This thesis was circulated in telegram channels and Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric after the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) decided on May 24 to switch to the New Julian calendar. According to it, Christmas will be celebrated in December. “How does this relate to the Orthodox Church and Orthodoxy? This is the CC (Catholic Church) already”, the propagandists wrote. Also, the press secretary of the President of Russia, Dmytro Pieskov, called the decision of the “schismatic OCU” to celebrate Christmas on December 25 “madness and bacchanalia”. He suggested waiting until Ukraine “announces that there is no longer a Ukrainian language, but an American language”.

However, such conclusions are unfounded. On December 25, Christmas is celebrated not only by Catholics, but by Orthodox, Catholics, as well as Greek Catholics. However, no one knows the real date of the birth of Jesus Christ, this date is arbitrary. In the West, Christmas is celebrated mainly according to the Gregorian calendar (i.e. December 25), while in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Serbia, a large number of believers follow the Julian calendar (January 7), which is not very accurate. During the revolution, the Ukrainian People's Republic switched to the new Gregorian calendar, and with them the Bolsheviks. However, the church remained on the Julian calendar. Because of this, there are discrepancies in dates.

Dmytro Pieskov's statement about a “schismatic OCU” continues the propaganda narrative that only the Russian Orthodox Church or the Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is canonical. And the statement about the American language continues the narrative about Ukraine's dependence on the West.

By spreading this message, Russian propagandists are trying to convince Ukrainians and the world that Ukraine's actions are contrary to religious canons. Also in this way, Russian propaganda justifies Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, noting the need to save the “canonical Orthodox Church”. Earlier, Detector Media told that there is no “canonical” or “non-canonical” church and why there is no “Catholic Christmas”.