diff --git a/index.php b/index.php
index cf2644f6c..4d125f332 100644
--- a/index.php
+++ b/index.php
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ if (version_compare($ver = PHP_VERSION, $req = '5.4.0', '<')) {
     exit(sprintf('You are running PHP %s, but Grav needs at least <strong>PHP %s</strong> to run.', $ver, $req));
 }
 
+// Ensure vendor libraries exist
 $autoload = __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';
 if (!is_file($autoload)) {
     exit('Please run: <i>bin/grav install</i>');
@@ -15,19 +16,19 @@ use Grav\Common\Grav;
 // Register the auto-loader.
 $loader = require_once $autoload;
 
-if (!ini_get('date.timezone')) {
-    date_default_timezone_set('UTC');
-}
+// Set timezone to default, falls back to system if php.ini not set
+date_default_timezone_set(@date_default_timezone_get());
 
+// Get the Grav instance
 $grav = Grav::instance(
     array(
         'loader' => $loader
     )
 );
 
+// Process the page
 try {
     $grav->process();
-
 } catch (\Exception $e) {
     $grav->fireEvent('onFatalException');
     throw $e;
diff --git a/system/config/system.yaml b/system/config/system.yaml
index a3ac7e7a4..9edc14046 100644
--- a/system/config/system.yaml
+++ b/system/config/system.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 absolute_urls: false                   # Absolute or relative URLs for `base_url`
+timezone: ''                           # Valid values: http://php.net/manual/en/timezones.php
 
 home:
   alias: '/home'                       # Default path for home, ie /
diff --git a/system/src/Grav/Common/Grav.php b/system/src/Grav/Common/Grav.php
index b9e5ce6af..606047acc 100644
--- a/system/src/Grav/Common/Grav.php
+++ b/system/src/Grav/Common/Grav.php
@@ -172,6 +172,10 @@ class Grav extends Container
             ob_start('ob_gzhandler');
         }
 
+        // Initialize the timezone
+        if ($this['config']->get('system.timezone')) {
+            date_default_timezone_set($this['config']->get('system.timezone'));
+        }
 
         /** @var Debugger $debugger */
         $debugger = $this['debugger'];