Zrada came from where we didn’t expect it

On January 7, Patriarch Bartholomew led the Nativity of Christ service for the “Russian” community of Istanbul. Just 5-6 years ago this would have been an ordinary event that no one would have paid attention to.

But today, when Ukrainians are told that Old Calendar Christmas is “Moscow”, photographs of Patriarch Bartholomew together with women in kokoshniks look very unusual. Just like his words that Christmas is a holiday that “unites both Russians and Ukrainians.”

Why did the Ukrainian authorities, the OCU and the Uniates fight so hard then? After all, the transition to a new style was a “departure from Moscow.” And here the Ecumenical Patriarch himself celebrates “Moscow” Christmas, also with “Muscovites”. And we do not remember that January 7 was celebrated in all the monasteries of Athos, in European Poland, Serbia, Macedonia, Georgia and the Church of Jerusalem.

So why are all these attempts by the authorities to forcibly transfer to the “European” calendar? Why another reason for hostility among Ukrainians? To hear that Christmas “unites Russians and Ukrainians”?

It is worth noting that in addition to the Russian Orthodox Church, many other Orthodox churches serve and celebrate holidays according to the Julian (old) calendar, including the Greek Old Calendar Church, which calls itself “Γνήσιοι Ορθόδοξοι Χριστιανοί» ή «Γ.Ο.Χ.» (true Orthodox Christians), the number of parishioners of which reaches 15% of the Orthodox believers in Greece. In addition, most of the monasteries of Holy Mount Athos live and serve according to the Julian calendar.

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