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 weeks, 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 church holidays. 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.

Go to new calendar Not all people took it 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

1. Division. In both the Julian and Gregorian calendars, the year is divided into 12 months and 365 days, and 7 days per week.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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. In connection with this difference, in the countries of the former Russian Empire the expression “old style” appeared. For example, the holiday called Old New Year is simply New Year, but according to the Julian calendar.

We have been using a calendar all our lives. This seemingly simple table of numbers with the days of the week has a very ancient and rich history. The civilizations known to us already knew how to divide the year into months and days. For example, in ancient Egypt, based on the pattern of movement of the Moon and Sirius, a calendar was created. A year was approximately 365 days and was divided into twelve months, which in turn were divided into thirty days.

Innovator Julius Caesar

Around 46 BC. e. there was a transformation of chronology. The Roman Emperor Julius Caesar created the Julian calendar. It was slightly different from the Egyptian one: the fact is that, instead of the Moon and Sirius, the sun was taken as a basis. The year was now 365 days and six hours. The first of January was considered the beginning of the new time, and Christmas began to be celebrated on January 7.

In connection with this reform, the Senate decided to thank the emperor by naming one month in his honor, which we know as “July.” After the death of Julius Caesar, the priests began to confuse the months, the number of days - in a word, the old calendar no longer resembled the new one. Every third year was considered a leap year. From 44 to 9 BC there were 12 leap years, which was not true.

After Emperor Octavian Augustus came to power, there were no leap years for sixteen years, so everything returned to normal, and the situation with chronology was corrected. In honor of Emperor Octavian, the eighth month was renamed from Sextilis to Augustus.

When the question arose about the purpose of celebrating Easter, disagreements began. It was this issue that was resolved at the Ecumenical Council. No one has the right to change the rules that were established at this Council to this day.

Innovator Gregory XIII

In 1582, Gregory XIII replaced the Julian calendar with the Gregorian one.. Moving day spring equinox was main reason changes. It was according to this that the day of Easter was calculated. At the time when the Julian calendar was introduced, this day was considered to be March 21, but around the 16th century the difference between the tropical and Julian calendars was about 10 days, therefore, March 21 changed to 11.

In 1853 in Constantinople, the Council of Patriarchs criticized and condemned the Gregorian calendar, according to which the Catholic Holy Sunday was celebrated before the Jewish Passover, which was contrary to established rules Ecumenical councils.

Differences between old and new style

So, how does the Julian calendar differ from the Gregorian calendar?

• Unlike Gregorian, Julian was adopted much earlier, and it is 1 thousand years older.
• For now old style(Julian) is used to calculate the celebration of Easter among Orthodox Christians.
• The chronology created by Gregory is much more accurate than the previous one and will not be subject to changes in the future.
• A leap year according to the old style is every fourth year.
• In Gregorian, years that are divisible by four and end in two zeros are not leap years.
• All church holidays are celebrated according to the new style.

As we can see, the difference between the Julian calendar and the Gregorian calendar is obvious not only in terms of calculations, but also in popularity.

This raises an interesting question. What calendar do we live by now?

The Russian Orthodox Church uses Julian, which was adopted during the Ecumenical Council, while Catholics use Gregorian. Hence the difference in the dates of celebrating the Nativity of Christ and Easter. Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7, following the decision of the Ecumenical Council, and Catholics celebrate December 25.

These two chronology were named - old and new style of calendar.

The area where the old style is used is not very large: the Serbian, Georgian, Jerusalem Orthodox Churches.

As we see, after the introduction of the new style, the life of Christians around the world changed. Many happily accepted the changes and began to live by it. But there are also those Christians who are faithful to the old style and live according to it even now, albeit in very small quantities.

There will always be disagreements between Orthodox and Catholics, and this has nothing to do with the old or new style of chronology. The Julian and Gregorian calendars - the difference is not in faith, but in the desire to use one or another calendar.

As is known, the Russian Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar in its worship, while Russian state, along with most countries, has been using the Gregorian calendar for some time now. At the same time, both in the Church itself and in society, voices are heard from time to time calling for a transition to a new style.

The arguments of the defenders of the Julian calendar, which can be found in the Orthodox press, mainly come down to two things. The first argument: the Julian calendar has been sanctified by centuries of use in the Church, and there are no compelling reasons to abandon it. The second argument: when switching to the “new style” while maintaining the traditional Paschalia (the system for calculating the date of Easter), many inconsistencies arise, and violations of the liturgical Rules are inevitable.

Both of these arguments are quite convincing for an Orthodox believer. However, they do not seem to relate to the Julian calendar as such. After all, the Church did not create a new calendar, but adopted the one that already existed in the Roman Empire. What if the calendar were different? Perhaps then it would be precisely that other calendar that would have been consecrated for liturgical use, and it would have been with this in mind that the Easter calendar would have been compiled?

This article is an attempt to consider some aspects of the calendar problem, providing the reader with material for independent reflection. The author does not consider it necessary to hide his sympathy for the Julian calendar, but he is aware that it is impossible to prove its superiority in any way. Just as the advantage of the liturgical Church Slavonic language over Russian or the icons of St. Andrey Rublev in front of Raphael's painting.

The presentation will be carried out in three stages: first, brief conclusions, then a more detailed mathematical justification, and, finally, a short historical sketch.

Any natural phenomenon can be used to measure time and compile a calendar if it repeats evenly and periodically: the change of day and night, the change of phases of the Moon, seasons, etc. All these phenomena are associated with certain astronomical objects. In the book of Genesis we read: And God said: let there be lights in the firmament of heaven for... times, and days, and years... And God created two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the stars(Gen. 1, 14-16). The Julian calendar is compiled taking into account the three main astronomical objects - the Sun, the Moon and the stars. This gives grounds to consider it a truly biblical calendar.

Unlike the Julian calendar, the Gregorian calendar takes into account only one object - the Sun. It is designed in such a way that the point of the vernal equinox (when the lengths of day and night are equal) would deviate as slowly as possible from the date of March 21. At the same time, the connection between the calendar and the Moon and stars was destroyed; in addition, the calendar became more complex and lost its rhythm (compared to the Julian calendar).

Let's look at one property of the Julian calendar that is most often criticized. In the Julian calendar, the vernal equinox moves backward along calendar dates at a rate of approximately 1 day every 128 years. (In general, the difference between the dates of the Julian and Gregorian calendars is currently 13 days and increases by 3 days every 400 years.) This means, for example, that the day of the birth of Christ, December 25, will eventually move to spring. But, firstly, this will happen in about 6000 years, and secondly, even now in southern hemisphere Christmas is celebrated not even in the spring, but in the summer (since December, January and February are the summer months there).

Taking into account all of the above, we can conclude that the statement “the Gregorian calendar is more accurate than the Julian calendar” is far from indisputable. Everything here is determined by accuracy criteria, and they can be different.

To substantiate the above statements, we present some astronomical and arithmetic arguments and facts.

One of the main periods of time for us is a year. But it turns out there are several different “types” of year. Let us mention two that are most important for our considerations.

• Sidereal, or sidereal, year. This is what they mean when they say that the Sun passes through twelve zodiac signs in a year. For example, St. Basil the Great (IV century) in “Conversations on the Sixth Day” writes: “The solar year is the return of the Sun, due to its own movement, from a certain sign to the same sign.”
• Tropical year. It takes into account the changing seasons on Earth.

The Julian year averages 365.25 days, that is, it is between the sidereal and tropical years. The Gregorian year averages 365.2425 days, which is very close to the tropical year.

In order to better understand the aesthetics and logic of the calendar, it is useful to shed some light on the problems that arise when creating it. Strictly speaking, building a calendar includes two fairly independent procedures. The first is empirical in nature: it is necessary to measure the duration of astronomical cycles as accurately as possible. (Note that the durations of the sidereal and tropical years were found with great accuracy in the 2nd century BC by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus.) The second procedure is purely theoretical: based on the observations made, create a time measurement system that, on the one hand, would deviate as little as possible from the chosen cosmic landmarks, and on the other hand, would not be very cumbersome and complex.

Let, for example, you want to create a calendar focused on the tropical year (after the duration of the latter is measured - 365.24220 days). It is clear that each year of such a calendar must contain either 365 or 366 days (in the latter case, the year is called a leap year). In this case, we must try to ensure that, firstly, the average number of days in a year is as close as possible to 365.2422 and, secondly, that the rule for alternating common and leap years is as simple as possible. In other words, it is necessary to determine a cycle lasting N years, of which M will be leap years. In this case, firstly, the fraction m/n should be as close as possible to 0.2422, and secondly, the number N should be as small as possible.

These two requirements contradict each other, since accuracy is achieved only at the cost of increasing the number N. The most simple solution The problem is the fraction 1/4, on which the Julian calendar is based. The cycle consists of four years, every fourth year (the serial number of which is completely divisible by 4) is a leap year. The Julian year averages 365.25 days, which is 0.0078 days longer than the tropical year. In this case, an error of one day accumulates over 128 years (0.0078 x 128 ~ 1).

The Gregorian calendar is based on the fraction 97/400, i.e. There are 97 leap years in the 400-year cycle. Leap years are considered to be years whose serial number is either divisible by 4 and not divisible by 100, or divisible by 400. The Gregorian year averages 365.2425 days, which is 0.0003 days longer than the length of the tropical year. In this case, an error of one day accumulates over 3333 years (0.0003 x 3333 ~ 1).

From the above it is clear that the advantage of the Gregorian calendar over the Julian calendar is debatable even as it is focused only on the tropical year - accuracy is achieved at the cost of complexity.

Let us now consider the Julian and Gregorian calendars from the point of view of correlation with the Moon.

The change in phases of the Moon corresponds to a synodic, or lunar, month, which is 29.53059 days. During this time, all phases of the moon change - new moon, first quarter, full moon, last quarter. A whole number of months cannot fit into one year without a remainder, therefore, to construct almost all existing lunar-solar calendars, a 19-year cycle was used, named after the Greek astronomer Meton (5th century BC). In this cycle the relation is fulfilled

19 years ~ 235 synodic months,

that is, if the beginning of a certain year coincides with the appearance of a new Moon in the sky, then this coincidence will take place 19 years later.

If the year is Gregorian (365.2425 days), then the error of the Metonic cycle is

235 x 29.53059 - 19 x 365.2425 ~ 0.08115.

For the Julian year (365.25 days) the error is smaller, namely

235 x 29.53059 - 19 x 365.25 ~ 0.06135.

Thus, we find that the Julian calendar is better correlated with changes in the phases of the Moon (see also: Klimishin I.A. Calendar and chronology. - 3rd ed., revised and supplemented. - M., Nauka, 1990. - P. 92 ).

In general, the Julian calendar is a combination of simplicity, rhythm (a cycle lasting only 4 years), harmony (correlation with the Sun, Moon and stars). It is also worth mentioning its practicality: the same number of days in each century and the continuous counting of time for two millennia (disrupted during the transition to the Gregorian calendar) simplify astronomical and chronological calculations.

Two surprising circumstances are associated with the Julian calendar. The first circumstance is astronomical - the proximity of the fractional part of the length of the year (both sidereal and tropical) to such a simple fraction 1/4 (we suggest to the reader familiar with verification methods statistical hypotheses, calculate the corresponding probability). However, the second circumstance is even more surprising - for all its merits, the Julian calendar was never used anywhere until the 1st century. BC

The predecessor of the Julian calendar can be considered the calendar that was used in Egypt for many centuries. In the Egyptian calendar, each year contained exactly 365 days. Of course, the error of this calendar was very large. For about one and a half thousand years, the day of the vernal equinox “ran through” all the numbers of the calendar year (which consisted of 12 months of 30 days and five additional days).

Around 1700 BC, the northern part of the Nile Delta came under the rule of the nomadic Hyksos tribes. One of the Hyksos rulers who made up the XV Dynasty of Egypt carried out a calendar reform. After 130 years, the Hyksos were expelled, the traditional calendar was restored, and since then, each pharaoh, upon ascending the throne, swore an oath not to change the length of the year.

In 238 BC, Ptolemy III Euergetes, who ruled in Egypt (a descendant of one of the military leaders of Alexander the Great), tried to carry out a reform by adding an additional day every 4 years. This would make the Egyptian calendar almost identical to the Julian calendar. However, for unknown reasons, the reform was not implemented.

And now the time of the incarnation and the founding of the Church has approached. Some of the participants in the events described by the evangelists have already walked the land of Palestine. From January 1, 45 BC, a new calendar was introduced in the Roman Empire by order of Gaius Julius Caesar (100-44). This calendar, now called the Julian calendar, was developed by a group of Alexandrian astronomers led by Sosigenes. From then until the 16th century, that is, approximately 1600 years, Europe lived according to the Julian calendar.

To stay on topic, we will not consider calendar systems. different countries and peoples. Note that some of them are quite unsuccessful (one of the worst, it seems, was the calendar used in the Roman Empire before the introduction of the Julian). Let's mention just one calendar, interesting topic what's in it calendar year closer to tropical than the later Gregorian. From 1079 to the middle of the 19th century. In Iran, the Persian calendar was in use, developed by a commission led by the scientist and poet Omar Khayyam (1048-1123). The Persian calendar is based on the fraction 8/33, i.e. the cycle is 33 years, of which 8 are leap years. The 3rd, 7th, 11th, 15th, 20th, 24th, 28th and 32nd years of the cycle were leap years. Average duration A year in the Persian calendar is 365.24242 days, which is 0.00022 more than in the tropical calendar. An error of one day accumulates over 4545 years (0.00022 x 4545 ~ 1).

In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar. During the transition from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, 10 days were thrown out, i.e., after October 4, October 15 came immediately. The calendar reform of 1582 caused many protests (in particular, almost all universities spoke out against it Western Europe). Nevertheless, Catholic countries, for obvious reasons, almost immediately switched to the Gregorian calendar. Protestants did this gradually (for example, Great Britain - only in 1752).

In November 1917, immediately after the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia, the issue of the calendar was brought up for discussion by the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR. On January 24, 1918, the “Decree on the introduction of the Western European calendar in the Russian Republic” was adopted.

Local Orthodox Churches adhered to the Julian calendar until the 20s of the 20th century, when the Ecumenical (Constantinople) Patriarchate abandoned it. The main purpose of this decision was, apparently, the celebration of Christian holidays together with Catholics and Protestants.

Over the next decades, the new style was adopted by the majority of Local Churches, and formally the transition was made not to the Gregorian, but to the so-called New Julian calendar, based on the fraction 218/900. However, until 2800 it completely coincides with the Gregorian.

It is expressed in the joint celebration of Easter and the so-called moving holidays associated with it (the only exception is the Finnish Orthodox Church, which celebrates Easter on the same day as Western Christians). The date of Easter is calculated according to a special lunisolar calendar, inextricably linked with the Julian calendar. In general, the method of calculating the date of Easter is the most important point of comparison between the Julian and Gregorian calendars as church calendars. However, this topic, which requires both scientific and theological consideration, is beyond the scope of this article. Let us only note that the creators of the Orthodox Easter achieved the same goal as the creators of the Julian calendar - the greatest possible simplicity with a reasonable level of accuracy.

God created the world outside of time, the change of day and night, seasons allows people to put their time in order. For this purpose, humanity invented the calendar, a system for calculating the days of the year. The main reason for switching to another calendar was disagreement about the celebration of the most important day for Christians - Easter.

Julian calendar

Once upon a time, back during the reign of Julius Caesar, in 45 BC. The Julian calendar appeared. The calendar itself was named after the ruler. It was the astronomers of Julius Caesar who created a chronology system based on the time of successive passage of the equinox by the Sun , therefore the Julian calendar was a “solar” calendar.

This system was the most accurate for those times; each year, not counting leap years, contained 365 days. In addition, the Julian calendar did not contradict the astronomical discoveries of those years. For fifteen hundred years, no one could offer this system a worthy analogy.

Gregorian calendar

However, at the end of the 16th century, Pope Gregory XIII proposed a different chronology system. What was the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars, if there was no difference in the number of days between them? Every fourth year was no longer considered a leap year by default, as in the Julian calendar. According to the Gregorian calendar, if a year ended in 00 but was not divisible by 4, it was not a leap year. So 2000 was a leap year, but 2100 will no longer be a leap year.

Pope Gregory XIII was based on the fact that Easter should be celebrated only on Sunday, and according to the Julian calendar, Easter fell on a different day of the week each time. 24 February 1582 the world learned about the Gregorian calendar.

Popes Sixtus IV and Clement VII also advocated reform. The work on the calendar, among others, was carried out by the Jesuit order.

Julian and Gregorian calendars – which is more popular?

The Julian and Gregorian calendars continued to exist together, but in most countries of the world it is the Gregorian calendar that is used, and the Julian remains for calculating Christian holidays.

Russia was among the last to adopt the reform. In 1917, immediately after the October Revolution, the “obscurantist” calendar was replaced with a “progressive” one. In 1923 the Russian Orthodox Church they tried to transfer it to the “new style,” but even with pressure on His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon, there was a categorical refusal from the Church. Orthodox Christians, guided by the instructions of the apostles, calculate holidays according to the Julian calendar. Catholics and Protestants count holidays according to the Gregorian calendar.

The issue of calendars is also a theological issue. Despite the fact that Pope Gregory XIII considered the main issue to be astronomical and not religious, later discussions appeared about the correctness of a particular calendar in relation to the Bible. In Orthodoxy, it is believed that the Gregorian calendar violates the sequence of events in the Bible and leads to canonical violations: Apostolic rules do not allow the celebration of Holy Easter before the Jewish Passover. The transition to a new calendar would mean the destruction of Easter. Scientist-astronomer Professor E.A. Predtechensky in his work “Church Time: Reckoning and Critical Review” existing rules definitions of Easter" noted: “This collective work (Editor's note - Easter), in all likelihood by many unknown authors, was carried out in such a way that it still remains unsurpassed. The later Roman Easter, now accepted by the Western Church, is, in comparison with the Alexandrian one, so ponderous and clumsy that it resembles a popular print next to an artistic depiction of the same subject. Despite all this, this terribly complex and clumsy machine does not yet achieve its intended goal.”. In addition, toe Holy Fire at the Holy Sepulcher is celebrated on Holy Saturday according to the Julian calendar.

On the threshold new years When one year follows another, we don’t even think about what style we live by. Surely many of us remember from history lessons that once there was a different calendar, later people switched to a new one and began to live according to a new one style.

Let's talk about how these two calendars differ: Julian and Gregorian .

The history of the creation of the Julian and Gregorian calendars

To make time calculations, people came up with a chronology system, which was based on the periodicity of movement celestial bodies, so it was created calendar.

Word "calendar" comes from the Latin word calendarium, which means "debt book". This is due to the fact that debtors paid their debt on the day Kalends, the first days of each month were called, they coincided with new moon.

Yes, y ancient romans every month had 30 days, or rather, 29 days, 12 hours and 44 minutes. At first this calendar contained ten months, hence, by the way, the name of our last month of the year - December(from Latin decem– tenth). All months were named after Roman gods.

But, starting from the 3rd century BC, in ancient world a different calendar was used, based on a four-year calendar lunisolar cycle, it gave an error in value solar year in 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 every.

It was this calendar that became the basis Julian calendar. It is named after the emperor Guy Julius Caesar and was introduced into 45 BC. The beginning of the year according to this calendar began January 1.

Gaius Julius Caesar (100 BC - 44 BC)

Lasted Julian calendar more than sixteen centuries, until 1582 G. Pope Gregory XIII didn't offer new system chronology. The reason for the adoption of the new calendar was the gradual shift in relation to the Julian calendar of the day of the vernal equinox, by which the date of Easter was determined, as well as the discrepancy between the Easter full moons and the astronomical ones. Chapter Catholic Church believed that it was necessary to determine the exact calculation of the celebration of Easter so that it would fall on a Sunday, and also return the day of the vernal equinox to the date of March 21.

Pope Gregory XIII (1502-1585)

However, in 1583 year Council of Eastern Patriarchs in Constantinople did not accept the new calendar, since it contradicted the basic rule by which the day of celebration of Christian Easter is determined: in some years, Christian Easter would come earlier than the Jewish one, which was not allowed by the canons of the church.

However, most European countries followed the call of Pope Gregory XIII and switched to new style chronology.

The transition to the Gregorian calendar entailed the following changes :

1. to correct accumulated errors, the new calendar immediately shifted the current date by 10 days at the time of adoption;

2. a new, more precise rule about leap year- a leap year, that is, contains 366 days, if:

The year number is a multiple of 400 (1600, 2000, 2400);

The year number is a multiple of 4 and not a multiple of 100 (... 1892, 1896, 1904, 1908...);

3. The rules for calculating Christian (namely Catholic) Easter have changed.

The difference between the dates of the Julian and Gregorian calendars increases by three days every 400 years.

History of chronology in Russia

In Rus', before Epiphany, the new year began in March, but since the 10th century, the New Year began to be celebrated in September, in Byzantine church calendar. However, people accustomed to the centuries-old tradition continued to celebrate New Year with the awakening of nature - in spring. While the king Ivan III V 1492 year did not issue a decree stating that the New Year was officially postponed to early autumn. But this did not help, and the Russian people celebrated two new years: in spring and autumn.

Tsar Peter the Great, striving for everything European, December 19, 1699 issued a decree that the Russian people, together with Europeans, should celebrate the New Year January 1.

But, at the same time, in Russia it still remained valid Julian calendar, received from Byzantium with baptism.

February 14, 1918, after the coup, all of Russia switched to new style, now the secular state began to live according to Gregorian calendar. Later, in 1923 year, the new authorities tried to transfer the church to a new calendar, however To His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon managed to preserve traditions.

Today Julian and Gregorian calendars continue to exist together. Julian calendar enjoy Georgian, Jerusalem, Serbian and Russian churches, whereas Catholics and Protestants are guided by Gregorian.