When the AD calendar system was created, by whom, and for what purpose.
The beginnings of the AD calendar system can be credited to Dionysius Exiguus. He was a sixth-century Scythian monk who lived in what is now known as Romania.
Ironically, his intent was not to create a new time-system, rather, it was expressly designed to allow all Churches throughout Christendom to celebrate Easter on the same day. Churches celebrating Easter on different days existed for centuries and was considered a major problem during his time.
In Dionysius’ description of a new calendar, he provided a graphic table, much similar to an Excel spreadsheet, with different reference systems to calculate Easter. Dionysius main concern was to fix the Easter rite correct for every year because the previous table was almost complete. The lunar cycle was of the utmost importance for calculating Easter and had to be correlated with the Julian calendar. In order to accomplish this, he had a 7-point system. Two of the more important ones to dating the birth of Christ were the indictions and the then accepted 19-year lunar cycle. The indictions were a 15-year cyclical taxation system first initiated by Julius Caesar in 48 B.C.1
One of the intents of Dionysius’ dating system was to totally eliminate the name of the Emperor Diocletian in any reference to a time chart. The AD first meant “Anni Diocletiani” which related to the beginning of his reign at 284 AD. Diocletian’s laws, persecutions and punishments against the Christian community were severe. So great was his persecution that Dionysius did not believe it was right to associate the acronym AD with his name and changed it. The following is found in his work, Liber de Paschate Praefatio.
Verily the holy Cyril began the first cycle from the 143rd year of Diocletian and ended in the 247th year, rather than commence by the leader in the 248th year from the Tyrant, we did not wish to include in our circle the memory of an impious and persecutor, but we chose above to mark the time from the year of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.2
The table devised by Dionysius began at 513 AD which was 229 years after the start reign of Diocletian. He marked the first 229 years as “Anno Diocletiani.” Then at 532 AD he changed the acronym to mean “Anni Domini nostri Jesu Christi.” His table ends at 626 AD with no reference to the reign of Diocletian.
It is not an easy read, as the variables he used are not contemporary ones.
The best place to start reading and understanding the Dionysius English text from especially a mathematical perspective is Michael Decker’s article, Nineteen Year Cycle of Dionysius. It is not the prettiest web page but full of important information.
For more information
- There is an excellent article along with an analysis found at Wikipedia on Dionysius_Exiguus.
- The Venerable Bede brought in a new system that was close to but not quite the AD system we have today: Bede on the Problem of 1 AD.
- Sarah Emily Bond further details the contribution by Dionysius Exiguus in Anno Domini: Computational Analysis, Antisemitism, and the Early Christian Debate Over Easter
- For a full range of articles on Christian calendars, especially as it relates to the birth of Christ, see: Christian Calendar Systems
- See Liber De Pascate Sive Cyclus Paschalis. MPL 67, as found at Documenta Catholica Omnia, Col. 494Ff
- Liber de Pashcate Praefatio. My personal translation into English
is it better to try to ascertain the date for the birth of christ and celebrate it
as a religious holiday or should we be satisfied with the fact that he was born of the virgin mary in bethlem in the last year of herod,s reighn?
If I understand your question correctly, you are asking about the importance of Christ’s birth — is it a religious rite to be held once a year that can be traced through history, or is it the nature and purpose of the birth we are celebrating? Of course the nature and purpose is more important. Although the meaning has been clearly established, the actual historical details related to dating the birth year have rarely been critically looked at. This was the purpose of the article.
intersting to note that the last year of King Herods reign was around 8BC
So, What’s With the Calendar ?
God made the Light before He made the lights, Genesis 1:3,14. So, it depends which light you are speaking of. The light that darkness did not comprehend, John 1:5, is the light of the truth, the way and the life that God gave Christ to show to the world. Not just the light shown in the region of Galilee, Zebulon and Napthali but the light unto the whole world.
Now, as far as the calendar: What was the purpose of the clock being reconciled to the seasons? And it is still not reconciled entirely. Even atomic clocks need periodic adjustment.
So, what’s it all about? The answer is this: Idolatry.
Pagan societies had seasonal this and that’s that they thought ordered the cosmos and the world, and it was so set in, that that blind societies followed that culture.
So, here’s what happened. The Jewish calendar was established on a 360 day year with an additional 4 days for the start of each 1/4 of the year.
On this cycle of 364 days, every 182 years July 1st would be where January 1st was the previous 182 years, and visa versa. So, July would have been in the middle of winter and January would have been in the middle of summer. But it would revolve slowly back and forth on this pattern every 182 years. And July would be in summer and January again in winter.
This made the worship of seasonal gods by calendar dates impossible.
But man had to have his gods. So man made a way for them.
The Jewish adjustment of the calendar by the chief Rabbi is a relatively new thing as well, and is not in the original calendrical protocol historically.
SEE the book: 1Enoch , I prefer the J. H. Charlesworth edited version of 1983 published by Doubleday. But beware; 1Enoch is the only correct book of Enoch. 2Enoch and 3Enoch are perversions.
But this is why the book 1Enoch was not included in the canon of scripture. Because it precluded the worship of seasonal gods. No, I do not have a reference for that. If you have the Spirit of God, ask Him. He will tell you. I do not recommend any other extra biblical writings either.
*NOTE* There is Biblical reference for the principle of the rotation of seasons as mentioned above. The book of John Chapter 10 verse 22 says that Jesus walked in Solomon’s porch at the time of the Feast of Dedication and it was winter. 2Chronicles Chapter 7 verses 8 through 10 declares the Feast of Dedication to be in the 7th month, which would be the month Ethanim, also know as Tishri, See: 1Kings 8:2. According to the correlation of the months with the Gregorian calendar, now in use, and the Hebrew calendar, the seventh month corresponds to July, which all know is a summer month as it is reckoned today. But when Jesus walked in Solomon’s porch during the feast of the seventh month it was winter. It is difficult to believe that God wrote that in His book for no reason, that when Jesus walked in Solomon’s porch during the seventh month that it was winter.
And an additional note: The Holy Bible says that God only made two seasons, summer and winter, not four seasons. Genesis 8:22, Psalms 74:17.