Open Letter of Metropolitan Innocent on the New Calendar

1929 Open Letter to All of the Faithful Children of the Church of Christ Who Hold Fast to the Orthodox Calendar and the Traditions of the Holy Church

By Metropolitan Innokenty (Figurovsky) of Beijing and China (+1931)

We have received the sorrowful news of how those who hold steadfastly to the Traditions of the Holy Orthodox Church are undergoing cruel persecutions at the hands of false brethren who dare, with the connivance of the civil authorities, to trample the laws of God underfoot and mock them.

Setting themselves up as wise men and enlighteners, these wolves in sheep’s clothing, having trampled on the fear of God, have made bold to take it upon themselves to correct the laws of Christ’s Church; blinded by the sooty smoke of this world, they esteem themselves above the Apostles and Holy Fathers of the Church, through whose mouths the Lord Himself spoke.

But God has rendered all their wisdom foolishness. They do not even know of what they speak, nor do they understand that which they wish to correct. They have undertaken to reform the calendar without knowing what they are doing.

They maintain that our Orthodox calendar has deviated far from astronomical accuracy, and that for this reason, it is high time to change over to the Gregorian calendar, determined to be correct by scientists and accepted by the whole world which has apostatized from God.

It is difficult to say whether or not they are lying, trying to deceive those of little faith, or if, out of ignorance, they are repeating someone else’s lie. But to one who understands, it is clear that in not one of their assertions is there a modicum of truth.

They say that the Orthodox calendar lags thirteen days behind the true calendar, because the vernal equinox should fall (according to the Church Calendar) on March 8th, whereas the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council decided to reckon it on March 21st forever – a decision which would allegedly be vindicated by the Gregorian calendar.

They, however, cannot prove this. The original record of the decisions of the First Ecumenical Council have not been preserved, and in our Rudder there are no decisions concerning the vernal equinox; other documents to which the New Calendarists also love to refer have not been preserved. And the majority of the proofs that the holy First Ecumenical Council established the date of the vernal equinox to be March 21st were invented and falsified by the Papists not earlier than the 16th century, in order to provide them with the canonical basis for the unnecessary and detrimental revision of the calendar in the year 1582. So, the assertions of the New Calendarists, to the effect that our Orthodox calendar violated the decisions of the First Ecumenical Council, are groundless.

No more well-founded is their assertion that the Gregorian calendar is correct. Astronomers have already long ago proved that, in general, it is not possible to devise a completely accurate calendar. Moreover, the Gregorian calendar is still so inconvenient that scientists all over the world are already raising the question of replacing it. Many of them acknowledge our Orthodox calendar as so simple and convenient that they (Newcomb, Bolotov, et al.) have recommended a return to it.

The assertions of the New Calendarists that the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar was called for out of necessity to revise the Julian calendar are also unfounded. The purpose of its introduction was that it was the desire of the Jesuits, who had acquired tremendous influence in the Papal church by the end of the 16th century, to tear away from the Orthodox East once and for all, in such a way that even the feasts would be celebrated at different times. 

Like these main arguments, the other secondary arguments cited by the New Calendarists in defense of the Gregorian calendar are also unfounded and unprovable. But their essential mistake is not in this, but rather in the fact that they consider the Orthodox calendar and Paschalion to be solar and not lunar.

They either do not know, or are intentionally concealing, the fact that the lunar calendar forms the basis for our Orthodox calendar. We, the Orthodox, do not celebrate Pascha according to the Gregorian or Julian calendar at all, but rather according to the biblical calendar, according to which the Old Testament Israel, following the commandments of God given through Moses, celebrated Passover.

The New Testament Church, the Orthodox Church, mindful of the words of the Savior: “Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18), piously preserves the ancient custom of celebrating Pascha according to the lunar calendar.

How did our Savior Jesus Christ live on earth? He lived also according to the ancient, biblical lunar calendar. Together with the Old Testament Israel, He entered Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover at the full moon, in the month of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish year. At that time, He was betrayed, condemned, crucified, and rose from the dead.

In the year of the Savior’s death on the Cross, the Jewish Passover fell on a Friday and Saturday. On Friday, the 14th of Nisan, the Lord was crucified (then, as now, according to the Church’s reckoning, the Passover began the preceding – Thursday – evening). Saturday, the 15th of Nisan, He spent in the quiet of the sepulchre, and early in the morning on the first day of the week, Sunday, the 16th of Nisan, He arose. In this manner, the events of the death and the resurrection of the Savior are inseparably connected with the Jewish Passover and should follow after it. For this reason, from the first century of Christianity, the Holy Passover of the Cross – Great Thursday, Friday, and Saturday – came to be celebrated customarily after the Passover of the Jews. The very word “Pascha” is derived from the word paschein – to suffer. And after the Passover of the Cross, Bright Pascha was celebrated, just as the Holy Church has maintained up to the present.

In order to perpetuate this order and preserve the connection forever, the Holy Apostles established that Holy Pascha be celebrated immediately after the Jewish Passover, after the vernal equinox. Thus, as the equinox takes place in September and March, and from olden times the new year has begun either in September or in March, Pascha, being celebrated after the vernal equinox, may never fall at the end of the year, but always at the beginning. The Holy Church has never departed from this rule; if there was controversy, it was only over whether the Passover of the Cross could be celebrated simultaneously with the Jewish Passover. In consequence of these disputes, a decision was reached by the Council of Antioch, in its Canon 1, concerning the time of the celebration of Pascha: by this decision, the immutability of the Apostolic Canons was confirmed. Then, in the 4th century, the Orthodox Paschalion was compiled. It was codified by the most learned Church of antiquity, that of Alexandria, before which the papal reformers of the 16th century were no more than impudent ignoramuses who perverted her most perfect work.

The aim of the establishment of the Paschalion was to ensure that Pascha would be celebrated everywhere at the same time, and that the Apostolic Canon would always be strictly observed: Pascha should not be celebrated earlier than the Jewish Passover or simultaneously with it. 

It was well known to the most learned compilers of the Paschalion that the Julian calendar, which they coordinated with the Jewish lunar calendar, was not accurate; yet they were also aware that the error of the Julian calendar exactly corrects the mistake of the lunar calendar. According to the evidence of the astronomer Predtechensky, the mistake in our Paschalion – the table of lunar movements – will not exceed three hours in 1,900 years.

Thus is explained the amazing fact that our Paschalion, compiled in the 4th century and never once corrected from that time until now, has inerrantly indicated the phases of the moon and the time for the celebration of the Jewish Passover. For this reason, any attempt to “correct” or replace our Paschalion should be considered an attempt to snatch from the Church’s treasury one of her most prized possessions, of which she may rightly boast even before the scholars of our time.

But even without the Paschalion and without special calculations, each Orthodox Christian can easily determine the day of the celebration of Pascha: let him follow the direction of his shadow at sunrise and mark the day when the shadow falls directly to the west. This day will be the day of the vernal equinox. Then he should direct his attention to the moon and take note of that day on which the moon rises in the east at the same time the sun sets, and sets at the same time as the sun rises. On this day, when the full moon shines the entire night, that is, the day of the full moon, will be the Jewish Passover. On the Thursday following the full moon, the Christian Passover of the Cross will begin, and Bright Passover will be on Sunday. One must remember only one thing in addition to this: that the full moon is considered paschal only when it occurs no earlier than ten days after the vernal equinox; that is, not earlier than March 18th. The earliest Pascha, then, occurs when the full moon falls on March 18th. The earliest Pascha, then, occurs when the full moon falls on March 18th, on a Wednesday; March 19th will be Great Thursday and Bright Pascha will be on the 22nd. If the full moon falls on a day earlier than March 18th, then Pascha is carried over into the month of April. The paschal full moon will be considered the full moon of April 18th; this will be the day of the Jewish Passover. If this day falls on a Sunday, then the Passover of the Cross will be on Thursday, April 22nd, and Bright Pascha will be on April 25th, the latest possible Pascha. Thus, each person can, without a calendar and without a Paschalion, always determine the day of the celebration of Pascha.

Hence, we can keep our Orthodox calendar and Paschalion with a clear conscience; abiding by it, we will never celebrate Pascha earlier than the Jews or together with them, and will not be guilty of violating the Holy Canons. 

Let us keep firmly in mind that we are required to keep the Orthodox calendar precisely for those reasons which moved the Holy Apostles and fathers at the Council of Antioch to make a ruling concerning the celebration of Pascha, for if we follow the Gregorian calendar, then we must, on occasion, celebrate our Pascha before the Jewish Passover, and occasionally even on the same day with the Jews and their offspring, the Masons, from whom may the Lord preserve us!

This is not the least of it. With the change to the New Calendar, the entire framework of ecclesiastical life will be destroyed. Thus, for example, in 1929 the Fast of Saints Peter and Paul will vanish completely. According to the new-style calendar, June 29th falls on the Saturday before the Sunday of All Saints. And other fasts will also be shortened. 

If it is so pleasing to these false brethren, then why do they not, along with the Papist calendar, introduce Papist fasts, and comfort themselves with milk and eggs during Lent?

We will not interfere with the New Calendarists’ adopting the new style among themselves. Let them do as they will: let them abolish the fasts, and celebrate Pascha with the Jews; let them violate the divine canons. May God be their judge!

But why are they trying to force us to take part in their iniquity and compelling us with cruel persecutions to renounce the customs handed down to us by our fathers, which in no wise contradict either the Holy Scriptures or Tradition? Did not the entire Church live peacefully on the Julian calendar until the ill-fated year of 1583? It did not disturb anyone. So why has it now suddenly become the cause of disturbance? Moreover, strictly speaking, it is not the Julian calendar, but rather the weekly reckoning of time, which we clearly see from our divine service books, where the reckoning is on a weekly basis. From the very creation of the world, we finish our work on the sixth day, and the seventh we consecrate to God. Even now, many civilized countries have given up their monthly reckoning of time and conduct all calculations on a weekly basis.

Not having any argument in favor of reform, the New Calendarists want to compel us by force to believe their falsely wise arguments in defense of the new style. They are persecuting us because the Julian calendar is not as scientifically precise as the Gregorian. But let them be aware that it does not befit the Orthodox to be guided in Church life by science instead of grace.

We see to what end the Westernizers’ enthusiasm for science has led them. To please science, they have perverted the Paschalion, which in turn often leads them to violate that law of the Church for the sake of the observation of which the Paschalion was compiled. 

The New Calendarists persecute us because the Orthodox calendar, which we have cherished for a thousand years, is, in their opinion, unsuitable. But let these conceited ignoramuses remember that the ancient Egyptian calendar was even more incorrect; but that did not prevent the most cultured nation of the ancient world from adhering to it for thousands of years and even protecting it from any reforms by special laws. Indeed, should it matter to us what will be in a thousand years, when the Savior has commanded us not to take care for the morrow? It is even doubtful that our earth will survive so long. Where will their reformed calendars get us, when, according to the promise of the Savior, there will be no more time left?

But it is in vain that we attempt to persuade the unyielding New Calendarists. If we were to bring forth even more weighty objections to their reforms, they would nonetheless refuse to heed the words of truth. And so it must be, for they have assumed only a guise of love and zeal for the good of the Church. But in fact, they are guided by entirely different, far from religious, objectives, fulfilling the commands of those who have for many centuries been undermining the foundations of the Church of Christ. It is not so much important for them to introduce the Gregorian calendar, as it is to replace our Orthodox calendar, and thereby to introduce disorder and turmoil among believers, to produce schism and extinguish brotherly love. They have lifted up their heads against all of our ecclesiastical customs handed down to us by the Fathers, and sanctified by antiquity, for the servants of the prince of this world know well that it is precisely in these customs that our Church is strong. They know very well that the divine canons are sacred and supremely wise, and that, like an impregnable rampart, they defend the Holy Church from the decadent spirit of this world, from those who have accepted the seal of the Antichrist. For this reason, they are making every effort to abolish the canons; for if they could succeed in doing so, the Holy Church would be left without a rudder and would become a plaything of the winds of this world. Tirelessly and persistently, the enemies of Christ have been undermining the foundation of His Holy Church, in order to put up in its place another church, a sanctuary of self-deified mankind, a Masonic temple, a satanic farce.

Yet, let no one think that we are thus subjecting ourselves to ordinances for the sake of seasons, months, and days, and are enduring privation and persecution for the sake of full moons and equinoxes. We stand for the Holy Church; it is her we defend from the powers of hell which have risen up against her. The enemies of Christ know what a tremendous significance the feasts and fasts, kept at set times mandatory for all, have in the life of the Church and any nation; they know that this is the strongest, most binding principle for a nation, for a government, and, all the more so, for the Church. The entire foundation of the life of Old Testament Israel was built on the basis of feast days: it was not only religious ceremonies which were connected with them, but also social reforms and the whole structure of their way of life. Every fiftieth year, slaves were set free and all the plots of land worked by them were returned to their natural owners. Thus, all the social inequities were rectified. That is why the Jews feared more than anything else that Christ had come to abolish their holy days; this was also bound up with the loss of the nationality (Archdeacon Stephen). This is why the Holy Apostles so strictly resolved to replace the Jewish feasts with Christian ones. That is why the Bolsheviks have striven so violently to annihilate the feasts of the Church. Still, the holy Prophet David foretold through the Holy Spirit how the enemies of God would set about their battle with the Church, in Psalm 73: And they that hate Thee have boasted in their midst of Thy feasts. They set up their ensigns, yea signs (though they know it not) as it were for the departing on high. As in the forest of trees, with axes they cut down the doors thereof together, with two-edged axe and mason’s hammer have they broken it down. With fire have they burned down Thy sanctuary, they have profaned even unto the ground the habitation of Thy name. They said in their heart, even the whole kindred of them together: Come, let us abolish all the feasts of God from the earth.

Therefore, let no one deceive us by falsely alleging that we are fighting like one who beats the air. No. The Lord has counted us worthy to do battle for His name. Honor and praise be to those who have accepted persecution and deprivation! Eternal glory to those whom the Lord found worthy of martyrdom!

In the Church of Christ, there is nothing of scant value, nothing unimportant, for the Spirit of God, through Whom the Church lives and breathes, is embodied in each custom. Anyone who dares to rise up against the customs and laws of the Church which are based on Sacred Tradition and the Scriptures, rises up against the Spirit of God and thereby shows all who have eyes to see what spirit he has. It is fitting and just for the Holy Church to pronounce anathema upon such.

I pray to the Lord, that He strengthen those who have grown weak, that He convert the erring and reconcile His faithful by His peace – not that which this world gives, but the peace which is from on high.

Source: Living Orthodoxy, St. John of Kronstadt Press, Vol. VII, No. 5 (Sept-Oct 1985).