OCU alarmed that UOC may “steal Christmas” from children in Chernivtsi

Roman Hryshchuk. Photo: Facebook of Hryshchuk

OCU cleric Roman Hryshchuk published a series of statements on his Facebook page accusing educational institutions in Chernivtsi and the surrounding region of intending to celebrate the Nativity of Christ on January 7, calling this “an attempt to steal Christmas from Ukrainian children.”

The posts were prompted by information that in a number of public and private schools in the Chernivtsi region, winter breaks and festive events are scheduled not for December 25 but after January 7. According to Hryshchuk, such decisions are allegedly linked to the influence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

In one of his posts he stated, “Teachers of eleven schools in Chernivtsi have decided to steal Christmas from Ukrainian children,” and accused educators of “playing along with Moscow narratives.” The cleric tied the choice of the Christmas date to questions of patriotism and civic loyalty, asserting that celebrating Christmas on January 7 allegedly indicates disloyalty to the Ukrainian state.

Similar accusations were also directed at schools in Romanian villages of the Chernivtsi region. Hryshchuk urged local communities to abandon celebration of Christmas according to the Julian calendar, linking the issue to Ukraine’s European choice.

“I am not surprised by the Moscow priests in your villages. They may be ethnic Romanians, but they sold themselves to Muscovites long ago. But teachers? Why are you playing along with the Muscovites? We are striving to live in the European Union, in unity with Romania and other civilized nations,” said the cleric of Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

At the same time, supporters of celebrating Christmas on January 7 exist even within the OCU itself. In particular, in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, three OCU parishes decided to celebrate Christmas according to the old calendar in 2025.

Earlier, the cleric Roman Hryshchuk, described by UOJ as a leader of church seizures in Bukovyna, published a Facebook post containing insults toward UOC believers. He called participants of a traditional procession from Chernivtsi to the Kreshchatyk Monastery “a herd shouting Russian songs” and expressed outrage that they carried no state symbols.

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