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Header graphic for coastal parishes. Shows images of the three church buildings, the coastal parishes logo, and text 'Coastal Parishes North Devon' and 'The church of England in Woolacombe, Mortehoe and Lee', with a background image of Woolacombe Bay. Overlayed image of St Sabinus - Woolacombe Overlayed image of St. Mary's - Mortehoe Overlayed image of St. Matthew's - Lee

Adopting the Gregorian calendar

This image is to illustrate the change from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar in1752. The image shows teh page of a calendar, but dated 1, 2, then 14, 15 September. In the background the Earth orbits the Sun.Where does the time go...?

This September, many of us may lament how quickly the year is passing. Yet in September 1752, time really did seem to vanish.

According to History UK, Britain and its Empire adopted a new calendar that year. Until then, they had followed the Julian calendar, introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC. But a small error in calculating the solar year—11 minutes each year—had shifted the calendar by a day every 128 years, gradually moving Easter away from the spring equinox.

The Gregorian calendar was introduced to correct this. Based on a 365-day year, with leap years adding a day to February every four years, it brought Britain into line with the more accurate system. The change was complicated: 1751 lasted only 282 days, running from 25 March, the Julian New Year, to 31 December, before 1752 began on 1 January.

One problem remained: England’s calendar still had to be aligned with Europe’s. To correct the 11-day difference, Wednesday 2 September 1752 was followed by Thursday 14 September.

Yes, 11 days just disappeared!

It is hard to imagine how that felt. Many people even believed the missing days had shortened their lives.

We tend to see time as fixed and predictable, yet it often feels more like a river: constant and inconstant, depending on where we stand along its banks.

Thank goodness, then, for the constancy and assurance that God never changes, as Hebrews 1:10–12 reminds us:

"In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain… But you remain the same, and your years will never end."

As we move into the last quarter of the year, we may not be about to lose 11 days, but sometimes life can seem fleeting and ever changing.  Be assured then of the unchanging nature of the God who created the world and, through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, is ever present. 

Revd Susan