Gregorian calendar - history and current state. Old and new style in historical dates

The Gregorian calendar was introduced Pope Gregory XIII in Catholic countries October 4, 1582 instead of the old Julian: the next day after Thursday, October 4, became Friday, October 15.

Reasons for switching to the Gregorian calendar

The reason for the adoption of the new calendar was the gradual shift in the Julian calendar of the vernal equinox, by which the date of Easter was determined, and the discrepancy between the Easter full moons and the astronomical ones. Julian calendar error at 11 min. 14 sec. per year, which Sosigenes neglected, to XVI century led to the fact that the vernal equinox fell not on March 21, but on the 11th. The displacement led to the correspondence of the same days of the year with other natural phenomena. Year to Julian calendar V 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes and 46 seconds, as later scientists found out, was longer than the real solar year by 11 minutes 14 seconds. The “extra” days accumulated in 128 years. Thus, for one and a half millennia, humanity has lagged behind real astronomical time by as much as ten days! Reform of Pope Gregory XII I was precisely intended to eliminate this error.

Before Gregory XIII, Popes Paul III and Pius IV tried to implement the project, but they did not achieve success. The preparation of the reform, at the direction of Gregory XIII, was carried out by the astronomers Christopher Clavius and Aloysius Lilius.

The Gregorian calendar is much more accurate than the Julian calendar: it gives a much better approximation of the tropical year.

The new calendar, immediately upon adoption, shifted the current date by 10 days and corrected accumulated errors.

The new calendar began to operate new, more exact rule about leap year. A year is a leap year, that is, it contains 366 days if:

the year number is a multiple of 400 (1600, 2000, 2400);
other years - the year number is a multiple of 4 and not a multiple of 100 (... 1892, 1896, 1904, 1908...).

The rules for calculating Christian Easter have been modified. Currently, the date of Christian Easter in each specific year is calculated according to lunisolar calendar, which makes Easter a moving holiday.

Transition to the Gregorian calendar

Go to new calendar was carried out gradually, in most European countries this happened during the 16th -17th centuries. And this transition did not go smoothly everywhere. The first countries to switch to the Gregorian calendar were Spain, Italy, Portugal, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland), France, and Lorraine. In 1583, Gregory XIII sent an embassy to Patriarch Jeremiah II of Constantinople with a proposal to switch to a new calendar; the proposal was rejected as not complying with the canonical rules for celebrating Easter. In some countries that switched to the Gregorian calendar, the Julian calendar was subsequently resumed as a result of their annexation with other states. Due to the transition of countries to the Gregorian calendar at different times, factual errors of perception may arise: for example, it is known that Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616. In fact, these events occurred 10 days apart, since in Catholic Spain a new style was in effect since its introduction by the pope, and Great Britain switched to the new calendar only in 1752. There were cases when the transition to the Gregorian calendar was accompanied by serious unrest.

In Russia, the Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1918: in 1918, January 31 was followed by February 14. That is, in a number of countries, like in Russia, there was a day on February 29 in 1900, while in most countries it was not. In 1948, at the Moscow Conference of Orthodox Churches, it was decided that Easter, like all moving holidays, should be calculated according to the Alexandrian Paschal (Julian calendar), and non-moving ones according to the calendar according to which the Local Church lives. The Finnish Orthodox Church celebrates Easter on Gregorian calendar.

The Gregorian calendar is the most widely used chronological system today, named after XII, who insisted on its introduction into Catholic world. Many people mistakenly believe that it was Gregory who came up with this system, however, this is far from true. According to one version, the main inspirer of this idea was the Italian doctor Aloysius, who theoretically substantiated the need to change the chronology that existed before.

The problem of chronology has always been quite acute, because development largely depends on what is taken as the starting point and what a day, month and year are equal to. historical science in the country, and even the worldview of ordinary citizens.

There were and are many chronological systems: some take as a basis the movement of the moon around the Earth, others consider the creation of the world to be the starting point, and others consider the departure of Muhammad from Mecca. In many civilizations, each change of ruler led to a change in the calendar. Moreover, one of the main difficulties is that neither an earthly day nor an earthly year lasts for a round number of hours and days; the whole question is - what to do with the remaining balance?

One of the first most successful systems was the so-called one, named after the reign of which it appeared. The main innovation was that one day was added to every fourth year. This year began to be called a leap year.

However, the introduction only temporarily alleviated the problem. On the one hand, the discrepancy between the calendar year and the tropical year continued to accumulate, although not at such a rapid pace as before, and on the other hand, Easter Day fell on different days weeks, although, according to most Catholics, Easter should always fall on Sunday.

In 1582, after numerous calculations and based on clear astronomical calculations, in Western Europe There was a transition to the Gregorian calendar. This year in many European countries immediately after October 4th came the fifteenth.

The Gregorian calendar largely repeats the main provisions of its predecessor: a regular year also consists of 365 days, and a leap year - of 366, and the number of days changes only in February - 28 or 29. The main difference is that the Gregorian calendar excludes all leap years years divisible by one hundred, with the exception of those divisible by 400. In addition, if according to the Julian calendar the New Year came on the first of September or the first of March, then in the new chronological system it was initially declared on December 1, and then shifted by another month.

In Russia, under the influence of the church, the new calendar was not recognized for a long time, believing that according to it the entire sequence of evangelical events was disrupted. The Gregorian calendar was introduced in Russia only at the beginning of 1918, when the fourteenth day arrived immediately after the first of February.

Despite its much greater accuracy, the Gregorian system is still imperfect. However, if in the Julian calendar an extra day was formed in 128 years, then in the Gregorian calendar this would require 3200.

There are no problems with measuring certain quantities. When it comes to length, volume, weight - no one has any disagreements. But as soon as you touch the dimension of time, you will immediately come across different points of view. Special attention should be paid to what the Julian and Gregorian calendars are; the difference between them has really changed the world.

Difference between Catholic and Orthodox holidays

It's no secret that Catholics celebrate Christmas not on January 7, like the Orthodox, but on December 25. The situation is the same with other Christian holidays.

A whole series of questions arises:

Where did these 13 days difference come from?
Why can't we celebrate the same event on the same day?
Will the 13 day difference ever change?
Maybe it will shrink over time and disappear altogether?
At least find out what it's all about?

To answer these questions we will have to mentally travel to pre-Christian Europe. However, there was no talk of any integral Europe at that time; civilized Rome was surrounded by many disparate barbarian tribes. Subsequently, they were all captured and became part of the Empire, but that's another conversation.

However, history is written by the victors, and we will never know to what extent “ barbaric"were neighbors of Rome. It's no secret that great rulers have a hand in all events in the state. Julius Caesar was no exception when I decided to introduce a new calendar - Julian .

What calendars did you use and for how long?

The ruler cannot be denied modesty, but he made too much of a contribution to the history of the whole world to be criticized over trifles. The calendar he proposed:

It was much more accurate than previous versions.
All years consisted of 365 days.
Every fourth year there was 1 more day.
The calendar was consistent with astronomical data known at that time.
For one and a half thousand years, not a single worthy analogue has been proposed.

But nothing stands still; at the end of the 14th century, a new calendar was introduced, with the help of the then pope, Gregory XIII. This version of the countdown boiled down to the following:

A normal year has 365 days. A leap year contains the same 366.
But now not every fourth year was considered a leap year. Now if the year ends with two zeros, and at the same time divisible by both 4 and 100, it is not a leap year.
For simple example, 2000 was a leap year, but 2100, 2200 and 2300 will not be leap years. Unlike 2400.

Why was it necessary to change something, was it really impossible to leave everything as it was? The fact is that, according to astronomers, The Julian calendar is not entirely accurate.

The error is only 1/128 of a day, but over 128 years a whole day accumulates, and over five centuries - almost four full days.

How does the Julian calendar differ from the Gregorian calendar?

Fundamental differences between the two calendars are that:

Julian was adopted much earlier.
It lasted 1000 years longer than the Gregorian.
Unlike the Gregorian calendar, the Julian calendar is now almost never used anywhere.
The Julian calendar is used only for calculating Orthodox holidays.
The Gregorian calendar is more accurate and avoids minor errors.
The calendar adopted by Gregory XIII is presented as the final version, absolutely correct system reference that will not change in the future.
In the Julian calendar, every 4th year is a leap year.
In Gregorian, years that end in 00 and are not divisible by 4 are not leap years.
Almost every century ends with the difference between the two calendars increasing by another day.
The exception is centuries divisible by four.
According to the Gregorian calendar it is celebrated church holidays Almost all Christians in the world are Catholics, Protestants, Lutherans.
According to Julian Orthodox Christians celebrate, guided by apostolic instructions.

What could an error of several days lead to?

But is it really so important to maintain this accuracy; maybe it’s better to pay tribute to traditions? What terrible thing will happen if in five centuries the calendar shifts by 4 days, is it noticeable?

Moreover, those who decide to make changes will certainly not live to see the days when “ wrong"The calculation option will differ by at least a day.

Just imagine that already in February the weather warms up and the first flowering begins. But despite all this, the ancestors describe February as a harsh and frosty winter month.

At this point there may already be a slight misunderstanding about what is happening to nature and the planet? Especially if in November there are snowdrifts instead of fallen leaves. And in October, the variegated foliage on the trees is not pleasing to the eye, because all of it has been rotting on the ground for a long time. This seems insignificant at first glance, when the error is only 24 hours in 128 years.

But calendars are regulated, including the most important events in the life of many civilizations - sowing and harvesting. The more accurately all adjustments are made, the more O Larger food supplies will be available next year.

Of course, now this is not so important, in an era rapid development scientific and technological progress. But once upon a time it was a matter of life and death for millions of people.

Significant differences between calendars

Distinguishing between the two calendars:

More accurate measurement using Gregorian.
The irrelevance of the Julian calendar: besides the Orthodox Church, almost no one uses it.
The universal use of the Gregorian calendar.
By removing the 10 day lag and introducing a new rule - all years ending in 00 and not divisible by 4 are now not leap years.
Thanks to this, the difference between calendars is steadily increasing. For 3 days every 400 years.
Julian was adopted by Julius Caesar, still 2 thousand years ago.
Gregorian is more “young”, it is not even five hundred years old. And Pope Gregory XIII introduced it.

What are the Julian and Gregorian calendars, the difference between them and the reasons for their introduction can be known for general development. IN real life this information will never be useful. Unless you want to impress someone with your erudition.

Video about the differences between Gregorian and Julian

In this video, Priest Andrei Shchukin will talk about the main differences between these two calendars from the point of view of religion and mathematics:

For all of us, the calendar is a familiar and even mundane thing. This ancient invention of man records days, dates, months, seasons, periodicity natural phenomena, which are based on the system of movement of celestial bodies: the Moon, the Sun, the stars. The Earth rushes through the solar orbit, leaving years and centuries behind.

Moon calendar

In one day, the Earth makes one complete revolution around its own axis. It passes around the Sun once per year. Solar or lasts three hundred sixty-five days five hours forty-eight minutes forty-six seconds. Therefore, there is no integer number of days. Hence the difficulty in drawing up an accurate calendar for the correct counting of time.

The ancient Romans and Greeks used a convenient and simple calendar. The rebirth of the Moon occurs at intervals of 30 days, or to be precise, at twenty-nine days, twelve hours and 44 minutes. That is why days and then months could be counted by changes in the Moon.

In the beginning, this calendar had ten months, which were named after the Roman gods. From the third century to ancient world an analogue was used based on the four-year lunar-solar cycle, which gave an error in the value of the solar year of one day.

Used in Egypt solar calendar, compiled on the basis of observations of the Sun and Sirius. The year according to it was three hundred sixty-five days. It consisted of twelve months of thirty days. After it expired, another five days were added. This was formulated as “in honor of the birth of the gods.”

History of the Julian calendar

Further changes occurred in the forty-sixth year BC. e. The Emperor of Ancient Rome, Julius Caesar, introduced the Julian calendar based on the Egyptian model. In it, the value of the year was taken solar year, which was slightly larger than the astronomical one and amounted to three hundred sixty-five days and six hours. The first of January marked the beginning of the year. According to the Julian calendar, Christmas began to be celebrated on January 7th. This is how the transition to a new calendar took place.

In gratitude for the reform, the Senate of Rome renamed the month of Quintilis, when Caesar was born, to Julius (now July). A year later, the emperor was killed, and the Roman priests, either out of ignorance or deliberately, again began to confuse the calendar and began to declare every third year a leap year. As a result, from forty-four to nine BC. e. Instead of nine, twelve leap years were declared.

Emperor Octivian Augustus saved the situation. By his order, there were no leap years for the next sixteen years, and the rhythm of the calendar was restored. In his honor, the month Sextilis was renamed Augustus (August).

For Orthodox Church The simultaneity of church holidays was very important. The date of Easter was discussed at First and this issue became one of the main ones. The rules for the exact calculation of this celebration established at this Council cannot be changed under pain of anathema.

Gregorian calendar

Chapter Catholic Church Pope Gregory the Thirteenth approved and introduced a new calendar in 1582. It was called "Gregorian". It would seem that everyone was happy with the Julian calendar, according to which Europe lived for more than sixteen centuries. However, Gregory the Thirteenth considered that the reform was necessary to determine a more accurate date for the celebration of Easter, as well as to ensure that the day returned to the twenty-first of March.

In 1583, the Council of Eastern Patriarchs in Constantinople condemned the adoption of the Gregorian calendar as violating the liturgical cycle and calling into question the canons of the Ecumenical Councils. Indeed, in some years he breaks the basic rule of celebrating Easter. It happens that Catholic Bright Sunday falls earlier than Jewish Easter, and this is not allowed by the canons of the church.

Calculation of chronology in Rus'

In our country, starting from the tenth century, the New Year was celebrated on the first of March. Five centuries later, in 1492, in Russia the beginning of the year was moved, according to church traditions, to the first of September. This went on for more than two hundred years.

On the nineteenth of December, seven thousand two hundred and eight, Tsar Peter the Great issued a decree that the Julian calendar in Russia, adopted from Byzantium along with baptism, was still in force. The start date of the year has changed. It was officially approved in the country. The New Year according to the Julian calendar was to be celebrated on the first of January “from the Nativity of Christ.”

After the revolution of February fourteenth, one thousand nine hundred and eighteen, new rules were introduced in our country. The Gregorian calendar excluded three within each four hundred years. It was this that they began to adhere to.

How are the Julian and Gregorian calendars different? The difference between is in the calculation of leap years. Over time it increases. If in the sixteenth century it was ten days, then in the seventeenth it increased to eleven, in the eighteenth century it was already equal to twelve days, thirteen in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and by the twenty-second century this figure will reach fourteen days.

The Orthodox Church of Russia uses the Julian calendar, following the decisions of the Ecumenical Councils, and Catholics use the Gregorian calendar.

You can often hear the question of why the whole world celebrates Christmas on the twenty-fifth of December, and we celebrate the seventh of January. The answer is completely obvious. The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas according to the Julian calendar. This also applies to other major church holidays.

Today the Julian calendar in Russia is called the “old style”. Currently, its scope is very limited. It is used by some Orthodox Churches - Serbian, Georgian, Jerusalem and Russian. In addition, the Julian calendar is used in some Orthodox monasteries in Europe and the USA.

in Russia

In our country, the issue of calendar reform has been raised more than once. In 1830 it was staged Russian Academy Sci. Prince K.A. Lieven, who served as Minister of Education at the time, considered this proposal untimely. Only after the revolution the issue was brought to a meeting of the Council of People's Commissars Russian Federation. Already on January 24, Russia adopted the Gregorian calendar.

Features of the transition to the Gregorian calendar

For Orthodox Christians, the introduction of a new style by the authorities caused certain difficulties. The New Year turned out to be shifted to a time when any fun is not welcome. Moreover, January 1 is the day of remembrance of St. Boniface, the patron saint of everyone who wants to give up drunkenness, and our country celebrates this day with a glass in hand.

Gregorian and Julian calendar: differences and similarities

Both of them consist of three hundred sixty-five days in a normal year and three hundred sixty-six in a leap year, have 12 months, 4 of which are 30 days and 7 of 31 days, February - either 28 or 29. The difference lies only in the frequency of leap days years.

According to the Julian calendar leap year occurs every three years. In this case, it turns out that the calendar year is 11 minutes longer than the astronomical year. In other words, after 128 years there is an extra day. The Gregorian calendar also recognizes that the fourth year is a leap year. The exceptions are those years that are multiples of 100, as well as those that can be divided by 400. Based on this, extra days appear only after 3200 years.

What awaits us in the future

Unlike the Gregorian calendar, the Julian calendar is simpler for chronology, but it is ahead of the astronomical year. The basis of the first became the second. According to the Orthodox Church, the Gregorian calendar violates the order of many biblical events.

Due to the fact that the Julian and Gregorian calendars increase the difference in dates over time, Orthodox churches that use the first of them will celebrate Christmas from 2101 not on January 7, as it happens now, but on January 8, but from nine thousand In the year nine hundred and one, the celebration will take place on March 8th. In the liturgical calendar, the date will still correspond to the twenty-fifth of December.

In countries that used the Julian calendar by the early twentieth century, such as Greece, the dates of all historical events, which occurred after the fifteenth of October, one thousand five hundred and eighty-two, are nominally celebrated on the same dates when they happened.

Consequences of calendar reforms

Currently, the Gregorian calendar is quite accurate. According to many experts, it does not need changes, but the issue of its reform has been discussed for several decades. This is not about introducing a new calendar or any new methods for accounting for leap years. This is about rearranging the days of the year so that the beginning of each year falls on one day, such as Sunday.

Today, calendar months range from 28 to 31 days, the length of a quarter ranges from ninety to ninety-two days, with the first half of the year being 3-4 days shorter than the second. This complicates the work of financial and planning authorities.

What new calendar projects exist?

Over the past one hundred and sixty years, it has been proposed various projects. In 1923, a calendar reform committee was created at the League of Nations. After the end of the Second World War this question was transferred to the Economic and Social Committee of the United Nations.

Despite the fact that there are quite a lot of them, preference is given to two options - the 13-month calendar of the French philosopher Auguste Comte and the proposal of the French astronomer G. Armelin.

In the first option, the month always begins on Sunday and ends on Saturday. One day in the year has no name at all and is inserted at the end of the last thirteenth month. In a leap year, such a day appears in the sixth month. According to experts, this calendar has many significant shortcomings, therefore more attention is devoted to the project of Gustave Armelin, according to which the year consists of twelve months and four quarters of ninety-one days.

The first month of the quarter has thirty-one days, the next two - thirty. The first day of each year and quarter begins on Sunday and ends on Saturday. In a normal year, one additional day is added after the thirtieth of December, and in a leap year - after the 30th of June. This project was approved by France, India, Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and some other countries. For a long time The General Assembly delayed approval of the project, and recently this work at the UN has ceased.

Will Russia return to the “old style”

It is quite difficult to explain to foreigners what the concept "Old" means New Year“why we celebrate Christmas later than the Europeans. Today there are people who want to make the transition to the Julian calendar in Russia. Moreover, the initiative comes from well-deserved and respected people. In their opinion, 70% of Russian Orthodox Russians have the right to live according to the calendar used by the Russian Orthodox Church.

People have been thinking about the need for chronology for a very long time. It is worth remembering the same Mayan calendar, which a few years ago made a lot of noise all over the world. But almost all world states now live according to a calendar called the Gregorian. However, in many films or books you can see or hear references to the Julian calendar. What is the difference between these two calendars?

This calendar got its name thanks to the most famous Roman emperor Gaius Julius Caesar. Of course, it was not the emperor himself who was involved in the development of the calendar, but this was done by his decree by a whole group of astronomers. The birthday of this method of chronology is January 1, 45 BC. The word calendar was also born in Ancient Rome. Translated from Latin, it means debt book. The fact is that then interest on debts was paid on kalends (that’s what the first days of each month were called).

In addition to the name of the entire calendar, Julius Caesar also gave the name to one of the months - July, although this month was originally called Quintilis. Other Roman emperors also gave their months their names. But besides July, nowadays only August is used - a month that was renamed in honor of Octavian Augustus.

The Julian calendar completely ceased to be the official calendar in 1928, when Egypt switched to the Gregorian calendar. This country was the last to switch to the Gregorian calendar. Italy, Spain and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were the first to cross in 1528. Russia made the transition in 1918.

Nowadays, the Julian calendar is used only in some Orthodox churches. In such as: Jerusalem, Georgian, Serbian and Russian, Polish and Ukrainian. Also, according to the Julian calendar, holidays are celebrated by the Russian and Ukrainian Greek Catholic churches and the ancient Eastern churches in Egypt and Ethiopia.

This calendar was introduced by the Pope Gregory XIII. The calendar got its name in honor of him. The need to replace the Julian calendar was primarily due to confusion over the celebration of Easter. According to the Julian calendar, the celebration of this day fell on different days of the week, but Christianity insisted that Easter should always be celebrated on Sunday. However, although the Gregorian calendar streamlined the celebration of Easter, with its advent the rest of the church holidays went astray. Therefore, some Orthodox churches still live according to the Julian calendar. A clear example It serves the fact that Catholics celebrate Christmas on December 25, and Orthodox on January 7.

Not all people took the transition to the new calendar calmly. Riots broke out in many countries. But in the Russian Orthodox Church, the new calendar was valid for only 24 days. Sweden, for example, completely lived according to its own calendar due to all these transitions.

Common features in both calendars

Division. In both the Julian and Gregorian calendars, the year is divided into 12 months and 365 days, and 7 days per week.
Months. In the Gregorian calendar, all 12 months are called the same as in the Julian calendar. They have the same sequence and the same number of days. There is an easy way to remember what month and how many days. Needs to be compressed own hands into fists. The knuckle on the little finger of the left hand will be considered January, and the following depression will be considered February. Thus, all the dominoes will symbolize months with 31 days, and all the hollows will symbolize months with 30 days. Of course, the exception is February, which has 28 or 29 days (depending on whether it is a leap year or not). Indentation after the ring finger right hand and the knuckle of the right little finger are not taken into account, since there are only 12 months. This method is suitable for determining the number of days in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars.
Church holidays. All holidays that are celebrated according to the Julian calendar are also celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar. However, the celebration takes place on other days and dates. For example, Christmas.
Place of invention. Like the Julian calendar, the Gregorian calendar was invented in Rome, but in 1582 Rome was part of Italy, and in 45 BC it was the center of the Roman Empire.

Differences between the Gregorian calendar and the Julian calendar

Age. Since some Churches live according to the Julian calendar, we can confidently say that it exists. This means that it is approximately 1626 years older than the Gregorian.
Usage. The Gregorian calendar is considered the official calendar in almost all countries of the world. The Julian calendar can be called a church calendar.
Leap year. In the Julian calendar, every fourth year is a leap year. In the Gregorian calendar, a leap year is one whose number is a multiple of 400 and 4, but one that is not a multiple of 100. That is, 2016 according to the Gregorian calendar is a leap year, but 1900 is not.
Date difference. Initially, the Gregorian calendar, one might say, was 10 days faster than the Julian calendar. That is, according to the Julian calendar, October 5, 1582 was considered October 15, 1582 according to the Gregorian calendar. However, now the difference between the calendars is already 13 days. Due to this difference in the countries of the former Russian Empire an expression appeared, as in the old style. For example, the holiday called Old New Year is simply New Year, but according to the Julian calendar.