On January 14, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko held the first press conference in 2016, in which he analysed the past year and outlined the tasks for the new year.
The President declared the year of 2016 the 25th anniversary of the restoration of our independence. As Petro Poroshenko underscores, in January 2015 the issue of staying alive was on the agenda. In January 2016 we face the issue how to become a successful country.
One of the questions of journalists after the President’s concerned the Christmas dates: whether Ukrainians celebrate it on January 7 or December 25.
The president replied, “Ukrainian people are wise. So they celebrate Christmas both on December 25 and January 7. Definitely, the secular authorities have no right to impose the celebration dates from above. Any instructions from the authorities could lead to a split. People have to decide it for themselves.”
The President himself touched upon the theme of the unified Local Orthodox Church in Ukraine: “At the same time I am confident that the creation of a local church is very important. And then I will welcome any steps believers will make in order that Ukraine had a unified church, especially in these difficult conditions.”