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[[File:Rotunda Yard Thessaloniki 05 Jew Tomb remains.JPG|thumb|250px|A Jewish grave stone using the Anno Mundi chronology]]
[[File:Rotunda Yard Thessaloniki 05 Jew Tomb remains.JPG|thumb|250px|A Jewish grave stone using the Anno Mundi chronology]]
'''{{lang|la|Anno Mundi}}''' (Latin: "in the year of the [[world]]") abbreviated as '''AM''' or '''A.M.''', refers to a [[Calendar era]] counting from the [[Bible|Biblical]] [[Genesis creation narrative|creation]] of the world.
'''{{lang|la|Anno Mundi}}''' (Latin: "in the year of the [[world]]") abbreviated as '''AM''' or '''A.M.''', refers to a [[Calendar era]] counting from the [[Bible|Biblical]] [[Genesis creation narrative|creation]] of the world. Numerous efforts have been made to determine the Biblical date of Creation, yielding varying results. Besides differences in interpretation, which version of the Bible is being referenced also impacts on the result.

The [[Hebrew calendar|Hebrew calendar era]] is used within the Jewish communities for religious and other purposes; and the [[Byzantine calendar]] has been in general use at one time in the Orthodox Churches and several Eastern European countries.


==Jewish computation==
==Jewish computation==

Revision as of 08:03, 15 January 2011

A Jewish grave stone using the Anno Mundi chronology

Anno Mundi (Latin: "in the year of the world") abbreviated as AM or A.M., refers to a Calendar era counting from the Biblical creation of the world. Numerous efforts have been made to determine the Biblical date of Creation, yielding varying results. Besides differences in interpretation, which version of the Bible is being referenced also impacts on the result.

The Hebrew calendar era is used within the Jewish communities for religious and other purposes; and the Byzantine calendar has been in general use at one time in the Orthodox Churches and several Eastern European countries.

Jewish computation

The Hellenistic Jewish writer Demetrius the Chronographer (flourishing 221-204 BC) wrote On the Kings of Judea which dealt with biblical exegesis, mainly chronology. He computed the date of the flood and the birth of Abraham using the Septuagint and determined the Annus Adami ("Era of Adam"),[1] the antecedent of the Hebrew era and of the Alexandrian and Byzantine Creation eras. [2]

Since before 3925 AM (165 AD), years in the Hebrew calendar have been counted from the Creation year based on the calculation in the Seder Olam Rabbah of Rabbi Jose ben Halafta in about 160 AD.[3] By his calculation, based on the Masoretic Text, first humans were created in the year 3760 BC.

Christian computation

The inscription over the Bevis Marks Synagogue, City of London, gives a year in Anno Mundi (5461) and Anno Domini (1701).

Early Christian chronographers have also calculated Creation. Some chronologists based their computations on the Septuagint, while others based theirs on the Vulgate. Although Demetrius' text itself has been almost lost, it was available for study by early Christian chronographers, and is referred to in several ancient texts, such as Eusebius's Praeparatio Evangelica,[4] the Stromata of Clement of Alexandria[5] and in quotations from the book About Jews of the historian Alexander Polyhistor (used by Eusebius).[6] Josephus used Demetrius' chronicles for his Antiquities of the Jews and adopted his chronological system.[7]

Earliest Christian chronology

The earliest extant Christian writings on the age of the world according to the Biblical chronology are by Theophilus (AD 115-181), the sixth bishop of Antioch, in Apology to Autolycus (Apologia ad Autolycum),[8] and by Julius Africanus (AD 200-245) in his Five Books of Chronology. [9] Both of these early Christian writers followed the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, which was the version in use by most Christians at the time.

Theophilus presents a detailed chronology “from the foundation of the world" to emperor Marcus Aurelius.[10] His chronology begins with the Biblical first man Adam through to emperor Marcus Aurelius, in whose reign Theophilus lived. The chronology puts the creation of the world at about 5529 BC: "All the years from the creation of the world amount to a total of 5,698 years."[11] No mention of Jesus of Nazareth is made in his chronology. Seraphim Rose corrected the date to about 5530 BC, to recognise that there is no year 0. [12]

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 Hebrew text), in that through the Christian chronographers a window to the earlier Hellenistic biblical chronographers[note 1] is preserved:

An immense intellectual effort was expended during the Hellenistic period by both Jews and pagans to date creation, the flood, exodus, building of the Temple... In the course of their studies, men such as Tatian of Antioch (flourished in 180), Clement of Alexandria (died before 215), Hippolytus of Rome (died in 235), 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.[13].

Alexandrian era

The Alexandrian era (Greek: Κοσμου ετη κατ’ Αλεξανδρεις) developed in AD 412, was the precursor to the Byzantine era. After the initial attempts by Hippolytus, Clement of Alexandria and others[note 2], the Alexandrian computation of the date of creation was worked out to be 25 March 5493 BC.[14]

The Alexandrian monk Panodoros reckoned 5904 years from Adam to the year AD 412. His years began with 29 August, corresponding to the First of Thoth, or the Egyptian new year.[15]Annianos of Alexandria however, preferred the Annunciation style as New Year's Day, 25 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[note 3] Alexandrian civil year in progress, 29 August 5493 BC, with the ecclesiastical 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 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.[16]

Dionysius of Alexandria had earlier emphatically quoted mystical justifications for the choice of 25 March 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 birth of Christ, Christmas, on December 25.

The Alexandrian Era of 25 March 5493 BC was adopted by church fathers such as Maximus the Confessor and Theophanes the Confessor, as well as chroniclers such as 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 Easter computus,[note 4] and its contradiction to the chronology of the Gospel of St John regarding the date of the Crucifixion on Friday after the Passover.[16]

Chronicon Paschale

A new variant of the World Era was suggested in the Chronicon Paschale, a valuable Byzantine universal chronicle of the world, composed about the year 630 AD by some representative of the Antiochian scholarly tradition.[16] It had for its basis a chronological list of events extending from the creation of Adam to the year AD 627. The chronology of the writer is based on the figures of the Bible and begins with 21 March 5507 BC.

For its influence on Greek Christian chronology, and also because of its wide scope, the "Chronicon Paschale" takes its place beside Eusebius, and the chronicle of the monk Georgius Syncellus[17] which was so important in the Middle Ages; but in respect of form it is inferior to these works.[18]

By the late tenth century the Byzantine era, which had become fixed at 1 September 5509 BC since at least the mid-7th century (differing by 16 years from the Alexandrian date, and 2 years from the Chronicon Paschale), had become the widely accepted calendar by Chalcedonian Christianity.

The Byzantine era was the official calendar of the Eastern Orthodox Church from c. AD 691 to 1728 in the Ecumenical Patriarchate, by the Byzantine Empire from AD 988 to 1453, and in Russia from c. AD 988 to 1700. It was derived from the Septuagint version of the Bible, and placed the date of Creation at 5509 years before the Incarnation. Its year one, the supposed date of creation, was 1 September 5509 to 31 August 5508 BC.

The Etos Kosmou ("Year of the Universe") is the corresponding concept in the Byzantine calendar.

The Coptic Church in Egypt has its own computation. This was used by Abu Shakir, known as Ibn Al-Rahib (Son of the Monk), in his book. Copts believed that the world was created in 5500 BC. Although Copts often use the Anno Mundi system, in Coptic English literature the abbreviation A.M. is reserved for the Calendar of the Martyrs, called Anno Martyri, which starts from 284 AD, to commemorate the Christians killed by the Roman Emperor Diocletian (284-305 AD).

Medieval computations

The medieval historian Bede dated creation to 18 March 3952 BC. The Chronicon of Eusebius and Jerome dated creation to the year of 5199 BC.[19][20] Earlier editions of the Roman Martyrology for Christmas Day used this date,[21] as did the Irish Annals of the Four Masters.[22]

James Ussher (1654) dated creation to 23 October 4004 BC according to the Julian calendar, which in the Gregorian calendar would be 21 September 4004 BC.

Other computations

Freemason cornerstone with year in Common Era and Anno Lucis

Related to this is the Freemasonry's Anno Lucis ("Year of Light", abbreviated A.L., also initially acronymed for Anno Latomorum, or "Year of Stonecutters"), which adds 4000 years to the AD date (based on Ussher's work, first referenced in Masonic material in 1732).[23]

References

  1. ^ Genesis 2:7
  2. ^ Demetrius the Chronographer
  3. ^ p.107, Kantor
  4. ^ Eusebius, Praeparatio Evangelica, 9.19.4; 9.21.1-19; 9.29.1-3,15-16
  5. ^ Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, i. 21, 141
  6. ^ Evans, Craig A. (2005). Ancient texts for New Testament studies: a guide to the background literature. Hendrickson Publishers. p. 63. ISBN 9781565634091.
  7. ^ 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia article "Demetrius"
  8. ^ Theophilus of Antioch. Theophilus of Antioch to Autolycus. Book III. Chap XXIV (Chronology from Adam) - Chap. XXVIII (Leading Chronological Epochs).
  9. ^ Julius Africanus. Extant Writings III. The Extant Fragments of the Five Books of the Chronography of Julius Africanus.
  10. ^ Theophilus, Apologia ad Autolycum, Book III Chapters 24-27
  11. ^ Theophilus, Apologia ad Autolycum, Book III Chapters 28
  12. ^ Fr. Seraphim Rose. Genesis, Creation and Early Man: The Orthodox Christian Vision. St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, Platina, California, 2000. ISBN 978-1887904025. p.236.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ Elias J. Bickerman. Chronology of the Ancient World. 2nd edition. Cornell University Press. 1980. p.73.
  15. ^ Rev. Philip Schaff (1819–1893), Ed. "Era." Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. New Edition, 13 Vols., 1908-14. Vol. 4, pp.163.
  16. ^ a b c Pavel Kuzenkov (Moscow). "How old is the World? The Byzantine era κατα Ρωμαίους and its rivals". 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies, London 2006. pp.2–4.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ Van der Essen, L. "Chronicon Paschale". In The Catholic Encyclopedia (New Advent). New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908.
  19. ^ The Penn Commentary on Piers Plowman by Andrew Galloway page 69
  20. ^ Fourth Century (see 327 Eusebius of Caesarea). Archived 2009-10-25.
  21. ^ Howlett, J.A. (1913). "Biblical Chronology" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  22. ^ from 5194 AM in the Annals at CELT — University College Cork's Corpus of Electronic Texts project has the full text of the annals online, both in the original Irish and in O'Donovan's translation
  23. ^ "What is the Masonic Calendar?". Library and Museum Charitable Trust of the United Grand Lodge of England. Retrieved 2006-07-06.

Sources

  • Mattis, Kantor, The Jewish time line encyclopedia: a year-by-year history from Creation to present, Jason Aronson Inc., Northvale, N.J., 1992

Notes

  1. ^ Eratosthenes of Cyrene (275-194 BC) represented contemporary Alexandrian scholarship; Eupolemus, a Palestinian Jew and a friend of Judah Maccabee, writing in 158 BC, 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: Alexander Polyhistor (flourishing in 85-35 BC); Varro (116-27 BC); Ptolemy priest of Mendes (50 BC), who is cited by Tatian (Oratio ad Graecos, 38); Apion (first century A.D.); Thrasyllus (before AD 36); and 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 (July 1968), pp.451–452.)
  2. ^ 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 Alexandria and 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: 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.)
  3. ^ A calendar obtained by extension earlier in time than its invention or implementation is called the "proleptic" version of the calendar.
  4. ^ In the commonly used 19‐year 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, 25 March; according to Alexandrian system the date would have to have been Anno Mundi 5533 = 42(!)AD.

See also

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

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