Skeptic Review

Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin attends Christmas service at Church of Saints Simeon and Anna in St. Petersburg in 2018. Photo by Alexey Nikolsky, TASS.

MOSCOW, January 7. /TASS/. Orthodox Christians in Russia and other countries around the world are celebrating Christmas on January 7.

Christians conclude a four-week fast during which they confess their sins and receive communion. And on Christmas Eve they have special fasting, “until the first star,” in memory of how the Magi came first to the birthplace of Christ following the movement of the star in the sky. At present, a candle in front of the altar, which is lit at the end of the Christmas Eve service at about noon, symbolizes the star.

Photo by Dmitry Feoktistov, TASS.

Russia’s main Orthodox cathedral is the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, built to commemorate the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812. This year, Russian President Vladimir Putin is attending an overnight Orthodox Christmas service at the Transfiguration Cathedral in Saint Petersburg.

The Russian Orthodox Church today has more than 36,000 churches and 900 monasteries in almost 70 countries. Religious services are conducted during the night and in the morning in all Orthodox churches on all continents.

January 7 is also Christmas day for Orthodox Christians in Serbia, Jerusalem, Georgia, and the monastic community of Mount Athos in Greece, one of Orthodox Christianity’s holiest sites. January 7 is a national holiday in Russia along with Belarus, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro and Serbia.