On September 1, 2023, OCU and UGCC switch to a new calendar
With the beginning of the church’s New Year, a number of holidays are moved 13 days earlier.
On September 1, 2023, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church will finally switch to a new calendar and set different dates for the usual holidays. The OCU is reminded of this on Facebook.
With the beginning of the Church’s New Year, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine switches to the New Julian calendar. Thus, the relevant decision of the Local Council is being implemented. Meanwhile, the UGCC will use a new style, sometimes called “Gregorian,” according to Ukrayinska Pravda. The Church is not fully switching to the Gregorian calendar; the transition concerns only fixed holidays.
As a result, the dates of fixed holidays, fasts, commemorations, and saints’ days will be celebrated 13 days earlier.
- On September 8, the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary will be celebrated;
- September 14 – Exaltation of the Cross;
- October 1 – Protection of the Holy Virgin;
- Christmas Lent will last from November 15 to December 24, and Christmas Day will be celebrated on December 25;
- Peter’s Lent in 2024 will not be general, as Pentecost will be celebrated on June 23, and the Day of the Apostles Peter and Paul on June 29.
- Lent will last from March 18 to May 4;
- Easter 2024 is May 5.
“Preparations for this historic decision have been underway for several years… The calendar reform will take place without coercion, calmly and reasonably, giving everyone the opportunity to make the necessary changes gradually and consciously,” the OCU says, noting that it allowed parishes to determine when they will switch to the new calendar.
