The Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church mixed up the holidays, congratulating the faithful on Epiphany on Maundy Thursday
During the service on Maundy Thursday, April 9, 2026, Kirill, Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, mixed up the church holidays by congratulating the faithful on Epiphany (the Feast of the Baptism of Christ), which is traditionally celebrated in January.
This was reported by
During his sermon, Patriarch Kirill attempted to congratulate the faithful on Christmas and the Epiphany.
The patriarch once again got confused in the Orthodox calendar and forgot what day it is today. At the Holy Synod after the Liturgy of Holy Thursday during Holy Week, the patriarch began his sermon with a story about… pic.twitter.com/gD6GniBH8W— SOTA (@sotaproject) April 9, 2026
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church delivered a five-minute speech on the significance of the January holiday until someone pointed out his mistake by holding up an open folder, which likely contained a note. After reading the text inside, Kirill corrected himself, stating, “And today we celebrate Holy Thursday,” and continued his sermon as intended. The official website of the Moscow Patriarchate later published an edited version of the address, completely removing the section about Epiphany.
This incident became yet another reason to discuss the health of the 79-year-old head of the Russian Orthodox Church. Previously, unofficial reports had appeared in the media about possible “cognitive impairments” in Kirill related to his advanced age, though the Moscow Patriarchate has not commented on these rumors in any way.
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