Head of OCU: The calendar reform makes Ukrainians better and more perfect
Dumenko stated that the transition to the new calendar went perfectly.
The head of the OCU, Epifaniy Dumenko, said that the calendar reform, which involved moving the date of Christmas celebration, was almost unanimously accepted by Ukrainians. He made this statement in an interview, summarizing two years since the transition to the new church calendar.
According to him, despite concerns about societal division, the reform went perfectly. "We can see that during the war, Ukrainians are ready for reforms. Ukrainians are ready to change, to become better, and the calendar reform specifically demonstrates that we must change, become better, and more perfect," emphasized the leader of the OCU.
Epifaniy added that today, almost no one remembers the old style of celebrating Christmas. "There are only a few left who serve and celebrate according to the old style. The vast majority have accepted the new calendar," he concluded.
"I was even surprised because, if you remember the previous years, during all interviews I was asked: 'Well, when, how long, in how many years will the Ukrainian Church implement the calendar reform?' And we hesitated, so as not to divide Ukrainian society during the war, because there were those who were categorically against it. But we still showed willpower, made the historic decision, implemented the calendar reform, and you know, 99%, almost 100% of our believers accepted it," Dumenko said.
As reported by the UOJ, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed Ukrainians with a Christmas greeting, emphasizing that all Ukrainians celebrate Christmas according to the New Julian calendar on 25 December.
