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Old Calendarists (
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: ''palaioimerologitai'' or ''palaioimerologites''), also known as Old Feasters (''palaioeortologitai''), Genuine Orthodox Christians or True Orthodox Christians (GOC; ), are traditionalist groups of
Eastern Orthodox Christians Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
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 The Revised Julian calendar, or less formally the new calendar, is a calendar proposed in 1923 by the Serbian scientist Milutin Milanković as a more accurate alternative to both Julian and Gregorian calendars. At the time, the Julian calendar w ...
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 Alexandria. ...
.'''' Old Calendarists are not in communion with any mainstream Eastern Orthodox churches. "Old Calendarists" is another name for the True Orthodox movement in
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
,
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 Maced ...
,
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.


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 The Revised Julian calendar, or less formally the new calendar, is a calendar proposed in 1923 by the Serbian scientist Milutin Milanković as a more accurate alternative to both Julian and Gregorian calendars. At the time, the Julian calendar w ...
). 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 Alexandria. ...
, 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 Pope Gregory XIII ( la, Gregorius XIII; it, Gregorio XIII; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for ...
, conducted a
calendar reform 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 unambiguo ...
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 diff ...
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 The Council of Constantinople of 1923 was a meeting of representatives of several local Eastern Orthodox Churches held in Constantinople from May 10 to June 8, 1923, convened at the initiative of Ecumenical Patriarch Meletius Metaxakis. In spit ...
, called by Patriarch
Meletius IV of Constantinople Meletius (, secular name Emmanuel Metaxakis ; 21 September 1871 – 28 July 1935) was primate of the Church of Greece from 1918 to 1920 as Meletius III, after which he was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople as Meletius IV from 1921 to 1923 ...
, adopted the
Revised Julian calendar The Revised Julian calendar, or less formally the new calendar, is a calendar proposed in 1923 by the Serbian scientist Milutin Milanković as a more accurate alternative to both Julian and Gregorian calendars. At the time, the Julian calendar w ...
. 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 diff ...
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 P ...
of the Julian calendar with an
astronomical Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galax ...
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

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. It ...
adopted the
Revised Julian calendar The Revised Julian calendar, or less formally the new calendar, is a calendar proposed in 1923 by the Serbian scientist Milutin Milanković as a more accurate alternative to both Julian and Gregorian calendars. At the time, the Julian calendar w ...
, 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". 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 of
Florina Florina ( el, Φλώρινα, ''Flórina''; known also by some alternative names) is a town and municipality in the mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. The town of Florina is the capital of the ...
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 In several of the autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ...
. 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 Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Asia Minor by the na ...
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 re ...
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 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 The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (russian: Ру́сская Правосла́вная Це́рковь Заграни́цей, lit=Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, translit=Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov' Zagranitsey), also called Ru ...
(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 The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates ...
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, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
. 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 fe ...
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 opposing ...
." 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". 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 school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and ...
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 Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...
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 The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (russian: Ру́сская Правосла́вная Це́рковь Заграни́цей, lit=Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, translit=Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov' Zagranitsey), also called Ru ...
and the Cyprianite Old Calendarist Church established full communion between those two churches, as well as between Romanian and Bulgarian 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 Ossetia ( , ; os, Ирыстон or , or ; russian: Осетия, Osetiya; ka, ოსეთი, translit. ''Oseti'') is an ethnolinguistic region located on both sides of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, largely inhabited by the Ossetians. ...
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 Maced ...
, Cyprus, and the astern Orthodox
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 afte ...
."


Categories

There exists two trends within Old Calendarism. The first one is "resistance Old Calendarism", the second is " integrist Old Calendarism". The first position "expresses resistance to what it sees as unlawful innovation and walls itself off from churches using the new calendar 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 Rail India Technical and Economic Service Limited, abbreviated as RITES Ltd, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Indian Railways, Ministry of Railways, Government of India. It is an engineering consultancy corporation, specializing in the field ...
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 re ...
of New Calendarists as devoid of grace, and seeks by witness and courteous dialogue to draw the
astern 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 ...
Orthodox majority to its traditionalist outlook." This trend is to be found for example in among the True Orthodox 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
astern 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 ...
Orthodox Church and therefore as having sacraments devoid of grace." Churches which hold this position "see themselves as the surviving
astern 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 ...
Orthodox church, maintaining the integrity of
astern 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 ...
Orthodox 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 c ...
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."


Groups

Old Calendarist groups include: * Greek Old Calendarists, composed of numerous churches of which are: ** ** ** **
Holy Synod of Milan The Holy Synod of Milan is an autocephalous True Orthodox jurisdiction. This church originated as a diocese for Western Europe of the Old Calendarist Greek Orthodox church of the and proclaimed itself independent at some point. The church is no ...
** Autonomous Orthodox Metropolia of North and South America and the British Isles ** ** ** ** *** Autonomous Orthodox Metropolis of Ecuador and Latin America *** True Orthodox Metropolis of Germany and Europe ** 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 Preside ...
(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 p ...
* Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania


See also

* Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar *
Independent sacramental movement The independent sacramental movement (ISM) refers to a loose collection of individuals and Christian denominations which are not part of the historic sacramental Christian denominations embodying catholicity (such as the Catholic Church, Eastern Ort ...
* New Calendarists *
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 be ...


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