Ukraine moves Christmas holiday, distancing itself from Russian tradition - ABC News
Ukraine has moved its official Christmas holiday to December 25 in a break with the Russian Orthodox Church which celebrates it on January 7, according to new legislation.
Key points:
- The change is designed to end Russia "imposing" its own celebrations on Ukraine, a note on the parliament website said
- It comes as part of a wider move to separate Ukraine's identity from Russia's since the invasion
- Once under Moscow's spiritual leadership, part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church broke away in 2019
The bill, signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, highlights the deepening rift between churches in Kyiv and Moscow since Russia's invasion of its pro-Western neighbour.
"The relentless and successful struggle for their identity contributes to … the desire of every Ukrainian to live their own life with their own traditions and holidays," an explanatory note for the bill on the parliament's website says.
The purpose of the law is to "abandon the Russian heritage of imposing Christmas celebrations on January 7", the note says.
Ukraine had been under Moscow's spiritual leadership since at least the 17th century, alongside many other former Soviet countries.
However, part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church broke with Moscow in 2019 over Russia's annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in the east of their country, forming the smaller, independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
The Russia-backed branch of Ukraine's Orthodox Church also said it had severed ties with Moscow in May 2022.
The decision to move Christmas is the latest in a series of steps taken by Ukraine in recent years to distance itself from Moscow.
Other steps have included renaming streets and towns named after Soviet figures.
Religious rift unfolds alongside war
Practised by about three-quarters of the population, Eastern Orthodoxy is the predominant religion in Ukraine.
It consists of 17 self-governing churches around the world, each run by its own patriarch, but the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in Istanbul is seen as the spiritual hub by many.
The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has been a vocal supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine.
Patriarch Kirill has also made it clear that he sees Russia, home to about half the world's Orthodox population, as the highest authority over Constantinople.
Mr Putin has argued that Ukrainians and Russians are "one people", tied to each other culturally, economically and spiritually.
While the division between Ukraine's Orthodox bodies has existed for decades, it has intensified since the Russian invasion, according to Nihal Saad, the director of United Nations Alliance of Civilisations office.
Speaking to the council following Russian air strikes damaging a historic cathedral in Ukraine's Odesa, she said the safety of members of religious communities in both Ukraine and Russian-controlled areas was "a matter of grave concern".
While the division between Ukraine's Orthodox bodies "has existed for decades", it has intensified since the Russian invasion and has "reverberated worldwide as Orthodox churches have struggled with how and whether to take sides", she said.
ABC/AFP
from "holiday" - Google News https://ift.tt/tQgAlOx
via IFTTT
Comments
Post a Comment