Calendar Reform as Mechanism of Secularisation of the Serbian Society in the Habsburg Monarchy during the 18th Century
Calendar Reform as Mechanism of Secularisation of the Serbian Society in the Habsburg Monarchy during the 18th Century

Summary/Abstract: The Julian calendar was considered one of the most important features that marked religious and ethnic distinctiveness of the Serbian people living in the Habsburg Monarchy during the eighteenth century. Therefore, the calendar issue, in both cultural and political terms, can also be viewed as an identity issue. The Theresian calendar reform applied not only to the Julian calendar but also to the Gregorian calendar, affecting both Orthodox Christian and Catholics. The primary aim of the calendar reform was to increase the number of working days in a year, thereby contributing to the economic progress of the Monarchy. Consequently, the calendar reform can be seen as a specific mechanism intended to influence the economy while simultaneously advancing the secularisation of the society. The reduction of holy days in the Serbian church calendar was implemented in three phases by the Synod of the Metropolitanate of Karlovci between 1769 and 1786. Among the Serbian people, it was perceived as an attempt to “distance the Christian Orthodox people from the Church”. This significant religious, political, and economic issue was discussed in late 18th-century Serbian literature in the works of Zaharija Orfelin, Jovan Muškatirović and Dositej Obradović.

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