OCU Cleric Attributes Ukrainian January 7 Nativity Feast Day to Soviet Rule

Volodymyr Pedko. Photo: press service of the PCU

CHERKASY, UKRAINE — Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) cleric Volodymyr Pedko has claimed that the celebration of Christmas on January 7 in Ukraine was imposed by the Bolsheviks, linking the date to Soviet domination rather than Ukrainian tradition. Pedko, who was involved in the seizure of St. Michael’s Cathedral in Cherkasy, stated that “celebrating Christmas on January 7 came to us in the twentieth century together with the Bolshevik coup,” describing it as part of broader attempts to suppress Ukrainian cultural and religious practices. He added that prior generations of Ukrainians had seen their traditions disrupted by mass killings and famine under Soviet rule, which he said prevented the transmission of ancestral customs.

However, historical records show that the Gregorian calendar was introduced in Ukraine in 1918 by the Ukrainian People’s Republic, under the Central Rada. The Orthodox Church, adhering to the Julian calendar, continued to observe Christmas on December 25 old style, which corresponds to January 7 in the Gregorian calendar, creating the 13-day difference still observed today.

Previously, the UOJ reported that UOC head Dumenko announced a "service" in seized UOC cathedral of Cherkasy. 

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