Old Calendar/New Calendar

ReaderJohn wrote: "I was recently told by the history professor at Holy Cross that the calendar change was accepted by the whole Orthodox Church with exception to those restricted by communism and Jerusalem. " I am sorry, but you were misinformed. When the New Calendar was introduced in the 1920s, only the Churches of Constantinople, Romania, and Greece adopted it (and, in Greece, this was done through force and violence). (I think Bulgaria was later, I could be wrong.) Alexandria did not adopt the New Calendar until Meletius Metaxakis took over he patriarchate, after being driven out of Constantinople. The calendar change created a schism on Mt. Athos, with none of the monasteries commemorating the Ecumenical Patriarch for many years. The Church of Russia, under Soviet coercion, tried adopting the New Calendar, but this did not work. The Church of Antioch did not adopt the New Calendar until the 1940s. The Metropolia in America did not adopt the New Calendar until the 1970s. The OCA Diocese of Alaska, together with a couple monasteries, still use the Old Calendar. I grow tired of the continued arguments over the Calendar. It's a moot point, since the Orthodox Church has both Calendars. I don't see any lack of love between Russian and Greek Orthodox because of a calendar. I will say, science is a poor reason to change church practice.