Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called on Canadians who celebrate Orthodox Christmas today to “spread joy and kindness to their neighbours, extend a helping hand to those in need, and show greater compassion to those most vulnerable, at home and around the world.”
The majority of the world’s 260 million Orthodox Christians who follow the Julian calendar celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7.
According to the 2016 census, Canada is home to about 550,000 Orthodox Christians.
A Ukrainian Orthodox church is seen in Winnipeg, Manitoba February 20, 2014. (Lyle Stafford/REUTERS)
“Today, Orthodox Christians in Canada and around the world will come together to celebrate Christmas,” Trudeau said in a statement, praising their contribution to the country.
“Christmas is an opportunity to be thankful for the many blessings in our lives and to share our good fortune with others. These celebrations remind us of the importance of promoting the values of compassion, openness, and inclusion in our homes, our workplaces, our schools, and our communities.”
Trudeau’s message of compassion and inclusion comes amid one the most emotional schisms inside the Orthodox Church, as Ukraine’s Orthodox Church celebrated its first Christmas Monday with the status of a self-governing church outside the control of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Orthodox schism
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I kisses Metropolitan Epifaniy, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, as he hands Tomos, a decree granting Ukraine church independence, after the Epiphany mass at the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George in Istanbul, Turkey January 6, 2019. (Murad Sezer/REUTERS)
The recently established Orthodox Church of Ukraine was formally granted independence by Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and Head of the global Orthodox Church Bartholomew I at a ceremony in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Saturday.
In the presence of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Metropolitan Epifaniy, Bartholomew signed a document called “Tomos”, which formalised the Ukrainian Church’s historic split from the Russian Church after more than 300 years of union.
Russia, nominally the largest Orthodox country, bitterly opposes the move to grant the Ukrainian Church autocephalous, or self-governing, status, comparing it to the Great Schism of 1054 that divided western and eastern Christianity.
The Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow has called the leaders of the Ukrainian Church charlatans and schismatics, and President Vladimir Putin has warned of possible bloodshed.
‘Last fetters tying us to Moscow’
Hundreds of people lined up outside St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv to take part in Christmas celebrations.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko delivers a speech while standing next to Tomos, a decree granting the Orthodox Church of Ukraine independence, during the Orthodox Christmas service at the Saint Sophia’s Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine January 7, 2019. (Valentyn Ogirenko/REUTERS)
“For the first time, we celebrate Christmas with an independent autocephalous church,” Poroshenko said Monday after the lavish two-hour liturgy at St. Sophia Cathedral, where the Tomos was displayed for the first time.
“It is the basis of our spiritual freedom, we broke the last fetters tying us to Moscow.”
Congratulations to the new Orthodox Church of #Ukraine for receiving the Tomos of Autocephaly yesterday and becoming an independent and recognized, Autocephalous Church. Canada welcomes this positive change in recognition of Ukraine’s sovereignty.
— Chrystia Freeland (@cafreeland) 7 January 2019
St. Sophia Cathedral was built by Prince Yaroslav the Wise, the son of Prince Vladimir, whose baptism in 988 led to the spread of Christianity across what are now Ukraine and Russia.
Russians trace the origins of their own nation to the Kievan Rus state of that era.
The rupture in inter-church relations mirrors the collapse of political relations between Moscow and Kyiv following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.
With files from Reuters
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