Pope Leo congratulates the Orthodox on Christmas by Julian calendar
Pope Leo. Photo: Vatican News
On January 6, 2026, Pope Leo XIV delivered a Christmas greeting to the Orthodox Christians who celebrate the holiday according to the Julian calendar.
"My thoughts are with the church communities of the East, who will celebrate the Nativity of Christ tomorrow according to the Julian calendar. Dear brothers and sisters, may the Lord Jesus grant you and your families peace and tranquility!" said the Pontiff after the Angelus prayer.
It should be noted that the Nativity of Christ according to the Julian calendar is celebrated by the Jerusalem, Serbian, Russian, Ukrainian, Macedonian, Polish, Georgian Churches, as well as on Mount Athos.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that Zelensky declared January 7 as Programmer's Day.
Read also
37,000 free meals prepared by UOC parish in Kropyvnytskyi in 2025
Parishioners of the Annunciation Church of the Kirovohrad Eparchy have been providing daily hot meals to local residents and displaced persons since the beginning of the war.
We stand here for our faith, a sermon at the prayer vigil near Lavra
During prayer at the walls of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a UOC priest noted that believers ask not for privileges but for respect for their faith.
Americans back congresswoman in her support for UOC
X users in the comments to Anna Luna's post demand that Ukrainian authorities stop seizing churches, and that the international community provide a legal assessment of these actions.
In Bucha, OCU to close temple seized from UOC due to rental debts
Representatives of the OCU were unable to maintain the church taken from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church community in Bucha.
In Volodymyr, Dumenko leads "liturgy" at Dormition Cathedral seized from UOC
Serhiy Dumenko awarded the Deputy Head of the Volyn Regional State Administration with an order for services to the OCU.
The state is losing its battle for youth to the UOC, says MP
Solomiia Bobrovska believes that the state and other religious confessions are losing to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in their work with young people.