"Let Epiphany return our holidays to their rightful place." How Kosmach became divided over the two Christmas celebrations.

“Faith is not changed”

After the local council of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine approved the transition to the new Julian calendar in the summer of 2023, the community of the oldest and largest church by the number of parishioners in Kosmach, St. Peter and Paul Church, held a meeting. Although it is part of the OCU, the decision of the higher church leadership was not accepted.

People voted to continue celebrating religious holidays on the old dates. The main arguments were that their parents and grandparents lived by this calendar, celebrating Christmas on January 7 instead of December 25.

“Faith is not changed. We were born this way, and as our parents taught us, that’s how it should be, and that’s how we should teach our children and continue until the end (celebrating on January 7 — ed.). Otherwise, it’s like stepping over your own faith and religion,” says Anna.

She adds that she would very much like to personally tell the head of the OCU, Epiphanius, “to return the holidays to their rightful place.” Her name day according to the new calendar was December 9, and on that day, her granddaughter congratulated her. The woman thanked her but stated that she would celebrate on December 22.

When asked what she would do if carolers came to her house on December 25, she replied that she would treat them and thank them for the carol, as it would not be appropriate to turn them away.

“Here live the descendants of the sexots”

Since other parishes have switched to the new Julian calendar, in addition to the Greek Catholic Church (which has significantly fewer attendees), four Orthodox churches located far from the village center are celebrating according to the new dates.

“This is my personal pain and the pain of the whole village. The fact that the village is so divided now,” comments Father Igor, the rector of the Holy Trinity UGCC Church in Kosmach.

He had been preparing his parish for the calendar transition for a long time, so they immediately adopted the new celebration dates without any reservations.

Father Igor believes that the refusal of the neighboring OCU parish to switch to the new Julian calendar is due not only to the parishioners' habits but also to a deliberate manipulation of their opinions.

“The preparation for not transitioning lasted at least a year and a half before this was discussed. There were special messages on social media that manipulated public opinion. It seems to me that for our enemy, Kosmach is a key village. After all, there was the Elders’ School of the UPA. Many people were repressed here. At the same time, there were a lot of sexots. And their descendants still live here and profess these ideas. There are many people who, let’s say, are not for Ukraine,” he states.

At the same time, the village elder, who is a parishioner of the largest Orthodox church in the village, says that this change in the calendar is simply not timely during wartime.

“People needed to be prepared for the transition. We already have a ton of problems, and now there’s some misunderstanding between the confessions during the war,” says elder Dmitry Mokhnachuk.

He regrets that for the second consecutive year, there will be no interfaith procession to the river and joint prayer on Baptism in the village. Mokhnachuk himself celebrates two Christmases: December 25 with his in-laws, and January 7 with his parish.

Two Christmases in one family

The most unusual situation regarding the celebrations arises in families where members attend different churches. Thus, the Kravchuk couple from Kosmach celebrates two Christmases.

Since the 1990s, every Sunday, they travel together from their village to the center of Kosmach, where they part ways to attend their respective churches: Elena goes to the Greek Catholic Church, while Vasily attends the Orthodox Church.

For the second year in a row, on the morning of December 25, Elena goes alone to the Christmas service, while her husband stays home. Similarly, on January 7, Vasily, dressed festively, goes to St. Peter and Paul Church while his wife stays home to manage the household.

“The Constitution of Ukraine states that a woman can believe in one faith, while a man can believe in another. But we have one Christian faith. For an ordinary Christian, the main thing is to listen to the divine service, regardless of where and in which church. Everything else is already religious politics,” smiles Vasily Kravchuk.

He admits that he would prefer his parish to transition to the new calendar. However, according to him, currently, a few “stubborn” women who support the old style have a louder voice there, while the others are simply hesitant to contradict them.