According to the Julian calendar, some of the Orthodox believers celebrate Christmas Eve next Saturday (January 6th) and Christmas Day on Sunday (January 7th). In Vienna and many other cities in Austria, it is primarily Serbian and Russian Orthodox Christians as well as Oriental Orthodox Christians who are expected to attend the Christmas liturgies in their parishes.
With the finale of the global synodal process and the opening of the Holy Year (December 24, 2024), for which 45 million people are expected in Rome, the Vatican…
In the Russian Orthodox St. Nicholas Cathedral in Vienna, Christmas begins with the “Christmas Eve Vigil” on January 6th at 5 p.m. The St. Nicholas Cathedral with its impressive onion domes was built next to the Russian embassy between 1893 and 1899. Since 1946 The church is the cathedral of the Russian Orthodox bishop of “Vienna and Austria”. Bishop Aleksij (Zanochkin) has held the office since March 2020, who will also preside over the liturgical celebrations.
The Serbian Orthodox St. Sava Cathedral was consecrated in 1893. It is the liturgical center of the Serbian Church in Austria. The solemn Christmas vespers on January 6th begins at 6 p.m. and the night liturgy begins at 11:30 p.m.
Not only in the central Orthodox churches in Vienna, but also in many other churches and Orthodox parishes throughout Austria, which belong to the Patriarchates of Moscow and Belgrade, will take place on the 6th and 7th. Celebrated Christmas in January. The few believers of the Georgian Orthodox Church who live in Austria also celebrate Christmas on this date.
Around 500,000 Orthodox churches in Austria
The total number of believers in the Orthodox churches in Austria is estimated at around 500,000. Exact figures have not been available since 2001. The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (Greek Orthodox) has around 35,000 believers and the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) around 40,000. The Serbian Orthodox Church has the most Orthodox believers in Austria, around 350,000. The Romanian Orthodox and Bulgarian Orthodox Churches each have around 40,000 believers. The small community of the Patriarchate of Antioch is estimated at 1,000 believers. There are also a similar number of believers in the Georgian Orthodox Church.
Orthodox Church: Various Christmas dates
The Orthodox churches of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece have already celebrated Christmas. It takes place in them as well as in the Catholic and Protestant churches on the 24th/25th. December. These Eastern Orthodox churches, with the Greeks at the helm, adopted the Gregorian calendar at the beginning of the 20th century. Since the calendar reform of 1582, the Julian calendar has been 13 days behind the Western Gregorian calendar introduced at the time, which also affects the date of Christmas.
Things are a little complicated in Ukraine at the moment. The autocephalous (independent) Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OKU) also celebrates Christmas on the 24th/25th. celebrated in December. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOK), which competes with the OKU and only broke away from the Moscow Patriarchate in 2022, celebrates according to the Julian calendar.
(hood – shh)
2024-01-03 19:26:48
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