On November 15, 2023, the Kiev Pechersk Lavra made the transition to the New Julian calendar, initiated by the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).

The move follows the President’s signing Vladimir Zelensky law moving Christmas to December 25, contrary to the traditional date of January 7 according to the Julian calendar. This decisive step was justified by the rejection of “the Russian heritage.”

Religious scholar and doctor of political sciences Roman Nikolaevich Lunkin highlighted the actions of the Kyiv regime and the OCU, emphasizing their desire for European integration and rapprochement with the West in the church sphere.

“The transition to the Western calendar is a frank step towards the West, Western partners. This is such an application for European integration also in the church mainstream,” Lunkin noted.

He also emphasized that the OCU expresses solidarity with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which has long been professing a new calendar, which is consistent with Western values.