Próby wprowadzenia kalendarza gregoriańskiego w Kościele prawosławnym w II Rzeczypospolitej

It was a question of deliberation from the beginning of the Second Polish Republic according to which calendar the liturgical life was to take place, and the lives of the faithful of the Orthodox Church at the same time. The attachment to tradition and to creation of the liturgical life based on the Julian calendar was obvious for the Church and the faithful. However, the state authorities, which sought to create the Orthodox Church independent of Moscow, from the influence of a minority of Belarusians and Ukrainians in the Second Polish Republic, seen the Orthodox Church Polonised, and thus living according to the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox hierarchy had to repeatedly balance in the relationship between the Church and the state in order to effectively maintain leadership in the Church; therefore, they considered the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in the life of the Church. On the other hand, the hierarchy perfectly realised the fact that in some regions, mainly of Orthodox population, the attachment to tradition is so intense that the calendar change was too obscure and unacceptable. The argument that the state authorities have used had a pragmatic tone. They believed that the change of the calendar will help improve the lives of citizens for economic reasons. The top-down introduction by means of a regulation met with fierce wave of criticism of the faithful of the Orthodox Church in Poland. The use of the intervention of the government in relation to the clergy not complying with the regulation aroused additional reluctance. Unnecessary conflicts on a calendar background were critically evaluated by both the Metropolitan Dionysius, who asked the ministry to “cease the calendar interference from the administrative authorities” and the deputies and senators from Ukraine and Belarus.