According to the Julian calendar: major Orthodox Christmas celebrations in Vienna

According to the Julian calendar, some Orthodox believers in Vienna celebrate Christmas Eve on Friday, January 6th.

Vienna. On Friday, January 6, most Serbian and Russian Orthodox Christians as well as Eastern Orthodox celebrate Christmas Eve according to the Julian calendar.

with the “Christmas Eve vigilIt is used in Russian Orthodoxy Nicholas Cathedral Christmas festivities started at 6 pm. The Solemn Night Liturgy is celebrated at 11 p.m., on Saturdays at 8 a.m. Early Liturgy and at 10 a.m. Late Liturgy of the Nativity of Christ.

In the Serb Orthodox Saint Sava Cathedral It is also celebrated. Solemn Vespers on Fridays begin at 6 p.m., and the Night Liturgy begins at 11:30 p.m. Mass begins at 9 am on Christmas Day.

Christmas according to the Julian calendar

The Orthodox churches of the Moscow and Belgrade Patriarchates celebrate Christmas on January 6 and 7. It is also celebrated by believers of the Georgian Orthodox Church. They all celebrate according to the Julian calendar. The Orthodox Churches of Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece have already celebrated Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar. The Eastern Orthodox Churches adopted this calendar in the 20th century.

The only exception is the Ukrainian-speaking Orthodox. They belong to the Greek Orthodox metropolis, but they celebrate their holidays according to the Julian calendar. Therefore, the Vienna Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Arsenios (Kardamakis) will celebrate Christmas for the second time on January 6 and 7 with the Ukrainian-speaking community, reports “ORF”.

133,000 Orthodox in Vienna

They live together in the federal capital 133970 Believers in the Orthodox churches. This figure is only an estimate for the parish involved, and concrete figures have not been available for years. Most of them, like 70,000, They are Orthodox Serbs. The rest: 24,000 Greek Orthodox, 17,970 Greek Orthodox, 12,000 Russian Orthodox, 10,000 Bulgarian Orthodox.

Russian Orthodox churches in Vienna

• St. Nicholas Church (3., Jauresgasse)
• Archdiocese of Vienna and Austria of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)

Serbian Orthodox churches in Vienna

• Church of the Resurrection of Christ (2, Engerthstraße 158)
• Church of St. Sava (3, Marokkanergasse 10)
• Church of the Birth of All Saints Theotokos (XVI, Neulerchenfelder Straße 47)
• Dormition Church (2, Bruno Marek Alli 7b)

You may also be interested in:

What closed on January 6 – and why?