthodoxy”

Yelensky. Photo: Ukrainska Pravda

In a comment to the Rada TV channel, Viktor Yelensky, head of the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS), referred to the Julian calendar as “petty Orthodoxy” and assured that the transition of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) to the new calendar style went smoothly.

“Nothing in the Church happens quickly – all changes take place very, very slowly. And I expected this transition to be much, much more painful. But it wasn’t. I think it’s because people, to put it simply, are tired of living in what’s called petty Orthodoxy. That is, when both the new style and the old style are indicated,” the official stated.

According to him, the faithful of the OCU and UGCC “want to be Christians in the same time and space as in their everyday lives.”

As a reminder, Yelensky previously stated that some provisions of the Constitution are being restricted in Ukraine.

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