Merry Christmas
- Thread starter Samseau
- Start date
I'm sorry, but isn't it too early to be celebrating Christmas? This morning, on the 25th of December, I went to my church to celebrate the day of Bishop Spyridon the Wonderworker of Tremithus. We will celebrate Christmas Eve on the 6th of January, 2025.
Is there something I haven't noticed?
Is there something I haven't noticed?
You are aware that there are two different calendars in use within the Orthodox Church, right? Some use the Julian calendar, others use the revised Julian calendar. Our January 7th will be Christmas (December 25th) in the Julian calendar, whereas today is Christmas according to the revised Julian calendar, which matches the calendar in general use today.
Either date is fine, the American Orthodox Church follows the Old Calendar for 99% of events but accepts the revised Christmas date because it is entirely plausible and basically in the same time frame (about 6 months after the birth of John the Baptist), and it is easier than trying to fight Christmas tradition in the West. Trying to fight something like a date could be a pointless obstacle for those seeking to convert.
Conversely, for something like Pascha, the date is always after Passover, as it is explicitly stated in the Bible, so there's simply no room to compromise on that. Other dates and feast days aren't major cultural events, so there's no need to consider any changes for them either. It's basically just Christmas, which all of school and work holidays center around in Europe and America, so in the name of economia the 25th is observed as to not place a pointless obstacle for the faithful. Jan 7th is already when people are working again, with children at school, or returned to college. The Bishops of America decided on this awhile ago, and I believe all of Greece has accepted this compromise as well.
Must be an American thing. I know of a few OCA parishes that completely follow the Julian Calendar, and some that follow the "Revised Julian" but never a mixmatch.
What you call the "mixmatch" is the same thing as the "Revised Julian."
Nope, the calendar doesn't work like that. The revised Julian celebrates everything by the Gregorian Calendar except Lent/Pascha. Every other event/feast is different, from the Church New Year, to Dormition, to feast dates of individual saints.
The calendar is only a pointless obstacle to those that don't understand why. One of the reasons I hold to it is that government has no right to interfere with the canons/decisions of the Church, because once you grant them that premise, they won't stop at that.
Merry Christmas!
It's summer here which means warm weather and staying outside late in the night playing basketball or cricket with the family, long conversations, eating very well and going to a Christmas service. A very special time of year. Thankful to have peace and to be around family.
God Bless you all.
It's summer here which means warm weather and staying outside late in the night playing basketball or cricket with the family, long conversations, eating very well and going to a Christmas service. A very special time of year. Thankful to have peace and to be around family.
God Bless you all.
Spoke with my Bishop today, the only difference between the Julian Calendar and Modern Calendar is whether or not we accept the premise that the Earth revolves around the moon (Julian) or the sun. But in either case, the date is the same: the 25th of December is the same in both Calendars. When the 25th is calculated is different because of cosmology, with the Sun model then Jan 6th is the Moon model's 25th.
If it were only that simple, and it were the only consideration, then everyone would have switched rather than split the Orthodox world, as there was and no downsides in waiting to change a calendar until the church comes to a complete consensus, it's a matter that had zero urgency in the long term health of the church, but it seemed better to some Orthodox to celebrate days with strangers rather than with their brothers.
Yes we share the outward name of days, but not the "when" of the days themselves other than variable days according to the Paschal Cycle. Nativity being a fixed date feast falls in the category of days we don't share. Your nativity is St Herman/Spiridon's Day to me, or if I chose to be rather pointed about it "Roman Catholic Christmas" as it was important to those at the council that the Revised calendar stay in accordance with the Gregorian Calendar for several centuries.
This statement which you made after Analyst_Green gave an accurate, concise response is the only reason I responded.
Other than the completely odd mentioning of an "American Orthodox Church" which does not exist to my knowledge, the OCA is not the same thing (Word order and acronyms matter, for example UOC vs OCU, big difference), The rest of this post makes it sound like Christmas is an exception to the rule, and that there's some weird dioceses out there that celebrate everything by the Old Calendar (Revised Julian Calendar is the New Calendar) except Christmas.
forabettertomorrow
Orthodox
I am late my friends but no problem.
Mercy Christmas for my friends.
This is Christmas message from putin, if you want you can read.
en.kremlin.ru
“This bright, much-awaited holiday is dear to millions of people all over the world. It gives believers joy and hope and inspires good thoughts, deeds and actions. During the Christmas season we clearly feel with all our heart how important for us are parental, family traditions that are being handed down from generation to generation.
I should say that the Russian Orthodox Church and other Christian denominations in Russia play a tremendous creative role in uniting the people and in preserving our historical memory and unique cultural and spiritual heritage. Religious organisations make a meaningful contribution to strengthening the institution of the family, to educating young people and to affirming in society such intransient moral ideals and values as caring for one's neighbour, mercy and compassion, and support for those in need of help and attention. This multifaceted and much needed work deserves most profound recognition.
I wish Orthodox Christians and all Russian citizens celebrating Christmas good health and wellbeing.”
* * *
On Christmas night the President attended a service held in the Church of Great-Martyr Saint George the Victorious on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow.
Participants in the special military operation, volunteers and their families, with whom Vladimir Putin had met earlier as part of various Year of the Family events, attended the service together with the President.
Later in the night, the President arrived to the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour to present his best wishes for the holiday to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia. At the request of Vladimir Putin, the Patriarch personally consecrated cross pendants to be delivered to commanders of force groupings performing particularly important missions in the zone of the special military operation.
Mercy Christmas for my friends.
This is Christmas message from putin, if you want you can read.
Christmas greetings
Vladimir Putin congratulated all Orthodox Christians and all Russians celebrating Christmas.
en.kremlin.ru
“This bright, much-awaited holiday is dear to millions of people all over the world. It gives believers joy and hope and inspires good thoughts, deeds and actions. During the Christmas season we clearly feel with all our heart how important for us are parental, family traditions that are being handed down from generation to generation.
I should say that the Russian Orthodox Church and other Christian denominations in Russia play a tremendous creative role in uniting the people and in preserving our historical memory and unique cultural and spiritual heritage. Religious organisations make a meaningful contribution to strengthening the institution of the family, to educating young people and to affirming in society such intransient moral ideals and values as caring for one's neighbour, mercy and compassion, and support for those in need of help and attention. This multifaceted and much needed work deserves most profound recognition.
I wish Orthodox Christians and all Russian citizens celebrating Christmas good health and wellbeing.”
* * *
On Christmas night the President attended a service held in the Church of Great-Martyr Saint George the Victorious on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow.
Participants in the special military operation, volunteers and their families, with whom Vladimir Putin had met earlier as part of various Year of the Family events, attended the service together with the President.
Later in the night, the President arrived to the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour to present his best wishes for the holiday to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia. At the request of Vladimir Putin, the Patriarch personally consecrated cross pendants to be delivered to commanders of force groupings performing particularly important missions in the zone of the special military operation.