Byzantine Creation Era Calendar

Byzantine Creation Era Calendar

According to the Church's calendar, developed during the Byzantine period and based on Biblical chronologies, September 1/14 marks the beginning of the ecclesiastical year. Specifically, September 1/14, 2016 marks the beginning of the year 7525 from the creation of the world, God having created 5509 years before the Nativity of Christ.

The article below, originally appearing on OrthodoxWiki, offers a detailed look at the development of the Church's Byzantine Creation Era calendar, and several of its predecessing calendars.

ON THE JULIAN CALENDAR, CHURCH TRADITION, AND STANDING FOR THE FAITH

Pavel Kuzenkov

Christmas and New Year is a time when many Orthodox Christians who follow the Julian (old) calendar wonder why they do so; or rather, those who follow the Gregorian (new) calendar wonder why the old calendar Churches don’t want to change. Here is another thorough look at this question, from a number of angles.