Priest Dmitry Sizonenko is a cleric at the Cathedral of the Feodorov icon of the Mother of God in St. Petersburg, the editor of the diocesan magazine “Water of Life. St. Petersburg Church Herald”.
Why does the Russian Orthodox Church celebrate Christmas by the old style, while the majority of the world’s churches live by the modern calendar?
Many of us heard about the problem of the old and new style in school: why, for example, did the entire country celebrate the day of the October revolution on 7 November? This is because until 1918, Russia lived by the calendar introduced by the Emperor Julian – while European countries began to move to the Gregorian calendar in the 17th century, which was 13 days ahead of the Julian style. In some official documents in Russia, a dual date was shown: for example 25 October/7 November. One of the first innovations of the Soviet regime was the calendar reform: in 1918, 31 January was followed by 14 February.
The issue of the Russian Orthodox Church moving to the Gregorian style was reviewed positively at the Posmestny cathedral in 1917-1918, but as the Church had by this time already been “separated” from the state, the move to the new calendar did not affect it. So to this day, 7 January corresponds to 25 December in the church calendar. Many Orthodox churches have already moved to the Gregorian style. However, Christmas is celebrated together with us according to the Julian style by the Jerusalem, Serbian and Georgian churches, the Athonian monks and several Greek adherents to the old style.
Is there any difference in the understanding of Christmas among Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran believers?
In the understanding of Christmas there are no significant differences between us. There are rather cultural and psychological differences. Today, I believe, it is much more important to talk about the unity of Christians in the face of modern tendencies to celebrate Christmas without Christ.
Why can’t Christians reach an agreement and celebrate the birth of Christ at the same time? Perhaps there would be more understanding among beliefs?
It would not change anything very much, because difficulties and misunderstandings between Christians arose for other reasons.
How do you recommend your parishioners celebrate the secular New Year? Are jokes, merriment, foods not permitted in the fast and alcohol allowed? Should one give presents? Who should they feel about the Christmas markets, festivals and concerts which are held all over the city before Christmas?
I try not to give general instructions to my parishioners. A great deal is determined by the level of spiritual maturity of each individual person.
Can religious parents invite Santa Claus for their children on New Year, and can the children take part in New Year parties at kindergarten and school?
A great deal depends on the traditions of the individual family. The Bolsheviks forced the celebration of New Year on the people, so that the people would forget about Christ. But I don’t see anything anti-Christian in these celebrations and in the figure of Santa Claus dressed in a coat with the colors of Coca-Cola. This is a survival of ancient pagan traditions, which today brings enormous profit to supermarkets and party agencies. It is very sad to take away from children the joy of celebrating with their friends, but the New Year celebrations which take place during the Christmas fast do indeed distract people from the main celebration.
Do you have to go to church on Christmas Eve? From what age should children be present at the Christmas service?
It is not customary to talk of attending services as a duty for believers, even for such important dates as Christmas and Easter. This should come from an inner need of the heart to share the general merriment. In many churches, two services are held on these celebrations. People who are unable to be present at the night service come to the church for the morning liturgy. It is up to the parents whether they take their children or not. At our church you can see people holding babies at the night services.
Why do believers observe such a strict fast before the celebrations? What does it mean, to break one’s fast? What are the permissible limits at Christmas dinners?
A fast as a restriction of food reveals the amazing ability for a deeper understanding of the coming celebration. By restricting their food, believers express that true life comes from God, and not from earthly food. An important part of the fast is the spiritual vigil in expectation of God. It reaches it culmination on Christmas Eve, when according to tradition Orthodox believers fast until the first star appears.
“Breaking one’s fast” traditionally means the meal that marks the end of the days of the fast. No restrictions exist for the Christmas meal, and the customs are just as diverse as the Christian world.
How do you feel about the broadcast of Christmas and Easter services on television? Is this a real service, or just a surrogate for it?
Television broadcasts are simply a means of communication. It is like socializing with friends: no telephone conversation can completely replace a conversation face to face. But the most important things is not what is shown on screen, but what happens in the viewers’ heart at this moment. For some, it is nothing more than a television show, but for others it is a chance to be part of the religious experience of the entire church.
At the Christmas table, it is customary to leave a place empty for a guest. Pulse invited a colleague to take this place – the editor of the Catholic weekly “Svet Evangeliya” Viktor Khrul, a member of the council of the International Catholic Press Association. From 1996-2001 he was a member of the Papal Council for Laymen’s Affairs at the Vatican, and met John Paul II several times. Nowadays he teaches at Moscow State University and the St. Petersburg Catholic seminary.
- Viktor, what are the similarities and differences in the celebration of the Catholic and Orthodox Christmas?
It is not quite correct to call Christmas on 25 December Catholic, and Christmas on 7 January Orthodox. The Russian, Georgian, Jerusalem and Serbian Orthodox churches do indeed celebrate Christmas on 7 January, but the Romanian and Helladic churches celebrate it on 25 December. The Ukrainian Graeco-Catholic church, however, celebrates Christmas according to the Julian calendar, on 7 January. Another myth is that for Catholics the main celebration is Christmas, and for the Orthodox Church it is Easter. The main celebration for all Christians, both Catholic and Orthodox, is Easter. The everyday forms of celebrating Christmas in recent years have simply become so extensive that in the West Christmas has overshadowed Easter in the way it is celebrated.
- By everyday forms, do you mean the festive bustle with presents, shops and parties?
Yes, and under this influence people forget about the mystical meaning of Christmas. In December, Orthodox believers undertake the Christmas fast, while the Catholics have advent at this time – the joyful expectation of the celebration, spiritual preparation, and intensified spiritual work. But outside there are already decorated trees and Christmas markets – as though the celebration had already begun. And instead of preparing their souls for Christmas, people rush around madly buying presents, trying to gratify their bodies. And when a famous singer arranges “Christmas meetings” – and there is almost no discussion of Christmas… But in all honesty we should direct our bewilderment against ourselves, because Christians, unfortunately, are not very active in explaining the meaning of this celebration, I would even say in protesting against distorting it.
How are relations between the Catholic Church and the media?
- Sometimes the media wants to charge the church: if you want to have a column in this newspaper, then you’re told how much it will cost. Several years ago a TV program was planned with representatives of various religions. But the project assumed that the religious organizations would pay for air time according to advertising rates, and as a result it did not go ahead. You often hear “the Catholics are rich (or the Orthodox are rich), and they can pay”. Although the channels live on the funds of Orthodox, Muslims, Catholics, and other taxpayers of Russia who have the right to be represented in the media.
- Let’s return to the celebration of Christmas…
- These differences are more on the level of everyday culture than a theological level. Swimming in an ice hole on Epiphany is an Orthodox tradition, you won’t see it in Western European countries. On the other hand, if we take two different houses with a two-week gap of Catholics and Orthodox who live next to each other in Ukraine, I’m sure that we won’t find much difference in the way they celebrate. There’s even a joke about this, that Christians don’t move to the other calendar because two Christmases are better than one
- In the USSR, the attributes of Christmas were transferred to the New Year celebration…
- Yes, I suppose so, for me it was always more enjoyable to celebrate Christmas with my parents in western Belarus than in Moscow, where I found it difficult to feel the Christmas atmosphere at the end of December. Catholics, like Orthodox believers, were subject to secularization in the years of the Soviet regime, when Christmas was “replaced” with New Year.
- What are the liturgical features of the Catholic Christmas?
- Before the mass on Christmas Eve, a gathering is held. The tree is decorated by this time, and people refrain from eating. The family sits down at the table which has the fasting meal laid out on it: there is some hay on the table in memory of the manger where Christ was born, and there should be 12 dishes. The head of the family reads passages from the Book of Luke, where Christmas is described in detail. Then the family goes to church, where a manger has been built – it is often outside the church. In the evening, after the first star appears, and in some places, at midnight, the priest takes the figure of the infant Christ from the altar and puts him in the cradle over which statues of Mary and Joseph look. After the service, the family returns home, and meat dishes which were previously prepared are placed on the table. By tradition, one place at the table is kept free for a guest – to remember that Maria and Joseph could find no place at the inn, and Jesus was born in a manger. The next day, 25 December, everyone goes to church once again, and then usually goes to visit relatives and friends.
- So far, everything you’ve talked about is very similar to the Orthodox Christmas.
- Of course it is, because we have the same theology, which goes back to a common undivided church.
- Do Catholic and Orthodox bishops congratulate each other, and do they take part in each others’ services?
- Of course. The patriarch congratulates the Pope, and the Pope congratulates the patriarch. In Petersburg, as far as I know, there is a tradition of visiting each others’ celebrations not just by priests, but by seminarians, at the blessing of the hierarchy.
- Will 2008 mark a breakthrough in relations between the Orthodox and Catholic churches?
-. Already in 2007, serious progress was noted, and a “warming” at the level of bishops. Catholics in Russia got a new archbishop, Pavel Pezzi, whom Orthodox priests consider their friend. On an everyday level, according to my observations, relations have not stopped at all, despite the prevailing myths about the inquisition, Jesuits and Opus Dei. The sociological indicator – the number of mixed marriages – also confirms the stability and good will of Orthodox-Catholic relations. Whatever people say, our Churches are very close, they both recognize the sacraments and have apostolic continuity. We are destined to have a dialogue, if only for the sake of Christian values, which essentially lie at the foundation of European culture.