Old Calendarists (
Greek: ''palaioimerologitai
'' or ''palaioimerologites''), also known as Old Feasters (''palaioeortologitai''), Genuine Orthodox Christians or True Orthodox Christians (GOC; ), are traditionalist groups of
Eastern Orthodox Christians who separated from mainstream Eastern Orthodox churches because
some of the latter adopted
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...
the
revised Julian calendar while Old Calendarists remained committed to the
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...
.''
'' Old Calendarists are not in
communion with any mainstream Eastern Orthodox churches. "Old Calendarists" is another name for the
True Orthodox
True Orthodox church, True Orthodox Christians, True Orthodoxy or Genuine Orthodoxy, often pejoratively "Zealotry", designates groups of traditionalist Eastern Orthodox churches which have severed communion since the 1920s with the mainstream East ...
movement in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
and
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
.
Terminology
Mainstream Eastern Orthodox Christians which use the
old (Julian) calendar are ''not'' what is designated by the expression "Old Calendarist", because they remain in communion with the
Eastern Orthodox churches that use the new calendar (the
Revised Julian calendar). Old Calendarists have severed
communion with the mainstream Eastern Orthodox which follow the old calendar, because the latter maintained communion with Eastern Orthodox churches which had adopted the revised calendar. Thus, to be "Old Calendarist" is not the same thing as only following the old calendar. The
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
, for instance, is not Old Calendarist, but follows the old (Julian) calendar.'
History
Background
Until 1924, the
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
universally used the
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...
, whereas the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, under
Pope Gregory XIII, conducted a
calendar reform and adopted the mediaeval
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...
in 1582. The
difference between the two calendars is 13 days between 1900 and 2100.
1923 Congress
In May 1923, the
Pan-Orthodox Council of Constantinople, called by Patriarch
Meletius IV of Constantinople, adopted the
Revised Julian calendar. This new calendar was different to the Julian calendar, and would not diverge from the
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...
for a further 800 years. The Revised Julian calendar replaced the tabular date of
Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
of the Julian calendar with an
astronomical date of Easter. Not all Eastern Orthodox churches were represented at the congress or adopted its decisions, and the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
and some other Eastern Orthodox churches have continued to use the Julian calendar liturgically to this day.
Birth
Greece
![Cross_of_Athens_(1925)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Cross_of_Athens_%281925%29.jpg)
In 1924, the
Church of Greece
The Church of Greece ( el, Ἐκκλησία τῆς Ἑλλάδος, Ekklēsía tē̂s Helládos, ), part of the wider Greek Orthodox Church, is one of the autocephalous churches which make up the communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Its ...
adopted the
Revised Julian calendar, also called 'New calendar'. "At first, resistance to the New Calendar was muted." The Old Calendarists in Greece were at first a small number of laymen, priests and monks, whose number grew over the years.
''
''
Before they were joined by bishops, the Old Calendarist movement in Greece was only composed of priests and laypeople, of which "several hundreds monks from
Athos
Athos may refer to:
Fictional or mythical characters
* Athos (character), one of the title characters in the novel ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844) by Alexandre Dumas père
* Athos (mythology), one of the Gigantes in Greek mythology
* Athos Fadiga ...
".
In 1935, three bishops of the Church of Greece joined the movement and consecrated four new bishops for the movement.''
'' Of those three bishops,
Metropolitan
Metropolitan may refer to:
* Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories
* Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England
* Metropolitan county, a typ ...
of
Florina became the leader of the Greek Old Calendarist movement. Of the three bishop who had joined, Chrysostom of Zakynthos soon left the movement after the consecration and went back to the Church of Greece. Of the four bishops consecrated, two joined the Church of Greece. This left the Greek Old Calendarist movement with four bishops: Chrysostomos of Florina, Germanos of Demetria, Germanos of the Cyclades, and Matthew (Karpoudakis) of Vrestheni. Those remaining four bishops created an Old Calendarist
Holy Synod.
While the Greek Old Calendarists were "
iginally perhaps a million strong", they were severely
persecuted
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these terms ...
by the
State of Greece; Metropolitan Chrysostomos was imprisoned in
Lesbos in 1951 as part of those persecutions.
= Splits
=
In Greece in 1937, the Greek Old Calendarists "divided"; the reason for their division is a disagreement on whether the
sacraments
A sacrament is a Christian rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the real ...
performed by members of churches which have adopted the
reformed calendar were valid or not.
After Chrysostomos, head of the Holy Synod, refused to declare the sacraments of the
New Calendarists
The New Calendarists are Eastern Orthodox churches that adopted the Revised Julian calendar.'
Background
In the history of Christianity, divisions on which calendar to use were initiated after 1582, when the Roman Catholic Church transiti ...
as
graceless, bishop Matthew led the group which seceded from the Holy Synod.
After this, Matthew ordained a number of bishops himself, and formed a separate Holy Synod of which he was the head as archbishop of Athens. Matthew died in 1950.
The group led by Chrysostomos was left without any bishop after the passing of Chrysostomos in 1955, until 1960 when two bishops of the
Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) consecrated archbishop. Akakios consecrated other bishops with the participation of another different ROCOR bishop. Akakios was succeeded by . Under Auxentios, "complicated patterns of division and realignment occurred both within his own jurisdiction and among the followers of Archbishop Matthew". Due to this, in 1999 there were at least five different Greek Old Calendarist churches, each headed by a different archbishop of Athens. Additionally, there was also a
'Cyprianite' Greek Old Calendarist Church, whose adjective derive from its leader, bishop
Cyprian of Oropos and Phyli.
In 1971, the ROCOR tried to unite the factions of Greek Old Calendarists, but failed. In 1999, the most important groups of Greek Old Calendarists were the Chrysostomites, the Matthewites, and the Cyprianites.
Romania
Also in 1924, the
Romanian Orthodox Church adopted the revised calendar; at this moment the Old Calendarist movement began in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
.
The
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...
of Prokof, , became the head of the Old Calendarist movement in Romania.
Hierarchs in Greece supporting the Old Calendarist cause of Tanase did not manage to consecrate him bishop due to interventions of the Greek State.
By 1936, many parishes had left the Romanian Orthodox Church to become Old Calendarist, and more than forty new churches had been built for the use of Romanian Old Calendarist communities.
From 1935 and onwards, the Romanian government enacted "drastic measures" aimed to "eradicate organized opposition" to the Romanian Orthodox Church. Due to this, Romanian Old Calendarist churches and monasteries "were razed", and Romanian Old Calendarists activists were incarcerated. "Many, like Abbot Pambo, were killed and Glicherie Tanase was repeatedly imprisoned." Those persecutions went on "until the collapse of the
omanianregime at the end of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
."
In 1955, one bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan , joined the Old Calendarist movement in Romania.
Before they were joined by a bishops, the Old Calendarist movement in Romania was only composed of priests and laypeople, of which "several hundreds monks from
Athos
Athos may refer to:
Fictional or mythical characters
* Athos (character), one of the title characters in the novel ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844) by Alexandre Dumas père
* Athos (mythology), one of the Gigantes in Greek mythology
* Athos Fadiga ...
".
Metropolitan Galaction, while under
house arrest
In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...
, consecrated other Old Calendarist bishops:
, Metodie, and Glicherie Tanase.
Later,
a Holy Synod of the Romanian Old Calendarists was "formally established".
Since the
Ceaușescu period, the Romania Old Calendarist Church "has flourished, establishing a vigorous
parochial Parochial is an adjective which may refer to:
* Parishes, in religion
** Parish churches, also called parochial churches
* Parochial schools, primary or secondary schools affiliated to a religious organisation
* Parochialism
Parochialism is the ...
and monastic life."
Since the
fall of Ceaușescu, the Romanian Old Calendarist movement "has grown notably."
The Romanian Old Calendarist movement remained united, unlike the Greek Old Calendarist movement.
Metropolitan Galaction was the first head of the Romanian Old Calendarist, until his death in 1959. Galaction was succeeded as head by Tanase, who became the second leader of the Romania Old Calendarist Church, from 1960 until his death in 1985.
Tanase was
canonized by the Romania Old Calendarist Church in 1999.
Bulgaria
The
Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church ( bg, Българска православна църква, translit=Balgarska pravoslavna tsarkva), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria ( bg, Българска патриаршия, links=no, translit=Balgarsk ...
adopted the revised Julian calendar in 1968. The Protection Convent near
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
became a center of the resistance those this adoption. In 1993, Photios of Triadista was consecrated bishop by the
Cyprianite Old Calendarist Church to be
hierarch
An ordinary (from Latin ''ordinarius'') is an officer of a church or civic authority who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute laws.
Such officers are found in hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ...
of the Bulgarian Old Calendarists.
Intercommunion
In 1977, a declaration of
intercommunion
Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constitutes full communion, but ...
between the
Cyprianite Old Calendarist Church and the
Romanian Old Calendarist Church was signed.
In 1994, an act establishing communion between the
ROCOR and the Cyprianite Old Calendarist Church established full communion between those two churches, as well as between Romanian and
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
Old Calendarist churches. Those four churches were therefore "in a single communion."
The Cyprianite Old Calendarist Church severed its communion with the ROCOR in 2005, because they considered the ROCOR was going to enter into a
union with the Moscow Patriarchate, and had "jettisoned" its "''anti-
ecumenist
Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...
outlook''" as well as its cooperation with the Cyprianite Old Calendarist Church. Two weeks prior to the Cyprianite Old Calendarist Church's decision, the ROCOR had severed communion with the Cyprianite Old Calendarist Church due to its leader consecrating a bishop in
Ossetia as Bishop .
Demography
In 1999, it was estimated that "
ere are probably over one million Old Calendarists in Romania, somewhat fewer in Greece, and considerably fewer in
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
,
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
, and the
astern Orthodox
This list of ship directions provides succinct definitions for terms applying to spatial orientation in a marine environment or location on a vessel, such as ''fore'', ''aft'', ''astern'', ''aboard'', or ''topside''.
Terms
* Abaft (preposition ...
diaspora
A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...
."
Categories
There exists two trends within Old Calendarism. The first one is "resistance Old Calendarism", the second is "
integrist
In politics, integralism, integrationism or integrism (french: intégrisme) is an interpretation of Catholic social teaching that argues for an authoritarian and anti- pluralist Catholic state, wherever the preponderance of Catholics within t ...
Old Calendarism".
The first position "expresses resistance to what it sees as unlawful innovation and walls itself off from churches using the
new calendar
Calendar reform or calendrical reform is any significant revision of a calendar system. The term sometimes is used instead for a proposal to switch to a different calendar design.
Principles
The prime objective of a calendar is to unambigu ...
and compromised by what is seen as the
heresy
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
of
ecumenism
Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...
. It refuses, however, to condemn the
rites and
sacraments
A sacrament is a Christian rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the real ...
of New Calendarists as devoid of
grace
Grace may refer to:
Places United States
* Grace, Idaho, a city
* Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois
* Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office
* Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...
, and seeks by witness and courteous dialogue to draw the
asternOrthodox majority to its traditionalist outlook." This trend is to be found for example in among the
True Orthodox
True Orthodox church, True Orthodox Christians, True Orthodoxy or Genuine Orthodoxy, often pejoratively "Zealotry", designates groups of traditionalist Eastern Orthodox churches which have severed communion since the 1920s with the mainstream East ...
of Cyprianite stance.
The second position "rejects all
New Calendarist churches, all those in
communion with New Calendarists and all who refuse to reject the sacraments of the New Calendarists as outside the
asternOrthodox Church and therefore as having sacraments devoid of grace." Churches which hold this position "see themselves as the surviving
asternOrthodox church, maintaining the integrity of
asternOrthodox tradition in the face of massive apostasy." This trend is to be found for example in the Old Calendarist churches of the Matthewite succession.
In 1999, it was noted that "a more recent cause of division, especially among Matthewites, is the
icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...
of the
Holy Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
: some Old Calendarists reject the icon, others reject the rejecters as
iconoclasts An iconoclast is one who professes iconoclasm (the belief in the importance of the destroying physical religious images); one who objects to the use of sacred images in religion, or who opposes orthodoxy and religion.
Iconoclast(s) may also refer t ...
."
Groups
Old Calendarist groups include:
* Greek Old Calendarists, composed of numerous churches of which are:
**
**
**
**
Holy Synod of Milan
**
**
**
**
**
***
Autonomous Orthodox Metropolis of Ecuador and Latin America The Autonomous Orthodox Metropolis of Ecuador and Latin America is an Old Calendarist jurisdiction which originally comprised the archdiocese in South America and Caribbean of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in America, subsequently beco ...
***
True Orthodox Metropolis of Germany and Europe
The True Orthodox Metropolis of Germany and Europe, formerly known as the Syrian Orthodox Church of Europe, is an autonomous Old Calendarist Eastern Orthodox church based in Altenbergen, Germany; it is headed by metropolitan Moses Görgün. The ...
**
Holy Orthodox Church in North America
**
Orthodox Church of Greece (Holy Synod in Resistance)
The Orthodox Church of Greece - Holy Synod in Resistance (SiR; el, Ιερά Σύνοδος των Ενισταμένων) was an Old Calendarist church.
History
The Holy Synod in Resistance was established in 1984.
The first Holy Synod
In se ...
(defunct)
*
Old Calendar Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Old Calendar Bulgarian Orthodox Church is an Old Calendarist church which follows the traditional Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar, the Julian Calendar, and rejects ecumenism
Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and pr ...
*
Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania
The Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania ( ro, Biserica Ortodoxă de Stil Vechi din România) is an Old Calendarist denomination.
As of February 2022, the current primate of the church is .
External linksOfficial Website
{{Romanian religion ...
See also
*
Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar
*
Independent sacramental movement
*
New Calendarists
The New Calendarists are Eastern Orthodox churches that adopted the Revised Julian calendar.'
Background
In the history of Christianity, divisions on which calendar to use were initiated after 1582, when the Roman Catholic Church transiti ...
*
Old Believers
Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow bet ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
* ''Бочков П. В., свящ.'' Обзор неканонических православных юрисдикций XX—XXI вв.: монография. В 4 т. — Т. 4: Греческий старостильный раскол. — 2-е изд., испр. и доп. — СПб.: Своё издательство, 2018. — 282 с.
*
*
*
*
Publications by Old Calendarist clergy on the subject
*
*
*
The Ecclesiological Position of the Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005070521/http://bulgarian-orthodox-church.org/ch-life/official/EcclesiologicalPosition-en.pdf , date=2013-10-05 , by Bishop Photii of Triaditsa
Christian terminology
Old Calendarism
Eastern Orthodox belief and doctrine
Julian calendar