April 5 or 12? When will Ukrainians actually celebrate Easter in 2026: an explanation
20 March 10:01
The search query “When is Easter in 2026?” is currently one of the most popular among Ukrainians on Google. After the OCU and the UGCC switched to the New Julian calendar, some confusion arose, as many had expected that all holidays would now align with Western traditions. However, the date of Christ’s Resurrection has remained a “stumbling block.”
"Komersant Ukrainian" looked into why there are doubts about the dates and when to actually prepare Easter baskets.
The main reason for the discrepancies is that the calendar reform in Ukraine (the transition to the New Julian calendar) applied only to fixed holidays, such as Christmas or St. Nicholas Day. The rules for calculating the date of Easter (Pascha) for Orthodox and Greek Catholics remained unchanged.
Exact dates of the celebration in 2026:
April 5 – Roman Catholics (Western Rite).
April 12 – Orthodox (OCU) and Greek Catholics (UGCC), as well as (UOC).
3 reasons why the dates do not coincide:
First, different calculation methods:
The Catholic Church uses the Gregorian Paschal cycle, while the OCU and UGCC continue to follow the Alexandrian Paschal cycle, despite the transition to the new calendar for other holidays.
Second, the spring equinox factor:
The calculation is based on the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring. However, due to the difference between the calendars (Julian and Gregorian), the “church equinox” occurs on different days for the denominations.
Third, Passover:
According to Orthodox canons, Easter cannot be celebrated earlier than or on the same day as the Jewish Passover. In 2026, Passover ends on April 9, so the Orthodox date shifts to the following Sunday—April 12.
That is, for believers who attend churches of the OCU or the UGCC, Easter in 2026 falls on April 12.
Roman Catholics in Ukraine and Europe will celebrate the holiday a week earlier—on April 5.
Interestingly, the next time the dates will coincide exactly will be in 2028 (April 16), although they also coincided in 2025 (April 20).
