In 2023, a significant event took place for all Ukrainian believers - the Orthodox Church of Ukraine finally switched to the New Julian church calendar. However, with some caveats. And it is about them, as well as when the significant church holidays will be celebrated in 2024, that the Online Guide will tell you now.
What is important for parishioners to know
In short, just a few key points. The first is that the new church calendar is 13 days behind the old one. That is, if earlier Christmas was celebrated on January 7, now it is on December 25. So now most Orthodox Ukrainian holidays will coincide in time with similar Catholic ones.
The second point is that Easter and important dates related to it, such as the beginning of Great Lent, are not relevant. The fact is that a special method is used to determine the date of this key holiday for the Orthodox church calendar - the so-called "Easter". In short, Easter should be celebrated on the Sunday after the first full moon that follows the day of the Vernal Equinox and not on the same day as the Jewish Passover. To simplify these calculations, the church calendar uses special tables. And this tradition will not change.
Well, the third point is that this decision is not absolute and universal. If the parishioners, by joint vote, decide to stay on the "old" calendar, they will be allowed to do so. But it will be necessary to inform the bishop from the OCU about this.
Specific dates of church holidays and important dates according to the new church calendar 2024
Twelfth holiday
The main holidays of the church calendar are dedicated to important events from the life of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God. There are both "non-transitional", i.e., fixed on a specific date, regardless of the year, and "transitional", i.e., those that change every year, depending on the lunar calendar or other reasons.
According to the church calendar of 2024, as well as all subsequent years, "non-transitional" falls on the following days:
January 6 - Epiphany or Baptism of the Lord
February 2 - Ascension of the Lord
March 25 – Annunciation of the Holy Mother of God
August 6 - Transfiguration of the Lord
August 15 – Assumption of the Virgin Mary
September 8 - the Nativity of the Mother of God
September 14 – Exaltation of the Holy Cross
November 21 – Introduction to the Church of the Holy Mother of God
December 25 - Christmas
In 2024, the following will be celebrated:
April 28 - Palm Sunday or the Lord's Entry into Jerusalem
May 9 - Ascension of the Lord
June 23 – Holy Trinity Day (Pentecost)
Orthodox calendar by months
As you well know, literally every day in the church calendar is associated with some significant events or personalities of the past. We will not list them within the framework of this article, as there are special holidays where this has already been done. But the most important events are still worth noting. So.
January
January 1 - St. Basil the Great;
January 5 – Epiphany. Fast day;
January 6 - Holy Epiphany. Baptism of the Lord;
January 12 - the holy martyr Tatiana;
January 30 - three saints: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and Ivan the Chrysostom.
February
February 2 - the meeting of the Lord.
March
March 25 – Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
April
April 28 - The Lord's Entry into Jerusalem.
May
May 5 – Easter, Resurrection of Christ;
May 25 – The third acquisition of the head of the holy prophet John the Baptist.
June
June 13 – Ascension of the Lord;
June 23 – Descent of the Holy Spirit, Pentecost;
June 24 - Holy Spirit (Holy Trinity);
June 29 - Saints Peter and Paul.
July
July 7 - Mother of God of tireless help;
July 15 - Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Volodymyr the Great;
July 25 – Assumption of Saint Anna.
August
August 1 – Transfer of the honest cross;
August 6 – Transfiguration of the Lord;
August 15 – Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary;
August 29 – Beheading of the Holy Prophet John the Baptist.
September
September 8 – Nativity of the Holy Mother of God;
September 14 – Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord.
October
October 1 - Intercession of the Holy Mother of God.
November
November 8 – Cathedral of the Archangel Michael;
November 21 – Introduction to the Church of the Holy Mother of God;
November 30 - Saint Andrew the First-Called Apostle.
December
December 6 - Saint Nicholas;
December 9 – Immaculate Conception of the Most Holy Theotokos;
December 25 - Christmas.
Posts in 2024
Fasting, according to the Orthodox tradition, is not only the refusal of food, but also the observance of certain traditions as part of the "cleansing" of the body and soul before important holidays. They are one-day and multi-day. Plus permanent lean days - Wednesday and Friday, with the exception of the so-called "solid weeks" - weeks that are preparation for long multi-day fasts. According to the new church calendar of 2024, multi-day fasts fall on the following days.
March 18 - May 4 - Great Lent.
August 1 - 14 - Uspensky according to Art.
November 15 - December 24 - Christmas Lent.
One-day
January 5 – Baptismal Christmas Eve
February 2 - Ascension of the Lord
March 25 – Annunciation of the Holy Mother of God
May 8 and September 26 - St. John the Evangelist
June 24 - Nativity of John the Baptist
June 29 - Apostles Peter and Paul
August 6 - Transfiguration of the Lord
August 15 – Assumption of the Virgin Mary
August 29 – Beheading of John the Baptist
September 8 - the Nativity of the Mother of God
September 14 – Exaltation of the Holy Cross
October 1 - Intercession of the Holy Mother of God
November 21 – Introduction to the Church of the Holy Mother of God
December 6 - Saint Nicholas
Memorial days in 2024
Due to the change in the church calendar, some traditional memorial days, as well as "father's Saturdays", are being shifted. The first, if anything, are the traditional days of commemoration of dead relatives among the Slavs recognized by the Christian Church. The most famous of them are Radonytsia and Semik. "Father's Saturdays" is an exclusively church tradition, which, however, perfectly overlapped with classical Ukrainian folk values. As for specific dates, according to the new church calendar of 2024, memorial days should be celebrated as follows:
March 9 – Universal Father's Saturday (Meatless Day)
March 30 - Saturday of the second week of Great Lent
April 6 - Saturday of the third week of Great Lent
April 13 - Saturday of the fourth week of Great Lent
May 14 - Radonytsa
May 9 – Commemoration of dead soldiers
June 22 - Trinity Father's Saturday
November 2 - Dimitriv Father's Saturday
Now you know when, according to the new church calendar of 2024, the most significant Orthodox holidays are celebrated. The only thing left is to remember how exactly they should be marked correctly. And the Online Guide will definitely remind you of this when the right moment comes.
