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The Christmas holiday period in Ukraine marked the schism between the country's two Orthodox Churches.
Following a decree signed by Volodymyr Zelensky in 2023, two of the most important Christian celebrations have changed dates: as in the West, Christmas is now celebrated on December 25 and Epiphany on January 6.
If the very patriotic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (PTsU, according to its Ukrainian acronym) had long since broken with the traditional Orthodox calendar - Russian, say the clerics of the PTsU -, its rival, the formerly affiliated Ukrainian Orthodox Church to the Moscow Patriarchate (UPTs-MP), refused to observe the new decree.
In this month of January, unlike the rest of Ukraine, the UPTs-MP therefore celebrated Christmas on the 7th and Epiphany on the 19th. This unchanged celebration of Christmas could be perceived as divisive.
On January 6, the eve of what should be the “old” Christmas, several hundred faithful attended the mass held in the last church that the UPTs-MP…
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