UGCC head: We want to switch to new calendar along with brothers from OCU

Sviatoslav Shevchuk. Photo: risu.ua

The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Sviatoslav Shevchuk said that his religious structure wants to switch to a new calendar together with the "Orthodox brothers" from the OCU, reports the RISU website.

The movement for celebrating Christmas in a new style (December 25 – Ed.) "should be raised by the laity, from below," Shevchuk said. “If the initiative for the calendar issue comes from the top, then it can create additional splits. Similar calendar wars, in particular, were in the United States after World War II,” said the head of the UGCC.

“If there is such a popular need from below, and the hierarchs feel that it will not provoke additional divisions at the local level, then a transitional, experimental, stage will begin,” he added.

Shevchuk emphasized that in Ukraine the UGCC would like to switch to the new calendar together with the Orthodox: "We, from our side, the UGCC, want to do this together with our Orthodox brothers."

“Ukraine has its own special context, in particular, ecumenical, traditional, there are certain historical moments that still somewhere subconsciously root in our hearts and this requires not individual but nationwide inter-church ecumenical discussion and movement,” Shevchuk said.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that, according to Shevchuk, the Church should look for ways of transition to a "new style", but the calendar must be changed together with other Churches.

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