Byzantine calendar facts for kids

The Byzantine calendar was a special way of keeping track of dates. It was used by the Eastern Orthodox Church for a long time, from 691 AD to 1728. It was also used by the Byzantine Empire from 988 AD until it fell in 1453. Russia also used it from 988 AD to 1700.

The Byzantine calendar was similar to the Julian calendar. However, the Byzantine year started on September 1st, not January 1st. Also, the years were numbered differently. Year one of the Byzantine calendar began in 5509 BC.

How the Calendar Developed

The Byzantine calendar has a long history. It was used by the Eastern Orthodox Church. This church formed after a big split in Christianity. This split is called the Great Schism. It happened in 1054.

Before this split, there was one main Christian church. Afterward, it divided into two parts. The Western part became the Roman Catholic Church. The Eastern part became the Eastern Orthodox Church. At that time, the Roman Catholic Church used the Julian calendar.

The Byzantine Empire stopped using its calendar when it collapsed in 1453. But other places, like Russia, continued to use it. Later, in 1582, the Gregorian calendar was introduced. This new calendar was created by Pope Gregory XIII. It caused more differences in how years were counted.

Calendar Differences

The Byzantine calendar had some unique features. For example, the Roman calendar did not include dates for Old Testament prophets. But the Byzantine calendar did. This shows how it was different from other calendars of its time.

Russia's Calendar Changes

Peter the Great became the tsar of Russia in 1682. At that time, Russians used a calendar similar to the Julian calendar. It had some Byzantine influences. For example, the year started on September 1st, not January 1st. Also, the years were counted from the date the Earth was believed to be created. They did not count from the birth of Christ.

Peter the Great decided to change this. He made the Russian calendar start on January 1st. He also changed the year numbering to begin from Christ's birth. However, he kept the calendar based on the Julian system. He did not switch to the Gregorian calendar.

By the early 1800s, the Russian calendar was 12 days behind the Gregorian calendar. Most of western Europe used the Gregorian calendar. This made it hard to know the exact date when comparing the two systems. People started using special notes for dates. For example, "1 March O.S." meant "Old Style" (Julian or Russian calendar). "16 May 1582 N.S." meant "New Style" (Gregorian calendar). Sometimes, both dates were shown, like "25 October/6 November 1917". This helped show how the same day appeared in different calendars.

On January 1, 1700, Peter the Great issued a decree. This decree officially ended the use of the Russian/Byzantine calendar.

Images for kids

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  A Byzantine mosaic showing the Creation of Adam (from Monreale Cathedral).

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  An 18th-century Russian icon showing the Creation of Adam and Eve.

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  God as the architect of the world (from a Bible, around 1220–1230).

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  A page from the Chronicon Paschale, a book from 1729 about ancient history and calendars.

See also

In Spanish: Calendario bizantino para niños