OCU “bishop”: UOC celebrates Christmas on January 7 to divide Ukrainians
Firley believes it is not those imposing the new calendar style who are dividing Ukrainian society, but those who have remained on the old one.
The Chernihiv OCU “bishop,” Antoniy Firley, accused the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of using the Julian calendar as a tool to divide Ukrainian society.
In an interview with the local Cheline TV channel, Firley said the UOC allegedly deliberately continues to celebrate Christmas according to the Julian calendar (January 7), as well as other feasts, in order to exert political influence on believers.
He asserted that the UOC “is an instrument in the hands of the chauvinist Russian empire.”
According to him, the calendar is used by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as an “instrument for manipulation, in order to divide society – to divide society within Ukraine.”
Firley also claimed that the UOC allegedly uses “liturgical elements for its manipulation, for its propaganda, for its political influence.”
At the same time, the “bishop” acknowledged that until the 1990s Ukrainian believers were part of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Earlier, UOJ reported that, according to an OCU cleric, Ukrainians were forced to celebrate Christmas on January 7 by the Bolsheviks.
