During the Nativity season, debates emerge about the calendar issue: julian vs gregorian and when should Christmas be celebrated, I wanted to do a brief analysis on this calendar issue:
The Gregorian Calendar was implemented by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 with the help of the astronomers to keep up with the solar year as the julian calndar was lagging behind.
The Orthodox Christians however rejected this gregorian calendar 3 times in 1583, 1587 and 1593. Also at the Council of 1848.
Unfortunately in 1923 the change of the old calendar was imposed upon the Greek people by the certified Freemasons Chrysostom Papadopoulos (Metropolitan of Athens) and Meletios Metaxakis (Patriarch of Constantinople) in cooperation with the military coup of Plastiras-Gonatas without the assent of the other Orthodox Churches.
It was suggested in the Encyclical of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1920 that the acceptance of a common calendar would aid the common celebration of all Churches. What it conceived of as “Churches” were all the heretical parasynagogues (Monophysites, Latins, Anglicans, Protestants and the rest of the cacodox) who, based on this encyclical are considered branches of the common body of the “divided Church”, thus paving the road for today’s syncretistic pan-heresy of Ecumenism.
So this calendar innovation in the Orthodox Church was made to promote ecumenism and union with heretical churches. It also disrupted unity among the Orthodox Christians where they fast and celebrate feasts at different periods.
It was a result of an apostasy, yes St Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow agreed to change the calendar but stated that it should be done in a conciliar manner.
But another problem is that the First Ecumenical Council in 325 gave rules to when Pascha should be celebrated and those rules are tied to the julian calendar and not the gregorian one. But when the Orthodox use the new calendar for the fixed feasts of the Menaion but the old calndar for the Paschalion they sometimes skip the fast of the Apostles.
In conclusion this calendar issue should be dealt with by the Orthodox and idealy all should return to the Julian calendar. As it is the calendar that our Orthodox Tradition and Saints used throughout the centuries. We should not follow the ways of the world but Christ.
For more info please see this video: