Julian Calendar

Orthodox Christians today follow the church liturgical year of the Orthodox Church according to two different calendars: the Julian calendar (commonly referred to as the ‘Old Calendar’) and the Revised Julian calendar (commonly referred to as the ‘New Calendar’).

The Julian calendar is said to have been introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 B.C., and was adopted by the Church when the First Ecumenical Council met in Nicea in 325 to settle the date for celebrating Pascha (Easter). Due to inaccuracies which over time led to the accumulation of extra days, the Julian calendar has been revised twice: once by the western church (known as the Gregorian calendar as it is credited to Pope Gregory) and once by the eastern church (known as the Revised Julian calendar).

In 1582 in Western Europe, 10 days were dropped from the calendar so that the Spring Equinox would again fall on March 21st as the Church had ruled in 325. This version is now commonly called the Gregorian calendar and is the generally recognized calendar in use today by governments and civil authorities. However, it took a few hundred years for this to occur. Both the United States and Great Britain used the Julian calendar until after American Independence, and in fact, George Washington was known to have celebrated his birthday twice each year – once according to each calendar.

In 1923 at a synod (conference) of Orthodox Churches in Constantinople (Istanbul), the Revised Julian calendar was adopted to bring the Spring Equinox back to March 21st, and in doing so, the 13-day accumulated difference was dropped. At the same time, the synod endeavored to maintain the liturgical year to the degree possible.

Today, the Revised Julian calendar is in use in most Orthodox churches in the USA, and also in the Churches of Constantinople, Greece, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Alexandria, Cyprus, and Antioch. The Julian calendar continues to be used by the Churches of Russia, Jerusalem, Serbia, and in some Greek churches. It’s also in use by the Russian Orthodox churches in Alaska.

The most obvious difference of the calendars for many is that ‘Old Calendar’ churches celebrate Nativity (Christmas) on January 7th, while ‘New Calendar’ churches celebrate on December 25th. Because the 1923 refinement did not settle the Pascha date question, most Orthodox Churches, be they ‘Old Calendar’ or ‘New Calendar’, observe Pascha according to the 325 Council formula, which determines the Spring Equinox according to the Julian calendar.