On December 25, Ukraine will celebrate Christmas for the first time, according to the New Julian calendar. It concerns the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC).
Divine service of the OCU on December 24-25
On December 24, at 4:45 p.m., the all-night vigil will begin on the eve of the Nativity of Christ in St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral in Kyiv. Metropolitan Epiphany will head it.
On December 25, at 09:00, Metropolitan Epiphany will hold a divine liturgy on the Christmas of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ in the Sophia Cathedral of Kyiv.
You can watch live broadcasts of services:
Divine service of the UGCC on December 24-25
December 24 at 11:00 - Divine Liturgy.
At 5:00 p.m., the Great Dinner will begin with litia.
On December 25, at 7:00 a.m., the Christmas Matins and the Bishop's Divine Liturgy will begin, led by the Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
11:00 - Divine Liturgy.
18:00 — Big party.
Transition to the New Julian calendar
From September 1, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine switched to the New Julian calendar. Most of the delegates of the Local Council of the OCU, which took place on July 27 in Sofia, Kyiv, voted for this decision.
With the transition to the new calendar, Orthodox Christians of the eastern rite of Ukraine will celebrate Christmas on December 25 instead of January 7, St. Nicholas Day — on December 6 instead of December 19, Epiphany — on January 6 instead of January 18, Intercession — on October 1, instead of the October 14
At the same time, Easter and other holidays, the dates of which are determined according to the lunar calendar, will not be affected by this decision.
