Why do many Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas in January?
Orthodox Christians
Many of our Christian partners belong to the Orthodox family of churches. Most Orthodox Christians in the Middle East will celebrate Christmas on 7th January, and will celebrate Easter in 2022 on 24th April, a week after the western churches celebrate Easter on 17th April. But have you ever wondered how and why this difference came about? To help you to understand more about the Orthodox family of churches we have put together some background, with special thanks for the help of a long-standing Orthodox Embrace supporter. *
The early church
Around 12% of Christians – some 260 million faithful – are Orthodox, and many of them will be celebrating Christmas on the 7th January, in contrast to the churches of the Catholic and Protestant traditions which celebrate Christmas on what to most of us is the more familiar date of December 25th.
The book of Acts tell us how the Gospel was preached in Syria, Asia Minor, Greece and Italy, and how churches were established throughout the eastern Mediterranean area. There was one Church, with branches in different towns and cities, each with their own bishop. As the Church continued to grow, five senior bishoprics became the five Patriarchates. These were Jerusalem, Antioch (where Peter and Paul preached), Alexandria (where Mark preached), and Rome (where Peter and Paul preached). When the emperor Constantine accepted the Christian Faith and built the city of Constantinople, that became the fifth Patriarchate.
Soon after Roman persecution of Christians came to an end, the Church was faced with a difficult situation in Alexandria. A priest named Arius was teaching that “there was a time when the Son of God was not” – in other words he was saying that Christ was a created being subordinate to God the Father. A gathering of bishops was convened in the city of Nicaea in 325 to decide what to do. All 1800 bishops of the Church were invited, but only about 300 took part. The Council condemned the teachings of Arius and produced a statement of faith which was to be accepted by all. It was expanded at a second Council held at Constantinople in 381. This statement of faith is known as the Nicene Creed, and it is still recited by Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Anglican Christians at every Eucharist. Seven such Councils were held by the undivided Church. They are known as the Ecumenical Councils, and form part of the foundations of the Orthodox Church, along with the Bible and the Apostolic Tradition.
The third Council was held in Ephesus in 431. But some churches would not accept its conclusions (sometimes for political reasons). This involved a split from the Orthodox Church, and led to the Church of the East, also called the Persian Church, East Syrian Church, or Nestorian Church. Further divisions followed, and some eventually joined the Roman Catholic Church. There are currently about 400,000 members.
The fourth Council was held in Chalcedon in 451. It was summoned to consider theological details about the Incarnation, and agreed that Christ is one "person" in two "natures". However, some bishops believed that Christ is fully divine and fully human, in one "nature". This involved another split, which led to the Oriental Orthodox communion. This comprises the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, the Syrian Orthodox Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and the Eritrean Orthodox Church. Altogether there are today about 60 million members. They are not in communion with the Orthodox Church.
The early Councils of the church
It is important to remember that these Councils did not operate like the modern General Synod of the Church of England. They did not meet to discuss doctrinal issues and decide a way forward by majority vote. They sought to discern, after prayer for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the authentic apostolic tradition.
St Vincent of Lerins (Fifth century) said, ‘In the Catholic (i.e. Universal) Church all possible care must be taken, that we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all.’
The Great Schism
Rome was the only patriarchate in western Europe. Over time it began to claim that it also had jurisdiction over the other patriarchates. But the Tradition held the Roman Patriarch to be only the first among equals. Tensions grew when the western church added a clause to the Creed (the ‘filioque’) without discussing it with the other patriarchs. Whilst the eastern churches spoke Greek, the western church spoke Latin, helping to foster misunderstandings that led to conflicts. Eventually the Pope of Rome excommunicated the patriarch of Constantinople in 1054, and this led to the split between west and east – known as the Great Schism. The Church of Rome decided to go it alone, without the co-operation of the other four patriarchates.
Today there are about 14 autocephalous Orthodox churches which are in communion with one another. The Russian Orthodox Church is the largest with about 110 million members. The others include the ancient churches of Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria and Constantinople, plus the churches of Georgia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus and the Orthodox Church in America (though its autocephaly is not recognised by all).
Altogether there are about 260 million Orthodox Christians throughout the world today. There are about 200,000 in the Holy Land, a million in Syria and Lebanon, and 350,000 in Egypt. The Coptic Church is the largest church in the region with around 15 million members.
How is Orthodox Christmas celebrated?
The holiday is celebrated with many of the same traditions and symbols as those used in the west, such as Christmas trees, wreaths and gifts.
Orthodox Christmas is preceded by six weeks of fasting. Christians take part in ‘The Holy Nativity Fast’ where they are encouraged to adhere to a vegan diet, from 25th November to 6th January. The fast ends with a feast on Christmas Eve. The meal traditionally begins after the appearance of the first star and in some households features a 12-course feast, each course symbolising one of the 12 apostles. For Coptic (Egyptian) Orthodox Christians, this is likely to include fatteh, rice, a bread and meat dish, and wara’ einab (vine leaves).
Some dinner tables would be decorated with a white or embroidered tablecloth on Christmas Eve, symbolising the cloth that the baby Jesus was wrapped in. Some Orthodox Christians also set places at the table for recently departed loved ones. In the corner of the room, you might find a sheaf of grain called a didukh (say “dee-dooh”) to symbolize a good harvest.
On Christmas Eve, people share sweet treats with their neighbours and families as a symbol of charity, peace and community.
Why does the Orthodox Church have a different calendar?
The early Church used the Roman calendar as revised by Julius Caesar in 46 BC. However, there was a minor fault in the calculation of the lunar months, and the Roman Pope Gregory XIII authorised a new and more accurate calendar in 1582.
The new Gregorian calendar was accepted by Roman Catholic countries at once. The United Kingdom was not keen to accept something proposed by the Pope, but eventually conceded in 1752. Imperial Russia continued to use the old Julian Calendar; when the atheist Communists introduced the new calendar after the Revolution, the Russian Orthodox Church refused to accept it.
Greece accepted the new calendar in 1923. The Patriarch of Constantinople called a Congress to discuss the calendar: a revised version of the Julian Calendar was accepted - which aligns with the Gregorian calendar, but observes Easter according to the Julian calendar.
The Orthodox churches of Jerusalem, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Georgia and Mount Athos follow the old calendar, and the churches of Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Antioch and America follow the new calendar. The Coptic Church in Egypt also follows the old calendar.
The old calendar is currently 13 days behind the new calendar, which means that 25th December comes on the new calendar’s 7th January.
Timelines
Descriptions of the timing and nature of key decisions and their consequences for the church, and its diversity of communions, can be controversial even today. With this in mind, but also in the hope of aiding understanding of the chronology, we offer two versions of a ‘Timeline of Church History’ taken from public sources:
*Embrace the Middle East accepts any errors as our own.