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Byzantine Creation Era

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[[Image:Creation of Adam.jpg|right|thumb|230px| Icon of the Creation of Adam.]]
The '''Byzantine Creation Era''', also ''' ''"Creation Era of Constantinople,"'' ''' or ''' ''"Era of the World"'' ''' (Greek: ''' ''Έτη Γενέσεως Κόσμου κατά 'Ρωμαίους'' '''<ref>Pavel Kuzenkov. ''How Old is The World? The Byzantine Era and its Rivals''. Institute for World History, Moscow, Russia. In: Elizabeth Jeffreys, Fiona K. Haarer, Judith Gilliland. '''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=YWec0i621ekC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0 Proceedings of the 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies: London, 21-26 August, 2006: Vol. 3, Abstracts of Communications].''' Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2006. pp. 23-24.</ref> also ''' ''Έτος Κτίσεως Κόσμου'' ''' or ''' ''Έτος Κόσμου'' ''') was the Calendar officially used by the Eastern [[Orthodox Church]] from ca. AD 691 to 1728 in the [[Church of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarchate]], by the [[Byzantine Empire]]<refgroup="note">i.e. '''Eastern Roman Empire'''. The term Byzantine was invented by the German historian Hieronymus Wolf in 1557 but was popularized by French scholars during the 18th century to refer to the Eastern Roman Empire. The citizens of the empire considered themselves ''Romaioi'' ("Romans"), their emperor was the "Roman Emperor", and their empire the ''Basileia ton Romaion'' ("Empire of the Romans"). The Latin West designated the empire as "Romania", and the Muslims as "Rum".</ref> from AD 988 to 1453, and in Holy [[Church of Russia|Russia]] from ca. AD 988 to 1700. Derived from the [[Septuagint]] version of the Bible, it placed the date of creation at 5,509 years before the [[Incarnation]], and was characterized by a certain tendency which had already been a tradition amongst Hebrews and Jews to number the years ''from the foundation of the world'' (Latin: ''' ''[[w:Anno Mundi|Annus Mundi]] / Ab Origine Mundi'' ''' ('''AM''')).<refgroup="note">Significantly, this same phrase - ''"from the foundation of the world"'' (Greek: ''Apo Kataboles Kosmou'') - occurs repeatedly in the [[New Testament]], in '''Matthew 25:34''', '''Luke 11:50''', '''Hebrews 4:3''', '''9:26''', and '''Revelation 13:8, 17:8''', perhaps reflecting on the Byzantine desire in this case to fix such an era or convenient starting point for historical computation in a calendar based on the [[Holy Scripture|Scriptures]].</ref> Its year one, the supposed date of creation, was [[September 1]], 5509 BC to [[August 31]], 5508 BC.
==History==
The era was ultimately calculated as starting on [[September 1|September 1st]], and [[Jesus Christ|Jesus]] was thought to have been born in the year 5509 ''Annus Mundi'' (AM) - the year since the creation of the world.<ref name=Stephenson>Paul Stephenson. ''"Translations from Byzantine Sources: The Imperial Centuries, c.700-1204: [http://homepage.mac.com/paulstephenson/trans/scyl2.html John Skylitzes, "Synopsis Historion"'': ''The Year 6508, in the 13th Indiction: the Byzantine dating system]"''. November 2006.</ref>. Thus historical time was calculated from the creation, and not from Christ's birth, as in the west. The Eastern Church avoided the use of the ''[[w:Anno Domini|Anno Domini]]'' system of Dionysius Exiguus since the date of Christ's birth was debated in Constantinople as late as the 14th century. Otherwise the ''Creation Era'' was identical to the [[Julian Calendar]] except that:
:*the names of the months were transcribed from Latin into Greek,
:*the first day of the year was [[September 1]],<refgroup="note">About the year 462 the Byzantine [[Indiction]] was moved from [[September 23]] to [[September 1]], where it remained throughout the rest of the Byzantine Empire, representing the present day beginning of the Church year. In 537 Justinian decreed that all dates must include the [[indiction]], so it was officially adopted as one way to identify a Byzantine year, becoming compulsory.</ref> so that both the Ecclesiatical and Civil calendar years ran from 1 September to [[August 31|31 August]], (see [[Indiction]]), which to the present day is the [[Church Calendar|Church year]], and,
:*the date of creation, its year one, was [[September 1]], 5509 BC to [[August 31]], 5508 BC.
The ''Byzantine World Era'' was gradually replaced in the [[Orthodox Church]] by the ''[[w:Anno Domini|Christian Era]]'', which was utilized initially by Patriarch [[Theophanes I of Constantinople|Theophanes I Karykes]] in 1597, afterwards by Patriarch [[Cyril Lucaris]] in 1626, and then formally established by the Church in 1728.<ref>"Οικουμενικόν Πατριαρχείον", ΘHE, τόμ. 09, εκδ. Μαρτίνος Αθ., Αθήνα 1966, στ. 778.<br>(''"Ecumenical Patriarchate"''. '''Religious and Ethical Encyclopedia''', Vol. 9, Athens, 1966. p.778.).</ref> Meanwhile as Russia received Orthodox Christianity from Byzantium, she inherited the Orthodox Calendar based on the ''Byzantine Era'' (translated into Slavonic). After the collapse of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, the era continued to be used by Russia, which witnessed millennialist movements in Moscow in AD 1492 (7000 AM) due to the end of the church calendar. It was only in AD 1700 that the ''Byzantine Era'' in Russia was changed to the [[Julian Calendar]] by [[w:Peter I of Russia|Peter the Great]].<ref>Prof. Charles Ellis (University of Bristol). [http://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=5547 Russian Calendar (988-1917)]. ''The Literary Encyclopedia''. 25 September, 2008.</ref>. It still forms the basis of traditional Orthodox calendars up to today. September AD 2000 began the year 7509 AM.<refgroup="note">To convert our era to the Byzantine era, add 5509 years from September to December, and 5508 years from January to August.</ref>
===Earliest Christian Sources on the Age of the World===
The earliest extant Christian writings on the age of the world according to the Biblical chronology are by [[w:Theophilus of Antioch|Theophilus]] (AD 115-181), the sixth bishop of Antioch from the Apostles, in his apologetic work ''To Autolycus'',<ref>[[w:Theophilus of Antioch|Theophilus of Antioch]]. ''Theophilus of Antioch to Autolycus.'' Book III. Chap XXIV (Chronology from Adam) - Chap. XXVIII (Leading Chronological Epochs).</ref> and by [[w:Sextus Julius Africanus|Julius Africanus]] (AD 200-245) in his ''Five Books of Chronology'' <ref>[[w:Sextus Julius Africanus|Julius Africanus]]. ''Extant Writings III. The Extant Fragments of the Five Books of the Chronography of Julius Africanus.''</ref>. Both of these early Christian writers, following the [[Septuagint]] version of the [[Old Testament]], determined the age of the world to have been about 5,530 years at the birth of Christ.<ref name=ROSE-GENESIS>Fr. [[Seraphim Rose]]. ''GENESIS, CREATION and EARLY MAN: The Orthodox Christian Vision''. [[St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood]], Platina, CA, 2000. p.236.</ref>.
Dr. Ben Zion Wacholder points out that the writings of the [[Church Fathers]] on this subject are of vital significance (''even though he disagrees with their chronological system based on the authenticity of the [[Septuagint]], as compared to that of the [[w:Masoretic Text|Hebrew text]]''), in that through the Christian chronographers a window to the earlier Hellenistic biblical chronographers<refgroup="note">[[w:Eratosthenes|Eratosthenes of Cyrene]] (275-194 B.C.) represented contemporary Alexandrian scholarship; [[w:Eupolemus|Eupolemus]], a Palestinian Jew and a friend of [[w:Judas Maccabeus|Judah Maccabee]], writing in 158 B.C., is said to have been the first historian who synchronized Greek history in accordance with the theory of the Mosaic origin of culture. By the time of the first century B.C., a world chronicle had synchronized Jewish and Greek history and had gained international circulation: [[w:Alexander Polyhistor|Alexander Polyhistor]] (flourishing in 85-35 B.C.); [[w:Marcus Terentius Varro|Varro]] (116-27 B.C.); Ptolemy priest of Mendes (50 B.C.), who is cited by [[w:Tatian|Tatian]] (''Oratio ad Graecos'', 38); [[w:Apion|Apion]] (first century A.D.); [[w:Thrasyllus of Mendes|Thrasyllus]] (before A.D. 36); and [[w:Thallus (historian)|Thallus]] (first century A.D.) - all cited chronicles which had incorporated the dates of the Noachite flood and the exodus. (Dr. Ben Zion Wacholder. ''Biblical Chronology in the Hellenistic World Chronicles.'' in '''The Harvard Theological Review''', Vol.61, No.3 (Jul., 1968), pp.451-452.)</ref> is preserved:
:An immense intellectual effort was expended during the Hellenistic period by both Jews and [[Paganism|pagans]] to date [[w:Creation according to Genesis|creation,]] [[Great Flood of Noah|the flood]], [[exodus]], [[w:Solomon's Temple|building of the Temple]]... In the course of their studies, men such as [[w:Tatian|Tatian of Antioch]] (flourished in 180), [[Clement of Alexandria]] (died before 215), [[Hippolytus of Rome]] (died in 235), [[w:Sextus Julius Africanus|Julius Africanus]] of Jerusalem (died after 240), [[Eusebius of Caesarea]] in Palestine (260-340), and Pseudo-Justin frequently quoted their predecessors, the Graeco-Jewish biblical chronographers of the Hellenistic period, thereby allowing discernment of more distant scholarship.<ref>Dr. Ben Zion Wacholder. ''Biblical Chronology in the Hellenistic World Chronicles.'' in '''The Harvard Theological Review''', Vol.61, No.3 (Jul., 1968), pp.451-452.</ref>.
===Alexandrian Era===
The ''' ''"Alexandrian Era"'' ''' (Greek: ''' ''Κόσμου ετη κατ’ Αλεξανδρεις'' ''') developed in AD 412, was the precursor to the ''Byzantine Era''. After the initial attempts by [[Hippolytus of Rome|Hippolytus]], [[Clement of Alexandria]] and others<refgroup="note">The ''' ''Era of Antioch'' ''' (5492 BC) and ''' ''Era of Alexandria'' ''' (5502 BC) were originally two different formations, differing by 10 years. They were both much in use by the early Christian writers attached to the Churches of [[Church of Alexandria|Alexandria]] and [[Church of Antioch|Antioch]]. However after the year AD 284 the two eras coincided, settling on 5492 BC. There are, consequently, two distinct eras of Alexandria, the one being used before and the other after the accession of Diocletian. (''"Epoch: Era of Antioch and Era of Alexandra."'' In: ''' ''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=TqcrAAAAYAAJ&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0 The Popular Encyclopedia: being a general dictionary of arts, sciences, literature, biography, history, and political economy].'' '''(Vol. 3, Part 1). Glasgow: Blackie and Son, 1841. p.73.)</ref>, the Alexandrian computation of the date of creation was worked out to be [[March 25|25 March]] 5493 BC.<ref>Elias J. Bickerman. ''Chronology of the Ancient World''. 2nd edition. Cornell University Press. 1980. p.73.</ref>.
The Alexandrine monk [[w:Panodorus of Alexandria|Panodoros]] reckoned 5904 years from [[Adam and Eve|Adam]] to the year AD 412. His years began with [[August 29]], corresponding to the [[w:Thout|First of Thoth]], or the [[w:Egyptian calendar|Egyptian]] new year.<ref>Rev. Philip Schaff (1819-1893), Ed. ''"Era."'' '''[[w:Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge|Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge]]'''. New Edition, 13 Vols., 1908-14. [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc04/Page_163.html Vol. 4, pp.163].</ref> Bishop [[w:Annianus of Alexandria|Annianos of Alexandria]] however, preferred the Annunciation style as New Year's Day, the 25th of March, and shifted the Panodoros era by about six months, to begin on 25 March. This created the ''Alexandrian Era'', whose first day was the first day of the proleptic<refgroup="note">A calendar obtained by extension earlier in time than its invention or implementation is called the "proleptic" version of the calendar</ref> Alexandrian civil year in progress, 29 August, 5493 BC, with the ecclesiatical year beginning on 25 March, 5493 BC.
:This system presents in a masterly sort of way the mystical coincidence of the three main dates of the world's history: the beginning of Creation, the [[Incarnation]], and the [[Resurrection]] of [[Jesus Christ|Christ]]. All these events happened, according to the Alexandrian chronology, on the 25th of March; furthermore, the first two events were separated by the period of exactly 5500 years; the first and the third one occurred on Sunday — the sacred day of the beginning of the Creation and its renovation through Christ.<ref name=KUZENKOV1>Pavel Kuzenkov (Moscow). ''[http://www.wra1th.plus.com/byzcong/comms/Kuzenkov_paper.pdf How old is the World? The Byzantine era κατα Ρωμαίους and its rivals]''. '''21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies, ''' London 2006. p.2.</ref>
[[w:Pope Dionysius of Alexandria|Dionysius of Alexandria]] had earlier emphatically quoted mystical justifications for the choice of March 25th as the start of the year:
:[[March 25]] was considered to be the anniversary of Creation itself. It was the first day of the year in the medieval [[Julian calendar]] and the nominal vernal equinox (it had been the actual equinox at the time when the Julian calendar was originally designed). Considering that Christ was conceived at that date turned March 25 into the Feast of the [[Annunciation]] which had to be followed, nine months later, by the celebration of the [[Nativity|birth of Christ]], Christmas, on [[December 25]].
The ''Alexandrian Era'' of [[March 25]] 5493 BC was adopted by church fathers such as [[Maximus the Confessor]] and [[Theophanes the Confessor]], as well as chroniclers such as [[w:George Syncellus|George Syncellus]]. Its striking mysticism made it popular in Byzantium especially in monastic circles. However this masterpiece of Christian symbolism had two serious weak points: historical inaccuracy surrounding the date of [[Resurrection]] as determined by its [[Pascha|Easter]] [[w:Computus|computus]],<refgroup="note">In the commonly used 19‐year [[Pascha|Easter]] moon cycle, there was no year when the Passover (the first spring full moon, Nisan 14) would coincide with Friday and the traditional date of the Passion, March 25; according to Alexandrian system the date would have to have been Anno Mundi 5533 = 42(!)AD.</ref> and its contradiction to the chronology of the [[Gospel]] of [[Apostle John|St John]] regarding the date of the [[Crucifixion]] on Friday after the Passover.<ref name=KUZENKOV1/>
===Chronicon Paschale===
A new variant of the ''World Era'' was suggested in the ''[[w:Chronicon Paschale|Chronicon Paschale]]'', a valuable Byzantine universal chronicle of the world, composed about the year 630 AD by some representative of the Antiochian scholarly tradition.<ref>Pavel Kuzenkov. ''[http:name=KUZENKOV1//www.wra1th.plus.com/byzcong/comms/Kuzenkov_paper.pdf How old is the World? The Byzantine era κατα Ρωμαίους and its rivals]''. 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies, London 2006. p.2.</ref> It had for its basis a chronological list of events extending from the creation of [[Adam and Eve|Adam]] to the year A.D. 627. The chronology of the writer is based on the figures of the Bible and begins with [[March 21|21 March]], 5507.
For its influence on Greek Christian chronology, and also because of its wide scope, the ''"Chronicon Paschale"'' takes its place beside [[Eusebius of Caesarea|Eusebius]], and the chronicle of the monk [[w:George Syncellus|Georgius Syncellus]]<ref>[[w:George Syncellus|George Synkellos]]. ''The Chronography of George Synkellos: a Byzantine Chronicle of Universal History from the Creation''. Transl. Prof. Dr. William Adler & Paul Tuffin. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.</ref> which was so important in the Middle Ages; but in respect of form it is inferior to these works.<ref>Van der Essen, L. ''[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03730b.htm Chronicon Paschale]''. In '''The Catholic Encyclopedia (New Advent)'''. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908.</ref>
'''St. Hippolytus'''
St. [[Hippolytus of Rome]] (ca.170-235) maintained on Scriptural grounds that the Lord's birth took place in 5500 AM, and held that the birth of Christ took place on a passover day, deducing that its month-date was [[March 25|25 March]]<refname="OGG">George Ogg. ''Hippolytus and the Introduction of the Christian Era.'' in '''Vigiliae Christianae''', Vol.16, No.1 (Mar., 1962), ppp.4-6.</ref> (see ''[[Byzantine_Creation_Era#Alexandrian_Era|Alexandrian Era]]''). He gave the following intervals:
:"...from Adam to the flood 2242 years, thence to Abraham 1141 years, thence to the Exodus 430 years, thence to the passover of Joshua 41 years, thence to the passover of Hezekiah 864 years, thence to the passover of Josiah 114 years, thence to the passover of Ezra 107 years, and thence to the birth of Christ 563 years."<ref>George Ogg. ''Hippolytus and the Introduction of the Christian Era.'' in '''Vigiliae Christianae''', Vol.16, No.1 (Mar., 1962), p.5.<name="OGG"/ref>.
In his ''Commentary on Daniel'', one of his earlier writings, he proceeds to set out additional reasons for accepting the date of 5500 AM:
:"First he quotes Exod. xxv. 10f. and pointing out that the length, breadth and height of the [[w:Ark of the Covenant|ark of the covenant]] amount in all to 5 1/2 cubits, says that these symbolize the 5,500 years from Adam at the end of which the Saviour was born. He then quotes from Jn. xix. 14 ' ''it was about the sixth hour'' ' and, understanding by that 5 1/2 hours, takes each hour to correspond to a thousand years of the world's life..."<ref>George Ogg. ''Hippolytus and the Introduction of the Christian Era.'' in '''Vigiliae Christianae''', Vol.16, No.1 (Mar., 1962), p.4.<name="OGG"/ref>
Around AD 202 Hippolytus held that the Lord was born in the 42nd year of the reign of Augustus<refgroup="note">It is likely that his reckoning is from B.C. 43, the year in which Octavian was declared consul by senate and people and recognized as the adopted son and heir of Caesar. Epiphanius, (''Haeres'') also puts the Lord's birth in the 42nd year of Augustus when Octavius Augustus xiii and Silanus were consuls; and they were consuls in 2 B.C. (George Ogg. ''Hippolytus and the Introduction of the Christian Era''. in '''Vigiliae Christianae''', Vol.16, No.1 (Mar., 1962)).</ref> and that he was born in 5500AM. In his ''Commentary on Daniel'' he did not need to establish the precise year of the Lord's birth; he is not concerned about the day of the week, the month-date, or even the year; it was sufficient for his purpose to show that Christ was born in the days of Augustus in 5500 AM.
'''Quinisext Council'''
Typical of the Christian conviction on this point, St. [[Hilary of Poitiers]] also affirms that the [[w:Creation according to Genesis|Creation]] was performed [[w:Ex nihilo|ex nihilo]]:
:"For all things, as the Prophet says, were made out of nothing; it was no transformation of existing things, but the creation of the non-being into a perfect form".<ref>St. [[Hilary of Poitiers]]. ''On the Trinity''. Book IV, 16.</ref>
The prophet cited by St. Hilary was the mother of the Maccabean martyrs, who said to one of her tortured sons, ''"I beseech you, my child, to look at heaven and earth and see everything in them, and know that God made them out of nothing; so also He made the race of man in this way"''<ref>''The [[Orthodox Study Bible]]'' ([[Septuagint]]). St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology. Elk Grove, California, 2008. (2 Maccabees 7:28), p.653.</ref> (2 Maccabees 7:28).<refname="REARDON">Fr. [[Patrick Henry Reardon]]. ''Creation and the Patriarchal Histories: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Genesis''. Conciliar Press, 2008. ppp.34-35.</ref> This text from [[II Maccabees]] was the standard biblical proof text for the Christian Church in respect to [[w:Ex nihilo|creation from nothingness]]. We find the thesis in late Judaism, from which it passed into the Christian faith as an essential teaching.<ref>Fr. [[Patrick Henry Reardon]]. ''Creation and the Patriarchal Histories: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Genesis''. Conciliar Press, 2008. pp.34-35.<name="REARDON"/ref>
In addition the traditional Jewish understanding of the creation "days" of Genesis is that they are literal as well, as virtually all the Rabbis have understood in commentaries from Talmudic, Midrashic and Rabbinic sources.<ref>Paul James-Griffiths. ''[http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v26/i2/tradition.asp Creation days and Orthodox Jewish Tradition]''. AnswersinGenesis.org. March 2004.</ref><ref>[[w:Abraham ibn Ezra|Ibn Ezra]], Abraham ben Meïr, (1092-1167). ''Ibn Ezra's Commentary on the Pentateuch: Genesis (Bereshit)''. Vol.1 (Genesis). Transl. and annotated by H. Norman Strickman & Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub. Co., New York, N.Y., 1988.</ref>.
* 5199 BC - [[Eusebius of Caesarea]], Bishop of Caesarea and Church historian (AD 324).
===Later Estimates===
* 5199 BC - Mentioned in the ''[[w:Roman Martyrology|Roman Martyrology]]''<refgroup="note">Roman Martyrology: Some [[w:Traditionalist Catholic|Traditionalist Catholics]] use the year 5199 BC, which is taken from [[w:Roman Martyrology|Catholic martyrologies]], and referred to as the true date of Creation in the "''Mystical City of God''," a 17th-century mystical work written by Maria de Agreda concerning creation and the life of the Virgin Mary. This year was also used earlier by the church historian [[Eusebius of Caesarea]] in 324. (V. Grumel. ''La Chronologie''. 1958. pp.24-25).</ref>, published by the authority of Pope Gregory XIII in 1584, later confirmed in 1630 under Pope Urban VIII.* 4963 BC - According to the Benedictine Chronology<refgroup="note">Don [[w:Maurus Dantine|Maur François d'Antine]]. ''Art of Verifying Dates''. 4to, 1750. Printed again in folio in 1770.
:In France the Benedictine Maurist Order presided over the publication of a remarkable series of source collections for both ecclesiastical and secular history, and sponsored the major studies of documentation and chronology of the period. (John McClintock, James Strong. ''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=PsosAAAAYAAJ&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0 Cyclopedia of Biblical, theological, and ecclesiastical literature: Supplement]''. V.2. Harper, 1887. p.235.)<br>
:Chronology was made a new science by this order of scholars. The ''"[http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Art_de_v%C3%A9rifier_les_dates Art de vérifer les dates]"'', by [[w:Maurus Dantine|Dantine]] and [[w:Charles Clémencet|Clémencet]], is regarded as the chief monument of French learning in the eighteenth century. (Frederick Deland Leete. ''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=GNGMe36KdQAC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s Christian Brotherhoods]''. Kessinger Publishing, 2003. p.171.)</ref>, which is founded on the [[Septuagint|LXX]],<ref>Prof. Fr. Arsenius John Baptist Vuibert ([[w:Society of Saint-Sulpice|S.S.]]). ''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=OJQWAAAAYAAJ&printsec=toc&source=gbs_navlinks_s An Ancient History: From the Creation to the Fall of the Western Empire in A.D. 476].'' Baltimore: Foley, 1886. p.16.</ref> the Creation of Adam is given this date (AD 1750).
* 4004 BC<refgroup="note">Anglican and Protestant: In the English-speaking world, one of the most well known estimates in modern times is that of Archbishop [[w:James Ussher|James Ussher]] (1581–1656), who proposed a date of Sunday, [[October 23]], 4004 BC, in the Julian calendar. When Queen Victoria came to the English throne in AD 1837, 4004 B.C. was still accepted, in all sobriety, as the date of the creation of the world. (Classic Encyclopedia. [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Chronology Chronology]).</ref> - Anglican Archbishop [[w:James Ussher|James Ussher]] (AD 1650).
* 3952 BC - Venerable [[Bede]] (ca. AD 725), English Benedictine monk.
* 3761 BC<refgroup="note">In the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, the Jewish calendar was reformed. F. Rühl has shown that the adoption of this era must have taken place between the year 222, when Julius Africanus reports that the Jews still retained the eight-year lunar cycle (which is referred to in the pseudepigraphal ''[[Book of Enoch]]'' (74:13-16); see [[w:Enoch calendar|Enoch Calendar]]), and 276, when [[w:Anatolius of Laodicea|Anatolius]] makes use of the nineteen year [[w:Metonic cycle|Metonic cycle]] to determine Easter after the manner of the Jews. (''"[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=438&letter=E#1154 The Era of the Creation]."'' JewishEncyclopedia.com.)</ref><refgroup="note">According to the popular tradition, the epoch that Hebrew calendar currently uses, the '''Hillel World Era''', beginning October 7, 3761 BC, is traditionally regarded as having been calculated by [[w:Hillel II|Hillel II]] in the 4th century AD (ca. 358 AD), but did not become universal practice until the end of the Middle Ages. (Karl Hagen. ''"[http://www.polysyllabic.com/calhistory/earlier/jewish The Jewish Calendar]".'' Polysyllabic.com.)</ref> - [[w:Hebrew calendar|Hebrew Calendar]] [Judaism] - (ca. AD 222-276); or, (ca. AD 358 - ''[[w:Hillel II|Hillel]] World Era'').
* 3760 BC<ref>Dr. Iaakov Karcz. ''"[http://www.earth-prints.org/bitstream/2122/794/1/32Karcz.pdf Implications of some early Jewish sources for estimates of earthquake hazard in the Holy Land]".'' '''Annals of Geophysics''', Vol. 47, N. 2/3, April/June 2004. p.765</ref><ref>Karl Hagen. ''"[http://www.polysyllabic.com/calhistory/earlier/jewish The Jewish Calendar]".'' Polysyllabic.com.</ref> - Era of Adam, starts with creation of Adam. This era was used previously to the ''Hillel Era''.
* Professor Fr. Arsenius John Baptist Vuibert ([[w:Society of Saint-Sulpice|S.S.]]), a nineteenth century historian, observed that [[w:Chronology of the Bible|Biblical Chronologies]] are uncertain due to discrepancies in the figures in [[Genesis]] and other methodological factors, accounting for hundreds of different chronologies being assigned by historians. In the case of the Fathers of the [[Sixth Ecumenical Council]], who assigned 5509 B.C. as the date of the [[w:Creation according to Genesis|creation of man]], he writes that it was in response to the emperor's wishes to fix an era or convenient starting point for historical computation. Therefore it was a decision of mere historical convenience, not respecting either faith or morals, which are what is truly of intrinsic value in the Scriptures.<ref>Prof. Fr. Arsenius John Baptist Vuibert ([[w:Society of Saint-Sulpice|S.S.]]). ''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=OJQWAAAAYAAJ&printsec=toc&source=gbs_navlinks_s An Ancient History: From the Creation to the Fall of the Western Empire in A.D. 476].'' Baltimore: Foley, 1886. p.21.</ref> Having made this disclaimer, he settles on the Benedictine Chronology of 4963 BC for the purposes of his history.
* According to the ninth edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica, regarding Regarding the so-called ''Era of the Creation of the World'', the 9th edition of the ''Encyclopedia Brittanica'' cites the author Des Vignoles , who had asserted in the preface to his ''Chronologie de l’Histoire Sainte'' (''Chronology of Sacred History'', Berlin 1738), that he collected upwards of two-hundred different calculations, the shortest of which reckons only 3483 years between the creation of the world and the commencement of the vulgar era and the longest 6984. The Concluding that the so-called era of the creation of the world is therefore a purely conventional and arbitrary epoch, for which the very nature of the case discussion is hopeless labour.<ref>Thomas Spencer Baynes. ''“[http://books.google.ca/books?id=HKgMAAAAYAAJ&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_navlinks_s Chronology: Era of the Creation of the World.]”'' '''The Encyclopaedia Britannica: a dictionary of arts, sciences, and general literature'''. 9th Ed., Vol. 5. A. & C. Black, 1833. p. 713.)</ref>
* It may also be noted historically that while Byzantine officials and chroniclers were disconcerted by the ambiguities among the different dating and recording systems in the earlier centuries, these mattered little to most people who marked time by the orderly progression of agricultual seasons and church festivals, and by the regularity of holidays, weather cycles, and years that revealed the [[w:Will of God|Divine order]] (''Taxis'') underlying the world.<ref>Prof. Dr. [http://aha.missouri.edu/people/rautman.html Marcus Louis Rautman]. ''"Time."'' In [http://books.google.ca/books?id=hs3iEyVRHKsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Gynaikeion+church+-flower+-witches&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0 ''Daily Life in the Byzantine Empire'']. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006. pp.8</ref>
Currently the two dominant dates for creation that exist using the Biblical model, are about 5500 BC and about 4000 BC. These are calculated from the genealogies in two versions of the Bible, with most of the difference arising from two versions of [[Genesis]]. The older dates of the [[Church Fathers]] in the ''Byzantine Era'' and in its precursor, the ''Alexandrian Era'', are based on the Greek [[Septuagint]]. The later dates of Archbishop [[w:James Ussher|James Ussher]] and the Hebrew Calendar are based on the Hebrew Masoretic text.
The Fathers were well aware of the discrepancy of some hundreds of years between the Greek and Hebrew [[Old Testament]] chronology,<refgroup="note">Note that according to Dr. Wacholder, [[Josephus|Josephus']] chronology for the antediluvian period (pre-flood) conforms with the [[Septuagint|LXX]], but for the Noachites (post-flood) he used the Hebrew text. He chose this method to resolve the problem of the two chronological systems. (Dr. Ben Zion Wacholder. ''Biblical Chronology in the Hellenistic World Chronicles.'' In '''The Harvard Theological Review''', Vol.61, No.3 (Jul., 1968)).</ref> and it did not bother them; they did not quibble over years or worry that the standard calendar was precise "to the very year"; it is sufficient that what is involved is beyond any doubt a matter of some few thousands of years, involving the lifetimes of specific men, and it can in no way be interpreted as millions of years or whole ages and races of men.<ref>Fr. [[Seraphim Rose]]. ''GENESIS, CREATION and EARLY MAN: The Orthodox Christian Vision''. St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, Platina, CA, 2000. pp.602-603.</ref>
To this day, traditional Orthodox Christians will use the Byzantine calculation of the ''World Era'' in conjunction with the [[w:Anno Domini|Anno Domini]] (AD) year. Both dates appear on Orthodox cornerstones, ecclesiastical calendars and formal documents. The ecclesiastical new year is still observed on [[September 1]] (or on the Gregorian Calendar's [[September 14]] for those churches which follow the [[Julian Calendar]]). September 2009 marked the beginning of the year 7518 of this era.
* [[Evolution]]
* [[Gaussian Formulae]]
 
==Notes==
<references group="note" />
==References==
:Comp. Agapius a Hieromonk and Nicodemus a Monk. First printed and published A.D.1800. Trans. D. Cummings, from the 5th edition published by John Nicolaides (Kesisoglou the Caesarian) in Athens, Greece in 1908, (Chicago: The Orthodox Christian Educational Society, 1957; Repr., New York, N.Y.: Luna Printing Co., 1983).
* [[Theophanes the Confessor|Theophanes]]. ''The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor: Byzantine and Near Eastern History, AD 284-813''. Cyril Mango, Roger Scott, Geoffrey Greatrex (Eds.). Oxford University Press, 1997.
* [[w:Theophilus of Antioch|Theophilus of Antioch]]. ''Theophilus of Antioch to Autolycus.'' Book III. Chap XXIV (Chronology from Adam) - Chap. XXVIII (Leading Chronological Epochs).
===Secondary Sources===
* Anthony Bryer. ''“Chronology and Dating”''. In: Elizabeth Jeffreys, John Haldon, Robin Cormack . '''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=Pnkxofhi4mQC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0 The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies].''' Oxford University Press, 2008. pp. 31-37.
* Dr. Iaakov Karcz. ''"[http://www.earth-prints.org/bitstream/2122/794/1/32Karcz.pdf Implications of some early Jewish sources for estimates of earthquake hazard in the Holy Land]".'' '''Annals of Geophysics''', Vol. 47, N. 2/3, April/June 2004.
* Fr. [[Patrick Henry Reardon]]. ''Creation and the Patriarchal Histories: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Genesis''. Conciliar Press, 2008.
* Fr. [[Seraphim Rose]]. ''GENESIS, CREATION and EARLY MAN: The Orthodox Christian Vision''. St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, Platina, CA, 2000.
* Frederick Deland Leete. ''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=GNGMe36KdQAC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s Christian Brotherhoods]''. Kessinger Publishing, 2003.
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