The reckoning from the Nativity of Christ is the beginning of a new era. How did the modern chronology originate?

14.10.2019

There is such a thing in chronology as era. The fact is that whatever the calendar year is, it must have a serial number, that is, it must be counted from some initial date - the basis of chronology.

Actually, the term era itself is believed to be an abbreviation of the following phrase: “ab exordio regni Augusti”, that is, “from the beginning of the reign of Augustus” (aera - era).

In this regard, we note that an era can be real - this is when the count of years comes from some real event, for example, from the beginning of the reign, or fictitious - this is when the count of years comes from some mythical event, for example, from the creation of the world .
As long as the score is consistent, it doesn't matter.

We know one such era - the Christian era, or the system of chronology from Christmas.
It was created by the Roman monk Dionysius the Small in the 6th century. n. e. Then the so-called era of Diocletian was used, i.e., the years were counted from the date of accession to the throne of the Roman emperor Diocletian.
Dionysius somehow calculated that the year of Christ's birth took place 284 years before the beginning of the era of Diocletian, or, in other words, equated the initial year of the reign of Diocletian with the year 284 of the Christian era. The era of Dionysius was adopted throughout Christian Europe.

This was not the case in Russia at all. Since Christianity came to us from Byzantium, the Byzantine system of chronology also came to us from there. from the creation of the world. This system was used in Russia until 1700, until Russia was transferred to the Christian era by decree of Peter I.

According to the Byzantine system of chronology, 5508 years have passed from the creation of the world to the birth of Christ. The year in it, as well as in the Christian system, was built on the basis of the Julian calendar.

It would seem that if the difference is only at the starting point, then the translation between eras is trivial, but in fact, in ancient Russia until the end of the 17th century, the new year began not from January, as in the Christian era, but from March (as in ancient Rome) or September (as in Byzantium). That is, before the decree of Peter I, there were already two calendar styles in parallel: March, according to which the new year fell on March 1, and September, with the new year coming on September 1.

Different styles slightly change the way of calculating, since in the March style the new year is two months behind the new year of the Christian era, and in the September style, on the contrary, it is ahead of the new year of the Christian era by four months. Let's explain this with an example.

Suppose March 7100 is indicated according to the “March style”. This corresponds to (7100-5508=1592) March 1592 from the Nativity of Christ.
If February 7100 is indicated according to the "March style", that is, almost the end of the year, then it will correspond to February 1593 from the Nativity of Christ.

Now consider September 7100 according to the "September style". This corresponds to September 1591 from the Nativity of Christ, but February 7100 according to the "September style" corresponds to February 1592.

At the same time, when dating events in the annals, of course, it was not indicated which “style” was used. However, there are many logical techniques that help researchers to establish the style used in the annals. It is also known that since the end of the 15th century, the September style has practically replaced the March one (indeed, why be equal to Rome). In addition, the March style had two more modifications - ultra-March and circus-March styles, but we will not climb into such jungle.

Actually, the calculator below converts dates from AD to Old Russian (Byzantine), and is more for entertainment. The task of back-translation required for the correct dating of the annals, as shown above, is more complex and requires context analysis to determine the style used in the annals.

The final word about the months - since it was based on the ancient Roman (Julian) calendar, in the earliest sources the names of the months are found in the form closest to the Latin prototype, which have not yet acquired a Russified form, for example, junius, julius, august and so on.

The modern system of chronology has a little more than two thousand years after the birth of Jesus Christ and several hundred centuries before this event. However, before the advent of the Christian chronology, different peoples had their own ways of measuring time. Slavic tribes are no exception. Long before the advent of Christianity, they had their own calendar.

Origin of the word "calendar"

According to the official version, the term "calendar" comes from Latin. In ancient Rome, debt interest was paid on the first days of each month, and data about them was recorded in a debt book called calendarium. Later, it was from the title of the book that the word “calendar” came from, which came to the Slavs with Christianity.

Some scientists believe that this term comes from the phrase "Kolyadin Dar" (Kolyada's gift), which was called the chronology. Slavic origin researchers consider quite possible. Some of them are sure that the Romans borrowed the word "calendar" from the Slavs, and not vice versa. Judge for yourself: there is no translation of the word calendarium, as well as an explanation of how it is connected with debts and books. After all, in Latin debt is debitum, and book is libellus.

The chronology from the Nativity of Christ

Today, our era from the birth of Christ is more than 2000 years old. However, the tradition of counting years in this way has been used for about a thousand years, because even with the recognition of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, years continued to be counted from important secular dates. For the Romans, this was the year of the founding of Rome, for the Jews, the year of the destruction of Jerusalem, for the Slavs, the year of the creation of the world in the Star Temple.

But once the Roman monk Dionysius, compiling Easter tables, got confused among various systems chronology. Then he came up with a universal system, Starting point which will be the year of the birth of Christ. Dionysius calculated the approximate date of this event and henceforth used the chronology called "from the Nativity of Christ."

This system became widespread after 200 years thanks to the monk Bede the Venerable, who used it in his historical work on the Anglo-Sanson tribes. Thanks to this book, the British nobility gradually switched to the Christian calendar, and after it the Europeans did it. But it took the church authorities another 200 years to start using the Christian chronology system.

The transition to the Christian chronology among the Slavs

In the Russian Empire, which at that time included many of the original Slavic lands of Belarus, Poland, Ukraine and other countries, the transition to the Christian calendar took place from January 1, 1700 to Many believe that Tsar Peter hated and tried to eradicate everything Slavic, including the calendar, therefore introduced the Christian time reference system. However, it is most likely that the king was simply trying to put such a confusing chronology in order. Slavic rejection here, most likely, does not play a role.

The fact is that with the advent of Christianity to the Slavs, the priests actively tried to transfer the pagans to the Roman calendar. The people resisted and secretly adhered to the old calendar. Therefore, in Russia, in fact, there were 2 calendars: Roman and Slavic.

However, confusion soon began in the annals. After all, the Greek chroniclers used the Roman calendar, and the pupils of the monasteries of Kievan Rus used the Slavic calendar. At the same time, both calendars differed from the chronology of Dionysius adopted in Europe. To solve this problem, Peter I ordered the forcible transfer of the entire empire subject to him to the system of chronology dating from the birth of Christ. As practice showed, it was also imperfect, and in 1918 the country was transferred to a modern accounting system.

Sources of information about the Old Slavic calendar

Today there is no reliable data on how the real Old Slavic calendar looked like. The now popular "Krugolet Chislobog" was reconstructed on the basis of information from various historical sources of later periods. When reconstructing the Old Slavic calendar, the following sources were used:

East Slavic folk ritual calendar. Written evidence of him dates back to the XVII-XVIII centuries. Despite such a "young" age, this calendar has retained a lot of information about the life of the Slavs during the time of pagan Russia.
Church calendar "Months". In the process of Christianization of Russia, church authorities often celebrated Christian holidays on important pagan holidays. Comparing the dates of holidays from the Monthly Book with dates from other calendars, as well as from folklore sources, it is possible to calculate the time of important ancient Slavic holidays.
In the 19th century, about 400 gold plates with inscriptions were found on the site of the Vedic temple in Romania, later called “Santii Dacov”. Some of them are over 2000 years old. This find not only testifies to the presence of writing among the ancient Slavs, but also is a source of information about the eras of ancient Slavic history.
Chronicles.
archaeological finds. Most often these are ritual ones with the image of calendar symbols. The most informative are the clay vases of the Chernyakhov Slavic culture (III-IV centuries AD).

Epochs of the ancient Slavs

According to the information contained in the "Santia Dacians", the history of the ancient Slavs has 14 eras. The most important event that served as the starting point for the calendar was the approach of the solar and two other planetary systems, as a result of which earthlings observed three suns in the sky at once. This epoch was called the "Time of the Three Suns" and was dated 604387 (in relation to 2016).

In 460531, aliens from the constellation Ursa Minor arrived on Earth. They were called Da'Aryans, and this era was called the "Time of Gifts."
In 273910, aliens again arrived on Earth, but this time from the constellation Orion. They were called Kh'aryans, and in honor of them the era is called the "Time of Kh'Arr".
In 211699, the next visit of extraterrestrial beings took place, marking the beginning of the "Svag Time".
In 185779, the rise of one of the four most important cities of the Daaria continent, Tula, began. This city was famous for its skilled craftsmen and flourished for almost 20,000 years. This period of time was called "Thule Time".
In 165,043, Perun's daughter, the goddess Tara, brought many seeds to the Slavs, from which numerous forests subsequently grew - this is how the "Time of Tara" began.
In 153349, a grandiose war of Light and Darkness took place. As a result, one of Lutitia's satellites was destroyed, and its fragments became an asteroid ring - this is the Assa Dei era.
In 143,003, earthlings, with the help of scientific achievements, were able to drag a satellite from another planet, and the Earth, which already had two satellites at that time, had three of them. In honor of this momentous event, the new era is called the “Period of Three Moons”.
In 111 819, one of the three moons was destroyed and its fragments fell to Earth, sinking the ancient continent of Daaria. However, its inhabitants escape - the era of the "Great Migration from Daaria" began.
In 106791, the city of the Gods Asgard of Iri was founded on the Irtysh River, and new system chronology was conducted from the year of its foundation.
In 44560, all the Slavic-Aryan clans united to live together on the same territory. From that moment, the era of the "Creation of the Great Kolo Rasseniya" began.
In 40017, Perun arrived on Earth and shared his knowledge with the priests, because of which there was a grand leap in the development of human technologies. Thus began the era of the "Third Arrival of the Whiteman Perun".
In 13021, another satellite of the Earth was destroyed and its fragments, having fallen on the planet, affected the tilt of the axis. As a result, the continents broke apart and icing began, called the era of the "Great Cooling" (Cold). By the way, in terms of time frame, this period coincides with the last ice age of the Cenozoic era.

Modern humanity lives in an era that began counting years from the creation of the world in the Star Temple. The age of this era today is more than 7.5 thousand years.

George the Victorious and the era of the creation of the world in the Star Temple

As you know, the word "world" has several meanings. Thus, the name of the modern era is often interpreted as the time of the creation of the Universe. However, "peace" also means reconciliation between warring parties. In this regard, the name "Creation of the World in the Star Temple" has a completely different interpretation.

Shortly before the first year "from the Creation of the World in the Star Temple" was marked, a war broke out between the Slavic tribes and the Chinese. With huge losses, the Slavs managed to win, and on the day of the autumn equinox, peace was concluded between the two peoples. To celebrate this significant event, it was made the starting point of a new era. Subsequently, in many works of art, this victory was allegorically depicted in the form of a knight (Slavs) and a slaying dragon (Chinese).

This symbol was so popular that with the advent of Christianity it could not be eradicated. From the time of Kiev prince Yaroslav the Wise, the knight who defeated the dragon was officially named George (Yuri) the Victorious. Its significance for the Slavs is also evidenced by the fact that the cult of George the Victorious was very common among all Slavic tribes. In addition, at different times, Kyiv, Moscow, and many other ancient Slavic cities were depicted on the coat of arms of this saint. Interestingly, the story of St. George is popular not only among Orthodox and Catholics, but also among Muslims.

The structure of the Old Slavic calendar

The Old Slavic calendar refers to one complete revolution of the Earth around the Sun not as a year, but as a summer. It consists of three seasons: autumn (autumn), winter and spring. Each season included 3 months of 40-41 days each. A week in those days consisted of 9 days, and a day - of 16 hours. The Slavs did not have minutes and seconds, but there were parts, fractions, moments, moments, whitefish and santigs. It is difficult to even imagine what level the technology should have been if there were names for such short periods of time.

Years in this system were measured not in decades and centuries, as today, but in 144-year cycles: 16 years for each of the 9 constellations of the Svarog Circle.

Each ordinary year from the creation of the world consisted of 365 days. But the leap year 16 had as many as 369 days (each month in it consisted of 41 days).

New Year among the ancient Slavs

Unlike the modern calendar, which New Year comes in the middle of winter, the Slavic chronology considered autumn to be the beginning of the year. Although the opinions of historians differ on this issue. Most scientists believe that the New Year was originally on the day of the autumn equinox, which helped to more accurately adjust the calendar for the Slavs from the creation of the world in the Star Temple. However, according to Byzantine tradition, they tried to postpone the beginning of the new year to the first month of spring. As a result, there were not only two calendars in parallel, but also two traditions to celebrate the New Year: in March (like the Romans) and in September (like in Byzantium and the Slavs).

Months of the ancient Slavs

The first month of the ancient Slavic nine-month calendar was called Ramhat (beginning September 20-23), followed by the winter months Aylet (October 31 - November 3), Beylet (December 10-13) and Gaylet (January 20-23).

The spring months were called Daylet (March 1-4), Ailet (April 11-14) and Veylet (May 21-24). After that, autumn began, consisting of the months of Haylet (July 1-4) and Taylet (August 10-13). And the next, autumn month of Ramhat was the beginning of the New Year.

With the adoption of Christianity instead of Roman, Slavic names were given to the months. With the establishment of a new calendar by Peter I, Latin names were returned to the months. They remained in the modern Russian language, while the fraternal peoples retained or returned the familiar Slavic names of the months.

It is not known for certain what they were called with the advent of Christianity before the reform of Peter I, however, there are several options reconstructed thanks to the folklore of various Slavic peoples.

Week with the Slavs

The question of the number of days in a week before the reform of Peter I remains controversial to this day. Many argue that there were 7 of them - hence the surviving names in all

However, if you think about the words from The Little Humpbacked Horse, it becomes surprising how the text of 1834 mentions such a day of the week as the “eight”, which precedes another day - the “week”.

It turns out that the memories of the nine-day week remained in the memory of the Slavs, which means that initially there were only 9 days.

How to calculate the year according to the Old Slavic calendar?

Today, many Slavs are trying to return to the traditions of their ancestors, including their calendar.

But modern world living according to the Christian calendar requires a person to be able to navigate in this reference system of years. Therefore, anyone using Slavic chronology(from the creation of the world), how to transfer years from it to the Christian system, must know. Despite the obvious differences between both systems of reckoning, this is easy to do. It is necessary to add the number 5508 (the difference in years between systems) to any date of the Christian calendar, and it will be possible to translate the date into the Slavic chronology. What year is it now according to this system can be determined by the following formula: 2016 + 5508 = 7525. However, it should be borne in mind that modern year begins in January, and among the Slavs - from September, so for more accurate calculations, you can use the online calculator.

More than three hundred years have passed since the inhabitants of the Russian Empire stopped using the Slavic calendar. Despite its accuracy, today it is only history, but it should be remembered, since it not only included the wisdom of the ancestors, but was also part of the Slavic culture, which, despite the opinion of Peter I, was not only not inferior to European, but also in surpassed her in some things.

Our chronology = the era "from the birth of Christ"

PRELIMINARY

As already noted, the era "from the birth of Christ" was introduced post factum "with the tip of the pen." For the first time from the Nativity of Christ (in the Latin tradition - "Anno Domini" (AD) - "year of the Lord") the year was designated, which became the 525th year of the new chronology.
The era was created by a Roman monk, papal archivist, a Scythian by origin, Dionysius the Small. There is no information on the basis of what calculations and considerations this was done. Therefore, various conjectures are offered regarding the scheme for the transition to a new chronology, although none of them seems more convincing than the other. It is only known for certain that this was connected with the preparation of Easter tables (Paschalia) for the future.
According to the prevailing in the light of the decisions of the Council of Nicaea in 325 church tradition, Christian Easter is to be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Due to the disproportion of the solar and lunar cycles with which it is compared, the date of the holiday shifts over the years along the time scale within the range from March 22 to April 25 according to the Julian calendar. Almost every year it is determined by calculation.
When compiling Paschalia, the day of the vernal equinox from the year 325 was considered to be March 21 according to the Julian calendar. The calculation of the Easter phases of the moon for each year was based on the relatively accurate 19-year lunar cycle discovered by the great Greek astronomer Meton in 432 - the Olympic - year BC. It has been established that every 19 years all phases of the moon fall on the same day of the month of the solar year. This is the so-called "circle of the moon".
On the other hand, in the Julian calendar every 28 years all the days of the month fall on the same days of the week. This is the so-called "circle of the sun".
Since 19 and 28 are non-multiple numbers, then all (calculated!) Moon phases coincide with the same days of the month and days of the week after a period of time equal to the product of 19 x 28, that is, after 532 years. Therefore, every 532 years (this period is called the great indiction) the calculated dates of Easter Sundays are also repeated. In the modern tradition, indictions are usually counted from the starting point of the Byzantine era - from 5508 BC. At present time runs The 15th great indiction, which began in 1941.
Based on practical considerations, when developing Easter tables, they used a less accurate, but more convenient 95-year (= 19 x 5) cycle (this is the so-called small Easter circle). According to a custom dating back to the beginning of the 4th century, such tables were prepared by the Paschalists of the Alexandrian Church and then sent throughout the Christian world.

ASSUMPTIONS

In the year 247 of the era of Diocletian, the small Easter circle, drawn up for the 95th anniversary (153-247) by Patriarch Cyril of Alexandria (444 AD), ended. In this regard, in the year 241, Dionysius the Lesser began to calculate a new paschal, which was supposed to begin with the year 248 of the era of Diocletian. However, the named emperor, as already mentioned above, was a cruel persecutor of Christians. Therefore, Dionysius, in one of his letters, proposed to abandon the era associated with the name of the hated ruler, and continue to count the years from the birth of Christ (according to other sources - "ab Incarnatio Domini" - "from the Incarnation of the Lord", that is, from the feast of the Annunciation Holy Mother of God, which was then celebrated on March 25).
There is an assumption that Dionysius in his calculations took into account the following circumstance. According to one of the interpretations of the Synoptic Gospels and ancient tradition, Jesus Christ, “beginning His ministry, was about thirty years old” (Luke 3:23), and was crucified on the cross, died and rose from the dead at the 31st year of his life. His Resurrection took place on March 25th. This was the first Christian Easter, which coincided with the day of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos and is therefore called Kyriopaskha ("Lord's Easter").
Such a coincidence, as already mentioned, can be observed once in 532 years, during a period called the great indiction. It is after 532 years that all the phases of the moon fall on the same days of the month and days of the week. As Dionysius could determine from his Easter tables, the nearest Kyriopaskha, i.e. Easter, which falls on Sunday March 25 and coincides with the feast of the Annunciation, was supposed to be in the year 279 of the era of Diocletian. Consequently, the first Kyriopaskha, according to the Roman Paschalist, was 532 - 279 = 253 years before the beginning of this chronology. Adding to this the number 31 (the estimated age of Christ at the time death on the cross), he received that the era of Diocletian itself began in 253 + 31 = 284 after the Incarnation of the Lord, as mentioned above (p. 24-25).
Thus, in accordance with the proposed scheme of reasoning of Dionysius the Lesser, the beginning of the era "from the birth of Christ", that is, January 1, the 1st year, fell on January 1, 753 from the founding of Rome, the 43rd year from the accession of Augustus, 4 year of the 194th Olympiad. On this day, consuls Gaius Caesar and Aemilius Paul took office. From March 1, A.D. 1 the year 5509 began from the creation of the world of the Byzantine era, from April 21 - the 754th year from the founding of Rome, from the new moon on June 10 - the 1st year of the 195th Olympiad, from August 1 - the 44th year from the accession of Augustus.
It is worth noting that Dionysius himself began counting the days of the year from March 25, from the feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos (Let us recall the corresponding fragment from the gospel narrative: "(And ... went in to ... the Virgin, betrothed to her husband, the name of Joseph, from the house of David ,.. the angel said to her: ... rejoice, full of grace! The Lord is with you ... and behold, you will conceive in the womb, and you will give birth to a Son and you will call His name: Jesus "(Luke 1, 27. 28. 30. 31) ).
The Nativity of Christ (let us reproduce the gospel text: "(Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod" (Matt. 2, 1)); "(And (Mary) gave birth to the Son of her firstborn, and swaddled Him, and laid Him in a manger because there was no place for them in the hotel "(Luke 2, 7)) the papal archivist and paschalist, of course, attributed exactly nine months ahead, i.e. on December 25 of the 1st year of the chronology he introduced (see: P. Popov, A Brief Paschal Outlining the Shortest Ways to Determine the Number of Pascha in the Orthodox Church for Any Given Year - Published with the permission of the censor of the Moscow Spiritual and Censorship Committee, Priest Alexander Gilyarevsky, dated December 21, 1895. - Kostroma, 1896. - P. 5 , IA Klimishin, Calendar and Chronology, 2nd edition, Moscow: Nauka, 1985, p.

ANTICIPATIONS

The question is quite appropriate: could not Dionysius, when establishing the era "from the birth of Christ", use ready-made calculations or assumptions? What are the opinions of the Christian historians of the preceding period on this question?
According to Bishop Irenaeus of Lyons and his contemporary Tertullian (beginning of the 3rd century A.D.), "Christ the Lord came into the world about the 41st year of the reign of Augustus." According to Eusebius of Caesarea, "this was the 42nd year of the reign of Augustus, and the 28th of the reign of Egypt." Epiphanius of Cyprus indicates the 42nd year of Augustus, the 752nd year from the founding of Rome, at the consulship of Augustus for the 13th time and Silvanus. According to Sextus Julius Africanus, this happened about the 29th year after the battle of Cape Actium. Later, the Greek historian John Malala (491-578) attributed the Nativity of Christ to the 3rd year of the 193rd Olympiad, the 752nd - from the founding of the City, the 42nd - August, and the "Easter Chronicle" - to the 28th year accession of Augustus in Egypt, to the consulate of Lentulus and Piso.
In the "Constantinople list of consuls of 395" (Consularia Constantinopolitana ad a. CCCXCV), like Epiphanius of Cyprus, the Nativity of Christ refers to the year of the consulate of Augustus and Silvanus: "Under these consuls, Christ was born on the eighth day before the January calends", that is, 25 December, according to presbyter Hesychius.
As you can see, all the listed authors and sources point to the 3rd or 2nd year BC, and the "Easter Chronicle" - to the 1st year BC.
In the "Chronograph of the Year 354" (Chronographus Anni CCCLIIII), the event of the Nativity of Christ is attributed to the year of the consulate of Gaius Caesar and Aemilius Paul, i.e. for the 1st year new era. "Under these consuls," it says here, "the Lord Jesus Christ was born on the eighth day before the January calends on Friday of the 15th moon."
"Chronograph of 354" is a fairly serious work, containing, in particular, a list of all the Roman consuls, starting from 509 BC. to 354 AD, lists of prefects of Rome for a hundred years (251-354 AD) and bishops of Rome from the Apostle Peter to Pope Julius (352). As a papal archivist, Dionysius may well have been aware of a document containing such important chronological information. And therefore, he could use the cited testimony in establishing the starting point for the system of counting years from the birth of Christ. Perhaps it was precisely this that prompted him to the idea of introducing a proper Christian chronology?
Of course, the possibility of a later interpolation cannot be ruled out here. The original "Chronograph" has been lost, and we have only copies of the monument. However, in favor of its authenticity, in particular, the following circumstance can speak.
Here - after indicating under the year 29 AD. (certainly, in a later recalculation) of the names of the consuls Fufi Gemina and Rubellius Gemina - it is noted: "In their consulate, the Lord Jesus Christ suffered on Friday at the age of the Moon 14 days." And further, in section XIII "Roman Bishops", we find additional information: "During the reign of Tiberius, our Lord Jesus Christ suffered at the consulate of both Gemins on the eighth day before the April kalends."
As you can see, in the above fragments, the death of Christ on the cross is attributed to Friday, March 25, and His Resurrection, therefore, to March 27. In the Western Church in the II-V centuries, many authoritative theologians and historians (Bishop Hippolytus, Presbyter Tertullian and others) accepted on faith the testimony of the false "Acts of Pilate", according to which "Christ suffered eight days before the April kalends (ante diem VIII Kal. Apr .)". In the Roman martyrology (commemorative list of martyrs), under this number, a prudent robber was even included, one of the two who were crucified on Golgotha next to Christ (Luke 23, 32. 39-43). But after Dionysius, who dated the first Kyriopaskha precisely on March 25, 31 A.D., such an anachronism in later interpolation can hardly be considered possible.
As applied to the case, we give another example. In one of the monuments close to the "Chronograph of 354" in time, in particular, in the "Constantinople list of consuls of 395" (Consularia Constantinopolitana ad A. CCCXCV), under 29 AD. after the names of "both Gemins" there is a postscript: "Under these consuls, Christ suffered on the tenth day before the April kalends and rose again on the eighth day (passus est Christus die X Kal. Apr. et resurrexit VIII Kal. easdem)". If the day coincides with Dionysius, in this case the year of the death of Christ differs. In later monuments, the date March 25 is directly indicated.

POSTTHINKS

Directly or indirectly, but in determining the time of the Nativity of Christ, unfortunately, Dionysius was undoubtedly mistaken. Its dating is in direct conflict with the above historical evidence of the Gospel of Matthew: "...Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod" (2, 1).
As follows from the message of Josephus in the "Antiquities of the Jews" (XIV. 14, 5), King Herod I the Great "reached royal power in the one hundred and eighty-fourth Olympiad, in the secondary consulate of Gnaeus Dometius Calvin and [in the first] Gaius Asinius Pollio."
According to the consuls, this is 714 from the founding of Rome, i.e. 40 BC Unfortunately, the author does not indicate the number of the year for the fourth anniversary of the 184th Olympiad, as it often happens with him.
In particular, the consul Asinius Pollio (76 BC - 4 AD), orator, poet, historian (his "History" has not survived to this day), public figure, known as the founder of the first public library in Rome and patron of the eminent Roman poet Virgil (70-19 BC).
It is with this contemporary of Maecenas that Virgil connects in the famous IV eclogue "Bukolik" ("Shepherd's Songs") his heartfelt prophecies about the onset of the "golden age":

"The last circle has come according to the broadcast of the prophetess of Kuma,
Now again the majestic order is beginning,
Virgo is coming to us again, Saturn's kingdom is coming,
Again a new tribe is sent from high heaven.
Be supportive of the newborn, with whom to replace
An iron clan, a golden clan will settle on the earth.
Virgo Lucina! Apollo is already your lord over the world.
Under your consulate, that blessed age will come,
Oh Pollio! And the great years will follow.

But let us return to King Herod, whose name has become a household name throughout the Christian world. This cruel ruler died “five days after the execution of [his son] Antipater, having reigned thirty-four years after the death of Antigonus [the last ruler of the Hasmonean dynasty] and thirty-seven years after the proclamation of his king by the Romans ... having managed to live to an advanced age. .. (he was about seventy years old)" ("Antiquities of the Jews", XVII. 8, 1).
In that year, before the Jewish Passover, on the night after the execution by Herod of the Jews who rebelled against his iniquities under the leadership of a certain Matthias, whom he "ordered to be burned alive", "a lunar eclipse occurred" (XVII. 6, 4).
According to astronomical calculations, the time period closest to the event was three lunar eclipses: on the night of March 12-13, 750, January 20, 752 and on the night of January 9-10, 753 from the founding of Rome. At the same time, the second of them was apparently only in the western hemisphere and, therefore, may not be taken into consideration. Further, on the coins of 753, the successor of the king who ended his bloody age is indicated, and January is too early for the celebration of the Jewish Passover. All this points to the first eclipse. And this means that Herod reposed from his evil deeds in 750 from the founding of Rome, that is, in the 4th year before the birth of Christ.
According to the Gospel of Matthew (2, 1-18), a few years before his death, the power-hungry king committed, perhaps, the most insidious and cruel crime in his life - the beating of babies.
The arrogant ruler considered himself "ridiculed by the magi", who, guided by the Star of Bethlehem, came from the East to bow to the Born Infant Jesus, Who was called the King of the Jews. They did not return to Jerusalem in detail to inform the treacherous and malicious satrap. And he "was very angry and sent to beat all the babies in Bethlehem and in all its limits, from two years old and below, according to the time that [before] found out from the Magi."
The cited gospel testimony relates the event of the Nativity of Christ from the death of Herod even further, within up to two years, "according to the time that [the king] found out from the Magi." Until his death holy family for some time stayed in the country of the pyramids ("flight into Egypt", Matt. 2. 13-15, 19-21).
In this context, we can also recall that, according to the Gospel of John, the preaching of Christ before His betrayal on the cross and death lasted not one, but three years. This is evidenced, in particular, by the Jerusalem presbyter Hesychius (432). Thus, the chronological framework of the earthly life of the Savior is noticeably expanding.
In addition to circumstances of a historical nature, one should undoubtedly take into account the errors in the initial data in the chronological calculations of Dionysius (if any): the inaccuracy of the Metonic lunar cycle and the Julian calendar itself, the lack of a specific time reference for the Alexandrian Easter tables, and much, much more .. .
Astronomers also turned to the problem of dating the Nativity of Christ later. In particular, attempts were made to link the gospel testimony of the phenomenon star of bethlehem, which guided the Magi, with the mutual arrangement of the planets on the same axis, with their convergence, connection at one point in the sky with the brightness of the glow multiplied as a result.
As Rabbi Abarvanel (XV century) said, in particular, "the most important changes in the sublunar world are foreshadowed by the conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn." Prophet Moses, according to him, "was born three years after such a conjunction in the constellation of Pisces."
One of the conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn just in the constellation of Pisces was observed in 747 from the founding of Rome, that is, in 7 BC. The distance between them at that time was about half a degree, which is equal to the diameter of the moon. IN next year Mars also joined these planets. Based on the calculations of the location of the mentioned planets, one of the founders of the new astronomy, Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), attributed the event of the Nativity of Christ to the year 748 from the founding of Rome, that is, to the time two years before the death of King Herod. Considering a different point of view to be absolutely erroneous and completely arbitrary, the creator of the laws of planetary motion dated his work "New Astronomy" as follows: "Anno aerae Dionisianae 1609" - "Years of the era of Dionysius 1609".
In search of traces of the Star of Bethlehem, we also note that archives containing information about a wide variety of astronomical phenomena on a global scale were once explored. As a result, records were found in Chinese and Korean chronicles, according to which in the spring of 5 BC. at a point in the sky not far from the star of Capricorn, a new star flared up, which was visible for 70 days. According to the astrological ideas of that time, this foreshadowed the birth of a great king.
Here, we believe, it will not be inappropriate to recall once again one of several historical facts which are definitely related to the problem under discussion.
Let us turn to the above initial words of the story of the Nativity of Christ from the Gospel of Luke: “In those days, a command went out from Caesar Augustus to make a census throughout the earth. This census was the first in the reign of Quirinius Syria” (2, 1-2).
Emperor Caesar Augustus, shortly before his death, compiled a short biography, which he bequeathed to be cut on copper boards and installed at the entrance to his mausoleum. After his death, the so-called "Acts of the divine Augustus" in Latin and Greek became widespread throughout the Roman Empire.
In A.D. 1555 envoys of Emperor Ferdinand II to Sultan Suleiman in Ankara (ancient Ancyra) on the wall of the local temple of Rome and Augustus, later turned into a mosque, a bilingual inscription (Monumentum Ancyranum) containing the text of "Acts" was discovered. Fragments of similar inscriptions were also found in Antioch and Apollonia (Pisidia in Asia Minor).
The biography tells in the first person about the deeds of the divine Augustus for the benefit of the Roman people, for the sake of asserting its greatness, prosperity and power, for the sake of the reign of peace, the revival of good old morals; all his victories and triumphs, all the blessings addressed to Roman citizens, soldiers, veterans of cohorts are listed.
Among other things, it refers to the conduct by Caesar Augustus of the census "throughout the whole earth." During the years of his reign, it was carried out three times: "The census was carried out after a gap of forty-two years ... I made the second census alone, having consular powers, to the consulate of Gaius Censorinus and Gaius Asinius ... The third census, having consular powers, I made with my son Tiberius Caesar to the consulship of Sextus Pompeius and Sextus Appuleius.
According to the dating accepted in modern historiography, the first census in the empire was carried out in 28 BC, the second - in 8 BC, the third - in 14 AD. The results of the last census were published 100 days before the death of Augustus (See, in particular: Reader on the history of Ancient Rome. - M., 1962. - S. 528).
Judea was not considered a province of Rome until 6 AD, when, under Archelaus, son of King Herod, it was annexed to Syria. However, the country was heavily dependent on the empire, its rulers were appointed in the Eternal City. Herod was confirmed on the throne of Judea in 40 BC. in the Roman Senate, from where he left, accompanied by two of the triumvirs - Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian and Mark Antony. Josephus, as we saw earlier, speaks of Herod being proclaimed king "by the Romans." Therefore, the Evangelist Luke mentions the conduct of the census by the command of Caesar.
In the light of the foregoing, the time scale of the "Acts of the Divine Augustus" becomes more understandable in relation to Judea. True, the appointment of Quirinius as governor of Syria was documented only in the year 6 AD. However, based on the gospel text: "This census was the first in the reign of Quirinius Syria" (Lk.2, 2), - it seems quite possible to assume that he could be there twice: not only in modern times, but also somewhat earlier. According to commentators, it could be in 3-2 years. BC. and in 6-7 years. AD (Joseph Flavius. Jewish antiquities. -V. 2.- Minsk: "Belarus", 1994. - Notes to the book XVIII. - P. 591). But where the multiplication of events is allowed, the problem of two or three years, we believe, is by no means a problem. True, it can hardly be argued that the issue is thus closed.
In conclusion and in confirmation of the last thesis, we present a very competent opinion in this case, which belongs to a prominent Russian historian ancient church and the most authoritative specialist in the field of church chronology, professor of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy V.V. Bolotov (1854-1900).
When in 1899 at a meeting of the Commission of the Russian Astronomical Society on the reform of the calendar, at which the scientist was present as a representative Holy Synod Russian Orthodox Church, the problem of the starting point (epoch) of the perspective system of world reckoning was touched upon, he stated: “It is better to exclude the year of the birth of Christ from the list of those epochs on which the Commission can choose. Scientifically, the year of the birth of Christ (even only a year, not month and day!) It is impossible to establish "(Quoted by: S. I. Seleshnikov. History of the calendar and chronology. - M .: "Nauka", 1970. - P. 190).

APPROVAL OF THE ERA "FROM THE BIRTH OF CHRIST"

The era "from the Nativity of Christ", introduced by Dionysius the Small in 525, was already tested by Pope Boniface IV at the beginning of the 7th century. It is also found in the documents of Pope John XIII (965-972). But only since the time of Eugene IV, since 1431, this era has been regularly used in the documents of the office of the Vatican. At the same time, the year from the creation of the world had to be indicated without fail.
Soon after the introduction, the era was also used by some Western historians and writers, in particular, by a contemporary of the papal archivist Marcus Aurelius Cassiodorus, a century later by Julian of Toledo, then by Bede the Venerable.
During the VIII-IX centuries, the new era became widespread in many states of Western Europe.
As for the Eastern Church, according to E. Bickerman, for a long time she avoided using the era "from the Nativity of Christ", since disputes about the time of the appearance of the Baby of Bethlehem in Constantinople continued until the XIV century.
True, there were exceptions. So, in the Greek Paschalia, compiled in the 9th century for the entire 13th great indiction (877-1408) by John the Presbyter, along with the year from the creation of the world, the circles of the Sun and the Moon, etc. the year from the Nativity of Christ is also affixed.
In Russia, the Christian chronology and the January New Year, as already mentioned, were introduced at the end of 1699 by the decree of Peter I, according to which (better for the sake of agreement with the European peoples in contracts and treatises) the year that began after December 31, 7208 from the creation of the world began to be considered 1700 from the Nativity of Christ. However, the Julian calendar survived until 1918. Apparently, the Russian tsar did not dare to encroach on the heritage of the great and divine Caesar, fanned by antiquity. At the same time, as already noted, Peter I mistakenly considered 1700 the beginning of a new centenary century.
To date, the era "from the birth of Christ", created by Dionysius the Lesser more than a millennium and a half ago, "has become, as it were, an absolute scale for fixing historical events in time" (E.I. Kamentseva. Chronology. - M .: "Higher School", 1967. - P. 24).

... Bookmark this site... Ctrl+D

The countdown from the Nativity of Christ, which we now date to December 25 (or, for the accuracy of the calendar, to January 1, the 1st year of the new era), was "calculated" based on theological arguments much later (these calculations and disputes continued for about 500 years and ended only at the beginning of the 11th century. It happened like this. In 325 AD, the Nicene first general (ecumenical) council of Christian bishops met, which established that the chronology should be conducted from the "creation of the world." This was necessary in order to to know exactly when Easter should be celebrated - there were great disagreements on this score. How did they know when the creation of the world took place? With the help of very subtle theological reasoning, the essence of which boils down to the following. First, more or less reasonably, they set the date of the execution of Jesus. From the gospels it was known that he began to preach at the age of 30 - this is a typical date for male maturity - and then taught the people for three years.He was executed under the procurator (ruler) Pontius Pila those (Palestine was part of the Roman province of Syria) during the reign of the emperor Tiberius and under the Jerusalem high priest Caif. It is also known from the gospel texts that the execution took place on Nisan 14 on the full moon, on the eve of great saturday when the Passover was celebrated. During the execution, an eclipse of the Sun occurred. Comparing all these data, we came to the conclusion that the date of execution could be April 3, 33. It was on this day that a total eclipse occurred, but not solar, but lunar, visible in Palestine. Now we know for sure that it started at 15:44 and ended at 18:37. The solar eclipse was four years earlier, on November 24, 29, but this day does not coincide with the pre-Easter day of Great Saturday.

Apparently, tens of years after the execution, when the gospels were created, in the popular imagination, both of these eclipses merged into one and were timed to coincide with the moment of death of the "light of truth." The date April 3, 33 is in the range of the reigns of the above historical figures. Then they set about calculating the date of Jesus' birth. From the foregoing, it is clear that he was born thirty-three years earlier, and December 25th was considered his birthday. And in the Roman Empire, and in many countries of the East, this day has long been widely celebrated as the day of the winter solstice, after which the day begins to arrive. In Rome, this holiday was held, so to speak, under the slogan "The sun is born. The light is growing." Members of many of the first Judeo-Christian sects called themselves "sons of light", their teaching - the light of truth, and Jesus Christ - the light of the world. It was natural to combine the old pagan custom of celebrating the new Sun and light with the birthday of Jesus, just as it was natural to identify his death with the fading of the luminary, with solar eclipse. (Here given only summary, in fact, disputes about the dates of the birth and death of Jesus in Christian literature have been going on for hundreds of years.) So, the date of the birth of Jesus Christ seems to be known. Now the Nicaean Council had the main task - to indicate exactly when the biblical God created the whole world. From the second epistle of the Apostle Peter and from some other sources, it was known that Christianity equates one day of God's activity to a thousand earthly years. The Lord created the world working week , excluding the day of rest (in Hebrew, the seventh day of the week is called Shabbat, Saturday, hence our "Sabbath", the end of work, but in Christianity the seventh day was called "Sunday" and also became a day of rest), that is, seven days. From this it followed that the world would have to live until the Last Judgment for 7,000 years. Adam was created on the sixth day, at noon, after 5.5 days of other Divine deeds, as a result of "He saw that it was good." For reasons of the same Christian symmetry, the birth of Jesus Christ was equated, as it were, with the second birth of man (humanity). Jesus is the new Adam. So - attention! - Before the birth of Jesus Christ, 5.5 thousand years passed on earth and the world was created 5.5 thousand years before the birth of Christ. In fact, later the figure was adopted not exactly at five and a half thousand years, but at 5508 years, which is associated with an amendment to the traditional Byzantine chronology according to 15 years, the so-called indicts. It remains to add a little. After the Council of Nicaea, the Roman Empire gradually began to switch to the chronology "from the creation of the world." And only after more than 200 years, when Christianity spread quite widely across Europe, the Roman monk Dionysius the Small proposed to count the time from the birth of Christ (in 532). However, the new chronology was accepted everywhere only around the year 1000, and in Russia the countdown "from the creation of the world" continued until the 18th century, until the reform of Peter I in 1700 (although in the 18th century two numbers were often given - one from the Nativity of Christ, and the second, in brackets, from the creation of the world). It is curious to note that the beginning of the year did not immediately become close to the Nativity of Christ. Before the Gregorian reform in 1582, the beginning of the year was celebrated on March 1, it was the so-called Easter year, because according to some calculations this date corresponded to Christian Easter, and in Russia since 1492 the beginning of the year was moved to September 1 (hence the tradition of starting the school year on 1 September) and only after the Gregorian reform in Europe and the Petrine reforms in Russia the beginning of the year was established "near" Christmas, after the end of December, that is, from January 1st. How strong cultural traditions are and how tightly subsequent events are linked to previous ones can be seen in the example of hopeless attempts to change the historically established calendar. Not a single system has yet succeeded, say, in abolishing weeks or abolishing the seventh day of rest - Sunday, that is, the resurrection of Jesus. The attempt of the government of revolutionary France in 1792 to introduce new calendar, wherever the starting point of time is the beginning of the republic (2nd year of the republic, 3rd year, etc.) and replace the week with a decade with the renaming of the traditional names of the months, inventing thermidor, germinal, floreal and others. After Napoleon came to power, all these innovations were canceled, because they did not take root among the people. In Russia, after October 1917, they also tried to invent a new revolutionary calendar, but this idea, unlike many other crazy ideas like collectivization, did not come out right away. Finishing, I will tell little-known facts. First known: in order to find out how many years have passed since the creation of the world, it is necessary to add 5508 years to the given year from the birth of Christ. Let me remind you that in Europe, from the creation of the world, the reckoning was carried out until the 10th century, and in Russia - until the Petrine reforms. Gradually, the new account supplanted the old one, but they kept it in memory. This is known. Now little known fact. In 1492, seven thousand years have passed since the creation of the world (1492 + 5508 = 7000). And the eighth millennium cannot be in any way, because the creation went on for six days, and even the seventh day of rest, seven days in total, the eighth day, as you see, is not provided. But since, I remind you, one day of creation was equal to a thousand years on earth, it turned out that after the seventh millennium earth time eternity comes to an end. From this it followed that the onset of the eighth millennium from the creation of the world means the end of the world, which just happened to be in 1492 from the birth of Christ. A year before, many had neither plowed nor sowed, did not draw up calendars. Who fornicated and had fun, who fasted and repented. There was a big commotion, especially in Russia, where they officially counted from the creation of the world. And when the year 1492 passed and nothing terrible happened, the pope issued a bull, which said that calculating the end of the world is not a matter of the human mind, but you need to live in such a way that you are ready for it every day. The Russian metropolitan thought the same way, although he was an enemy of the pope. From all this panic, a notch remained in culture - the number 8 began to symbolize eternity. That is why it is often Orthodox crosses additional crossbars are added on the graves, which eventually give eight ends, symbolizing eternal peace. Later, the figure eight was turned on its side and received a symbol for infinity in mathematics.

Reckoning: what is it? The chronology is a time reference system (in days, weeks, months, years) that began with a specific event. The chronology could differ among different peoples, confessions. This can be explained by the fact that different events were taken as the starting point. However, today one system of chronology has been officially established all over the world, which is used in all countries and on all continents.

The chronology in Russia

The chronology in Russia was carried out according to the calendar adopted by Byzantium. As you know, after the adoption of Christianity in the tenth century AD, the year of the creation of the world was chosen as a starting point. To be more precise, this day is the day when the first man, Adam, was created. It happened on the first of March 5508 AD. And in Russia for a long time they considered the beginning of spring the beginning of the year.

Reform of Peter the Great

The old chronology "from the creation of the world" was changed by Emperor Peter the Great to the chronology from the Nativity of Christ. this was done from the first of January 1700 (or 7208 "from the foundation of the world"). Why did they change the calendar? It is believed that Peter the Great did this for convenience, to synchronize time with Europe. European countries have long lived according to the system "from the Nativity of Christ." And since the emperor did a lot of business with the Europeans, this step was quite appropriate. After all, the difference in years in Europe and in the Russian Empire at that time was 5508 years!

The Old Russian chronology, therefore, differed from the modern one in the reference point of time. And the chronology before the Nativity of Christ was called the chronology "from the creation of the world."

How it all began

When did the reckoning begin? There is evidence that in 325 AD the first council of Christian bishops took place. It was they who decided that the reckoning should be conducted from the creation of the world. The reason for this countdown was the need to know when to celebrate Easter. The date of the creation of the world was proposed based on considerations and reasoning about the life of Jesus Christ.

After the council of bishops, the Roman Empire adopted this chronology. And after a couple of hundred years, it was proposed to switch to the reckoning from the Nativity of Christ. This idea was expressed by Dionysius the Lesser, a Roman monk, in 532. When Jesus was born is not exactly known, but it happened around the second or fourth year of our era. It was from this year that the countdown of time, which is now called from the Nativity of Christ, began. This point separates the new era (ours) from the past (respectively, the designations AD and BC).

But the world for a long time switched to a new version of the countdown. This took about half a millennium, and for Russia - more than a thousand years. The transition was gradual, so often the year “from the creation of the world” was also indicated in brackets of the date.

Aryan chronology and Slavic chronology

The chronology of the Aryans was conducted from the creation of the world, that is, it was different from what existed in the world. But the Aryans did not believe that the world was created precisely in 5508 BC. In their opinion, the starting point was the year when peace was concluded between the Slavic-Aryans and the Arims (ancient Chinese tribes). Another name for this reckoning is the Creation of the World in the Star Temple. After the victory over the Chinese, a symbol appeared - a rider on a white horse, killing a dragon. The latter in this case symbolized China, which was defeated.

The Old Slavic chronology was carried out according to the Daariysky Krugolet Chislobog. You can read more about this calendar in the corresponding article. After the reform of Peter the Great, they began to say that "he stole 5508 years from the Slavs." In general, the emperor's innovation did not find positive feedback from the Slavs, they resisted him for a long time. But the chronology of the ancient Slavs and their calendar were banned. To date, they are used only by the Old Believers, Ynglings.

The chronology according to the Slavic calendar had its own interesting features:

The Slavs had only three seasons: spring, autumn, winter. By the way, the whole year among the ancient Slavs was called "summer".
There were nine months.
There were forty or forty-one days in the month.

Thus, the chronology of the ancient Slavs, who were pagans, went against the generally accepted Christian one. Indeed, many Slavs, even having adopted the Christian faith, continued to remain pagans. They were true to their worldviews and did not accept the reckoning "from the Nativity of Christ."

The chronology has become a reflection of religion, which has occupied and continues to occupy a dominant position in the state, in society, in the world. Christianity today is practiced by more than thirty percent of the world's population. It is not surprising that the birth of Christ was chosen as its beginning. It has also become convenient to distinguish between the past era and the new one. Peter, having changed the system of chronology in Russia, made it possible to coordinate all the activities of the country with the rest of the world. It is hard to imagine that today there would be an abyss between countries of more than five and a half thousand years! Also, a positive aspect of the chronology common to all is the convenience in studying history and other sciences.