Russia Celebrates Christmas
Many Russian women and men celebrated Christmas today. Christmas is celebrated later in Russia because the Russian Orthodox Church, following the custom of some other Orthodox churches, retained the Julian calendar for use in calculating its liturgical schedule.
President Vladimir Putin started his Christmas day at The New Jerusalem monastery located outside of Moscow, while other high ranking officials went to services at the main Cathedral in Moscow.
Putin is a devout Orthodox Christian and has strong ties to the Russian Orthodox Church and Patriarch Aleksei II. He celebrates Christmas and attends services every year. He has also visited Mount Athos in Greece, which is the site of a thousand year old community of Orthodox monks.
In Moscow, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church praised the growth of the church, referring to the reestablishment of the church which was banned by the Soviet Union. The leader also spoke directly about the holiday to Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin and the U.S. astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria who are in space in the International Space Shuttle.
Today also marked the end of the 40-day fast that proceeds Christmas that members of the Russian Orthodox Church began on November 28th.
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