“There is nothing “un-Orthodox”: the OCU debunked myths surrounding the New Julian calendar
[ad_1]
From September 1, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine switched to a new calendar style, where the New Julian calendar is used to calculate fixed holidays. There is nothing “non-Orthodox” or “Catholic” in it, the OCU notes. The dates of fixed holidays in the New Julian calendar will coincide with the dates of the Gregorian calendar until 2800, because the New Julian calendar “misses” 7 days per 900 years, and the Gregorian calendar – 3 days per 400 years. At the same time, the date of Easter and the moving holidays dependent on it will be calculated traditionally, in accordance with the established practice of calendar and astronomical rules. Photo: kiriak09/Depositphotos “The New Julian calendar is an improved form of the Julian calendar, in accordance with the needs and realities of modern times. There is nothing “non-Orthodox” or “Catholic” in the sense used by propagandists poisoned by the “Russian peace” in the New Julian calendar – no authorship, nor the principle of calculation, nor the time of introduction, nor the geography of distribution, nor the instance that introduced it,” the OCU notes. The OCU reminded that if two-thirds or more of the parishioners of the OCU community wish to preserve the previous calendar tradition, they can do so. Currently, the New Julian calendar is used by 10 out of 15 Orthodox Churches of the world (Ecumenical Patriarchate, Patriarchate of Alexandria, Patriarchate of Antioch, Romanian Patriarchate, Bulgarian Patriarchate, Church of Cyprus, Church of Greece, Church of Albania, Church of the Czech lands and Slovakia, Orthodox Church of Ukraine). Other Christian denominations – Catholics, Anglicans, Protestants – use the Gregorian calendar. What calendars exist. Currently, there are three main calendar systems: Julian; Gregorian; New Julian The Julian calendar is an old calendar that was introduced by the Roman emperor Julius Caesar back in 45 BC, the OCU explains. One of its “minuses” is that every 128 years there is an accumulation of a discrepancy of 1 day between the astronomical and calendar equinoxes. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the difference between the real (astronomical) equinox and the date of March 21, on which the equinox should fall, is 13 days. It is noted that the discrepancy will increase over time, and the holidays will move forward. From 2100, it will be 14 days. “The inaccuracy of the old calendar for all these years (over two millennia) has led to the fact that Christmas, which the Church celebrates on December 25, according to the old style falls on January 7 of the astronomical calendar, and from the year 2100 – already on the 8th,” – noted in OCU. Therefore, in 1582, the calendar system was changed and the astronomically more accurate Gregorian calendar was introduced. It has such a name because it was introduced by order of Pope Gregory XIII. The Eastern Orthodox countries did not accept this reform, so the Orthodox Church remained on the old Julian calendar for a long time – the old style was to some extent perceived as one of the markers of Orthodoxy. The Gregorian calendar was perceived as “papal” or “Catholic”. The Orthodox world agreed to correct the calendar inaccuracy only in the 20th century, when in 1923 representatives of the Orthodox Churches in Constantinople approved the New Julian calendar. The New Julian calendar was created based on the works of the Serbian astronomer, professor of mathematics Milutin Milankovich. According to the method of calculating dates, the New Julian and Gregorian calendars coincide (a discrepancy of one day will occur in the distant future). However, according to the method of calculation, the New Julian calendar has different principles, therefore it is different from the Gregorian calendar. Earlier, we reported when Christmas, Intercession, and St. Nicholas will be according to the New Julian calendar. Read also: Transition to the new calendar: what changes await the faithful of the UGCC and OCU from September 1
[ad_2]
Original Source Link
