Glory to Jesus Christ!

Because of this new liturgical year, or the one coming up, I was wondering, do we really need to be on the same calendar? Is it really that big of an issue?

Kyrie eleison,

Manuel

Manuel,

It's disorienting, if nothing else . Just so far as the Catholics, ...

In the US and Canada, the UGCC has parishes - in the same eparchy - using each. The US Russian parishes are, I believe, all observant of the Old Calendar, as are a few US Melkite parishes and - I believe - some Romanian parishes. I don't think any US Ruthenian parishes do - but I stand ready to be corrected on that. The Slovaks in Canada are New Calendar.

The Armenians keep their own Christmas (and it's different than New or Old), but I believe are otherwise New Calendar in the US and Canada. Copts and Ethiopians/Eritreans use the New Calendar in the US and Canada,

In the Old Country, it's not any better - large concentrations of Old Calendar, but pockets - and sometimes more - of New Calendar.

As to Australia and South America, I'll let the natives address the status there.

The Maronites, Malabarese, Malankara, and Chaldeans are all New Calendar across all jurisdictions and continents, I believe. However, the Maronites have a different liturgical cycle than anyone else. (Shawn, do the Syriacs maintain that same cycle?)

Many years,

Neil

The ecclesiastical calendar one observes has to do with at least 2 things:
- the sanctification of time and
- ecclesial identity/affiliation issues.

consult http://orthodoxwiki.org/Holy_Orthodox_Church_in_North_America

which, among other things, provides links to other Old Calendarist jurisdictions.

This post is not meant to be an attack on anyone...

sielos,

Your opening statement is very true and extremely well-said.

However, to be honest, except that it is an Old Calendrist jurisdiction and that there are links to other of the Old Calendrists, I'm a bit lost on the relevance of the link to HOCNA's article on OrthodoxWiki to the thread.

The Calendar issue isn't addressed there at all. HOCNA always makes interesting reading - and lively discussion - but there are certainly other on-line links that directly address thinking on the Calendar issue - possibly even on HOCNA's own site (too tired to check at the moment).

Many years,

Neil

Side-note to the OP: There are actually 3 calendars in principal use - Julian (Old), Revised Julian (Revised Old) and Gregorian (New), as well as the Armenian variation that I referenced and the differences in the Maronite liturgical cycle.

The 'non-canonical' 'Old Calendrist Orthodox' use the Julian Calendar, but so do some 'canonical' Orthodox (and just to confuse you more, Od Calendrists are not to be confused with Old Rite or Old Believer Orthodox who also use the Julian Calendar).

St. Michael's Russian Catholic Chapel in NYC is and always has been on the new calendar. So, I believe, is St. Andrew's in El Segundo. Also, there are no Melkite parishes on the old calendar.

Bless, Father,

Thank you for correcting my error.

Many years,

Neil

Regarding the Malankara Syriac Calendar:

http://www.malankaracatholicchurch.net/Liturgy.html

Regarding the Malabar Calendar:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liturgical_Calendar_of_the_Syro-Malabar_Catholic_Church

Michael, my brother, thanks for those. Do you know if the Syriacs maintain the same liturgical seasons as the Maronites?

Just to point out, we are now discussing here two different 'types' of calendars. Now, how to distinguish between them properly?

Try this - On the one hand, we have the calendars of liturgical seasons (such as Michael has linked and to which Yuhannon spoke) - those tie directly into the idea of the liturgical 'New Year' that prompted this discussion.

On the other hand, we have the date-based calendars (principally, Julian, Revised, and Gregorian, but there is some usage within the Oriental Churches to their historical dating) - within which the seasons exist. These relate, because the calendar 'date' of the New Year (Sept 1) is not on the same actual day in the New and Old.

But the New and Old don't affect the Oriental Churches in the same way - their liturgical cycles differ - but Sept 1 (New) to them is Sept 1 in (I think) most cases. It's just not the beginning of their liturgical year. It's the ECs and EOs who acknowledge two different days - 13 days apart - as being Sept 1.

That was clear as mud - time to sleep.

Many years,

Neil

I agree with you: the link to the HOCNA was rather irrelevant to the topic. Here's what I now realize is a more suitable one:

http://www.orthodoxwiki.org/Old_Calendarists