Orthodox Christians under the Patriarchate of Constantinople will celebrate Christmas on December 25 this year, abandoning the old Julian calendar.
Ukraine, which has a majority Orthodox population, made the same decision earlier this year in order to distance itself from Russia. Under the old calendar, Christmas is celebrated on January 7.
The decision in Lithuania is aimed at “having a more comfortable life in Lithuania and in harmony with the majority of Orthodox Christians in Europe and the Western world”, Father Gintaras Sungaila told BNS on Wednesday.
“Such a decision will harmonise the Orthodox liturgical dates with the Lithuanian calendar of public holidays, which includes the Christmas Eve, Christmas and the Assumption Day, also celebrated by the Orthodox, and these are public holidays. It will also make life easier for mixed families who until now have had to celebrate holidays twice,” the priest said.
The decision was made earlier this year by all Constantinople Orthodox parishes in Lithuania. Currently, there are four parishes in Vilnius and one each in Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Anykščiai, Tauragė and Elektrėnai, Songaila said. Most Orthodox Christian communities in Lithuania, however, are under the Patriarchate of Moscow and celebrate holidays according to the Julian calendar.
“Priests have the possibility to continue to serve according to the old calendar, if there are believers who wish to do so,” the Songaila said.
Many communities under the Patriarchate of Constantinople around the world follow the new calendar, but it is also allowed to follow the old calendar, he pointed out.
“The patriarchate believes that the calendar is a matter of local tradition, not a matter of faith, and that communities are free to choose the calendar they prefer,” he said.
Under the old Julian calendar, communities will only celebrate Easter and related dates.
The Orthodox Christian communities under the Constantinople Patriarchate are also seeking to formally establish an ecclesiastical structure in Lithuania and are awaiting the final decision from the patriarchate.
The community split when five former priests of the Moscow Patriarchate were defrocked last year by Metropolitan Innokentiy, but were later reinstated by Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople in February.
The Moscow Patriarchate accused the clergy of canonical offenses, but Constantinople stated that the priests were not removed for breaking church rules, but for their position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Orthodox Christians in Lithuania are one of nine traditional religious communities in the country.
According to the 2021 census, 3.75 percent of the population identify as Orthodox Christians (in addition to 0.65 percent Old Believers), a community of some 105,000.
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