The Tellus Calendar: A Metric and Perennial Proposal for Calendar Reform

Though calendar reform has fallen out of fashion in the early 21st century, the Gregorian Calendar is still a problematic timekeeping system that would benefit from adjustment or outright replacement. A number of reforms have been suggested since its implementation. Some of these, I argue, were too radical or not beneficial enough to warrant widespread adoption. I suggest instead a 12-month perennial calendar based on the French Republican Calendar (FRC), with 10-day weeks and three-week months. This, in my view, would bring enough benefit to warrant change, while also not shifting too many frames of reference at once. It would also be devoid of the social-political complexities which prematurely killed the FRC. In essence, it would be the as close to a metric calendar that could realistically be adopted in the near future. I term it the Tellus Calendar.

Bartholomäus Scultetus (1540–1614)

The fourth chapter centres on the Lutheran mayor Bartholomäus Scultetus (1540–1614) who introduced the Gregorian Calendar to Lusatia and the Bohemian lands. Other Lutheran territories, most notably Saxony, refused to accept the more accurate calendar on religious grounds. Scultetus, however, advocated for the calendar and exchanged letters with Catholic dignitaries, praising the benefits of a calendar reform. He dedicated multiple works to Catholics, was friends with some of them and even included woodcuts of his Catholic friends or their coat of arms in his works. Other examples of this cross-confessional exchange include a monk who was one of the most popular godfathers in Zittau until the 1540s or the peaceful negotiations between Lutheran town councils and Franciscan monks regarding new town schools. Scultetus and other councillors also engaged in the creation of a Reformation memory, but without a clear shape of Lutheranism, these histories did not follow a unified pattern.

Calendar Reform under Peter the Great: Absolutist Prerogatives, Plural Temporalities, and Christian Exceptionalism

The calendar reforms of Peter the Great introduced on January 1, 1700 have produced a surprising amount of confusion and misunderstanding. This articles proposes firstly to clarify the aims and outcomes of these reforms, so far as the available sources allow. Secondly, through an examination of the New Year celebrations mandated by Peter's edicts, the article examines the legitimating arguments that have been deployed, including ideas about Russia's relation to western countries, about the position of the Orthodox Church in the polity, and about the prerogatives of the ruler in these matters. As a result of the changing arguments invoked by Peter and his entourage, the reforms introduced a regime of plural temporalities that has affected the course of Russia's development and the elaboration of its identities to this day. The reforms had little to do with heralding a secular, modern society. If initially they represented a failed pragmatic attempt to create a civil calendar aligned with Protestant countries, their justification, once it finally settled, harked back to long-standing theological ideas about the time of the Incarnation.

Views on the (Serbian Orthodox) Church Calendar as an Element of Cultural Heritage in Serbia

The Serbian Orthodox Church is considered by a number of Serbian citizens to be the “guardian” of tradition and cultural heritage. Issues related to church reforms are thus often particularly sensitive, and are perceived by some of the public as a danger to the preservation of cultur­al and religious identity. On the other hand, there are opinions in favor of reforms. In this context, the issue of church calendar reform is of special interest. Although it has been raised for more than a century, it is still as relevant as in the first attempts at the reform thereof. This paper explores the attitudes on online platforms in Serbia on this issue. Is the church calendar perceived as an integral part of the cultural heritage? What are the pros and cons of calendar reform? What would be the consequences of its potential change?

Проблема календаря и коперниканская революция

The desire to compromise between the natural course of natural processes and the desire of man to find order in them and organize his life led to the creation of the calendar. The authors of the article are faced with the task of showing that a person faced the problem of the calendar in ancient times, over time, the calendar changed, reflecting the cultural history of mankind. The calendar reform has always been accompanied by scientific discoveries, contributing to the increment of scientific knowledge. An example for the authors is the Gregorian calendar, the appearance of which was promoted by the Copernican revolution, which changed the idea of man about the universe.

To the 120th Anniversary of the Moscow Valaam Farmstead: St. Patriarch Tikhon on the Farmstead in the 1920s

Статья посвящена истории основания в Москве в 1901 г. и закрытия в 1924-1926 гг. подворья Спасо-Преображенского Валаамского монастыря. Акцент сделан на первом десятилетии существования подворья при большевистской власти, описываются обстоятельства посещений подворской церкви Святейшим Патриархом Московским и всея России Тихоном (Беллавиным) в 1922-1924 гг. События исследованы в контексте истории гонений на Церковь в Советской России и отображают отношение подворского братства к основным реалиям того времени: кампании изъятия церковных ценностей, обновленческому расколу, календарной реформе, процессу формирования отношений с властью и антирелигиозным гонениям. Несмотря на провокацию смуты, братья смогли сохранить единство и верность Патриарху Тихону, отвергли обновленческий раскол и устояли под давлением властей, не признававших их право на самоопределение в новом мире. The article covers the story of the establishment in 1901 and the closure in 1924-1926 of the Metochion of Valaam monastery of the Lord`s Transfiguration in Moscow. The author focuses on the first decade of the Metochion’s life under Bolshevik rule, describes the circumstances of the visit by His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Tikhon (Bellavin) to the church at the Metochion in 1922-1924. The study was carried out in the context of the story of the persecution against the Church in Soviet Russia and reflects the attitude of the Valaam Brotherhood in Moscow to the main realities of the time - the company of the seizure of Church property, renovationists` schism, calendar reform, process of forming relations with the soviet government and anti-religious persecution. Despite the provocation, the brothers were able to maintain unity, loyalty to Patriarch Tikhon. They rejected the schism and resisted the pressure of the Bolshevik authorities who did not recognize their right to self-determination in the new world.

On an Enigmatic Poem by Daniił Charms

The article offers a reading of a singular nonsensical poem by Danił Charms in its historical context. The poem describes a mysterious destruction of the week, and in this way alludes to the calendar reform in Soviet Russia in the 1920s and 30s. It also exemplifi es a key literary strategy of one of a leading member of the OBERIU group.