Our era or from the Nativity of Christ? God gave us a soul - this is our little temple

History, traditions and meaning of the great holiday

On January 7, the Orthodox world celebrates the Nativity of Christ - the great twelfth holiday, which marked the beginning of a new era in the history of mankind. What lies at the heart of the Gospel story about the birth of the Savior, how the date of Christmas was calculated and why it was “forgotten” in the first century of Christianity - “Russian Planet” looked into it.

Story

The Evangelists Luke and Matthew write about the Nativity of Christ this way: in those days, throughout his entire empire, which included Palestine, Emperor Augustus ordered a census to be taken. You had to register in the city where you were from - and then Joseph and Mary, who was already pregnant at that moment, went from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the city of David (because Joseph was from the house and family of David). While they were there, the time came for Mary to give birth. She gave birth to a Son, and Joseph called his name Jesus, as the angel had previously commanded him to do. The baby was swaddled and placed in a cattle feeder, a manger - because there was no room for them in the hotel. According to legend, Mary and Joseph were forced to stop in a cave where shepherds were driving cattle.

At night, the news of the birth of the Savior reached the shepherds. An angel appeared to them and said: “Do not be afraid: I bring you great joy that will be for all people. Today the Savior of the world was born - Christ the Lord! And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

Following the angel, a large heavenly army appeared, praising God - and when it went back to heaven, the shepherds decided to go to Bethlehem. There they found a cave where Mary, Joseph and the Child were, and told the Holy Family what had been announced to them.

Evangelist Matthew also gives the story of the worship of the Magi from the east. A star in the east informed them about the birth of the Savior: having arrived in Bethlehem, the Magi presented gifts to the baby Jesus - gold, incense and myrrh (gold - as the King, incense - as God, myrrh - as a sign of impending death, because it was customary to anoint the dead with oil on myrrh).

Then Herod, the king of the Jews, learned about the birth of the Messiah. Wanting to destroy him, King Herod ordered the death of all infants under the age of two. But Joseph received a warning about danger in a dream, and the Holy Family managed to flee to Egypt, where they remained until the death of Herod.

Establishment of a holiday

The first mention of Christmas dates back to the beginning of the 3rd century. By that time, the tradition of the most important Christian holidays had already developed, among which were the Resurrection of Christ, the Ascension to Heaven, Epiphany and Pentecost. The fact that Christmas did not appear in this early tradition is associated with the Jewish worldview, according to which the birth of a person meant the beginning of pain and sorrow.

But even when it appeared in the church calendar in the 3rd century, Christmas was not the holiday it is today. Initially, Christians had a single holiday of Epiphany, where they remembered three gospel events at once: Christmas, the adoration of the Magi and the baptism of the Savior. And only in the 4th century, Christmas and Epiphany were divided on different days (at the same time, the holiday of Epiphany is still called Epiphany).

Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill holds a solemn service on the occasion of the Nativity of Christ. Photo: Sergey Pyatakov/RIA Novosti

There are several versions of why Christmas was “allocated” to December 25 (or January 7 according to the new style) in the church calendar. Theologians often calculated this date based on the Gospel information about the Annunciation of Mary about the birth of the Savior. According to the Bible, an angel preached the gospel to her six months after the conception of John the Baptist (it is celebrated at the end of September according to the old style). Six months were added to the date of conception and the date of the Annunciation was obtained, then another nine months were added to it and thus the day of Christmas was established.

However, there was also a “political” version of the Christmas date. The Roman Chronograph of 354 marks December 25 as the day of the pagan holiday of the “birth of the new Sun” - in addition, at the end of December the Romans celebrated Saturnalia. The establishment of the holiday of the Nativity of Christ on these days was also necessary in order to interrupt established pagan traditions and root the Christian way of thinking, some historians believe.

Christmas Traditions

In Rus' they began to celebrate Christmas, most likely, immediately after the establishment of Christianity by Prince Vladimir. At the end of the 17th century, the tradition of nativity theater, which came from Poland, arose in Russia - when gospel scenes were acted out in a special den-box, which personified the cave where Christ was born. By the way, there is no mention of the cave itself in the canonical texts of the Gospel (in Scripture only the manger where the baby Christ was placed was mentioned). The cave has become part of tradition, coming to us from the apocrypha “Proto-Gospel of James” and the writings of the 2nd century martyr Justin the Philosopher.

The meaning of Christmas

Saint John Chrysostom called Christmas the beginning of the entire Christian faith. According to him, all subsequent gospel events, starting with the Epiphany and ending with the Resurrection of Christ, His Ascension and Pentecost, proceed from this holiday and have their basis. It is no coincidence that Christmas divided the history of mankind into two eras - before and after it.

“God appeared before us... so that not a single person could say that God is so great and distant that there is no approach to Him,” wrote Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh in his homily for Christmas in the 20th century. - He became one of us in our humiliation and in our deprivation... He became close to us - through His love, through His understanding, through His forgiveness and mercy - He also became close to those whom others pushed away from themselves, because they were sinners. He did not come to the righteous, He came to love and seek sinners. Christ became a Man so that all of us, all of us without a trace - including those who have lost all faith in themselves - would know that God believes in us, believes in us in our fall, believes in us when we have lost faith in each other and in himself, believes so much that he is not afraid to become one of us. God believes in us, God stands as the guardian of our human dignity.”

Brief summary of the project

The relevance of studying the subject "Spiritual local history of the Moscow region" is due to the socio-pedagogical need for solving the problems of spiritual and moral education of schoolchildren. In modern Russia, interest in the cultural and historical heritage of the country is growing. The culture of Russia has been shaped for a millennium under the influence of the Orthodox religion. Without knowledge of the history of Christian Orthodox culture, it is impossible to master the values of Russian and world culture.

Christmas is an Orthodox holiday and the favorite holiday of all children. History of the holiday: biblical and in the traditions of the Russian people. Why do Orthodox and Catholics celebrate Christmas differently? The project should help schoolchildren in mastering Russian national traditions of celebrating Christmas and Christmastide, Advent and Christmas Eve. And try to understand why humanity began a new countdown of times with the Nativity of Christ.

Fundamental question:

What age is it now since the creation of the world?

Problematic issues:

1. How many centuries have our planet and humanity existed?
2. What is our era?
3. Julian and Gregorian calendars, what is their difference?

Study questions:

1. Why abroad is 2009 AD, and in Russia is 2009 AD?
2. When is Christmas celebrated abroad? But in Russia?
3. Santa Claus and Father Frost - who are they?
4. What symbols of Christmas do you know?
5. What does the name Jesus Christ mean?
6. Parables. Why did Jesus Christ speak in parables?
7. Sermon on the Mount. What did the Savior teach?
8. What is Christmas Eve? What is the name of the Nativity Fast?
9. What is Christmastide?
10. Why did people start a new countdown from the Nativity of Christ?

Project plan

1. Presentation of the project by the manager ( Appendix 4 ).
2. Formation of groups of students to work on the project.
3. Choosing creative project names with students.
4. Discussion of the work plan individually with each participant and in groups.
5. Informing students about various sources that they can use when working on the project ( Annex 1 ).
6. Discussion of the issue of copyright protection.
7. Independent work of participants in searching and processing information.
8. Analysis of the results of the work done. Preparing to speak in front of the class.
9. Project defense at seminars ( Appendix 2 ).
10. Carrying out an extra-curricular event for an elementary school with the play “A Christmas Tale” (January 14, 2010).
11. Performance at the Yauza State House of Culture at a regional festival with the literary and musical composition “Christmas Lace” (January 15, 2010).
12. Trip to Veliky Ustyug “Visiting Santa Claus” (December 25-27, 2009).

Materials for support and support of project activities

Currently, in different regions of Russia, conditions have been created for studying the history of Christian Orthodox culture in the public education system. The forms and methods of their implementation are determined by the legislation of the Russian Federation on education and the legal conditions for the activities of state and municipal educational institutions: the principles of state policy in the field of education and requirements for the content of education (Law of the Russian Federation “On Education”, Articles 2, 14, 14.5)

In the process of teaching the subject "Spiritual Local History" the following questions are set: tasks:

– to give schoolchildren knowledge about the history of Christian Orthodox culture and its connection with the history of their native land;
– to give knowledge about Christian moral culture: Christians’ understanding of the ethical categories of good and evil, the meaning of life and show examples of their embodiment in the traditions of life, the lives of saints and heroes of the Fatherland;
– to contribute to solving the problems of moral education of schoolchildren: the formation of the qualities of patriotism and citizenship, a responsible, respectful attitude towards the shrines of their native land, the heritage of domestic and world culture, love for national history, awareness of themselves as descendants of the glorious past of Russia and the Moscow region.

Useful resources:

1. Shevchenko L.L."Spiritual local history of the Moscow region", Moscow, 2007.
2. Rozina O.V."Spiritual foundations of Russian culture." Moscow, “Science and Word”, 2009. Book 2, p.114

Internet sources:

Calculation from the creation of the world (Pavlov R.A.), zhurnal.lib.ru
Age of the Universe (Wikipedia), ru.wikipedia.org
Julian and Gregorian calendars (Wikipedia), ru.wikipedia.org
What does the name Jesus mean? (Encyclopedia "Around the World"), slovari.yandex.ru
Nativity of Christ (Spiritual leaflet “The Road Home”), www.dorogadomoj.com
Parables of Jesus Christ (“Patriarch for children”), www.patriarch-detyam.ru
Sermon on the Mount (Wikipedia), www.dorogadomoj.com
Catholic Christmas (“Tatiana’s Day”), www.today.ru
How Christmas is celebrated around the world (“Holidays of Russia”), www.russian-holidays.ru
Orthodox Christmas ("Society"), www.rian.ru
How to spend Christmastide (Orthodox Newspaper), orthodox.etel.ru

Video resources

"Faith of the Saints" Creation of the world, video.mail.ru
Creation of the world, narod.ru
Christmas in the Orthodox tradition, www.youtube.com
P.I. Tchaikovsky "Seasons. December. Christmastide", video.mail.ru
Christmas, narod.ru
"The Law of God" Christmas, video.mail.ru
"Orthodox ABC" Christmas, rutube.ru
"Nativity of Christ" music. clip, video.mail.ru
Santa Claus cartoon, www.youtube.com

TB instruction. The Nativity of Christ and the New Era. How the Gospel Spread.

Target: 1. Introduce the history of the Orthodox holiday “Nativity of Christ”

2. Continue to develop an understanding of the symbolic language of the icon

3. Enrich children’s vocabulary with new words of historical and cultural significance

4. To instill children’s interest in studying the history of Orthodox culture; cultivate a respectful attitude towards Orthodox traditions and national culture.

Equipment: cards with new terms, video cartoon

“The Nativity of Christ”, an audio recording of the song “We glorify Christmas”, an icon “The Nativity of Christ”, handouts for working in pairs.

During the classes:

Organizational moment: Let's smile with each other's eyes.

Our look is pure and kind.

The soul is open, the heart beats evenly and calmly.

Today we have another lesson on military-industrial complex. And it’s no longer a secret for you that lessons on this subject are not so much for the mind, but for the heart, for the soul.

God has given us a soul - this is our little temple.

Look there quickly: is it clean today?

Maybe envy has started, lies and laziness are lurking,

Or is there something else that has been living in it for more than a day?

Put things in order in the temple of your soul!

Go through life only with a pure soul, friend!

What qualities would you like to cultivate in yourself in order to feel lightness in your heart and purity in your soul while living in the company of people? Name these qualities based on the letters of your name. (children give examples)

IN– faithful

A– neat

L- loving

E– natural

R– needlewoman

AND– intelligent

I- clear

What book helps people keep their souls and hearts pure? (Bible)

Vocabulary work

Let's look through our Orthodox dictionary again to repeat some terminology: Bible, Gospel, Savior of the world, Mother of God, vow, Nazareth, Joseph, Archangel, Palestine, Jerusalem,

So, I think you guessed what Orthodox holiday we will talk about today?

Work on a new topic:

Really, Jan. 7 during the holidays in a warm home environment, each of you will celebrate the brightest, most beautiful and favorite holiday

NATIVITY.

Birth of children– always a joyful and important event in people’s lives. Relatives, acquaintances, and friends congratulate the happy parents, give gifts, and wish health and prosperity to the newborn child.

Christ's birthday is celebrated all over the world .

Christmas has become the most important event for all humanity. Even modern chronology is carried out precisely from the Nativity of Christ.

Today in the lesson you will hear, understand and remember the Christmas story, which happened many, many (more than two thousand) years ago..

This event took place in a distant and warm country Palestine, where is the city Jerusalem. The terrain there is mountainous. Local residents have planted many vineyards and orchards along the mountain slopes. North of Jerusalem in the country of Galilee in the city Nazareth The Virgin Mary lived in Joseph's house. At that time, the Roman Emperor Octavian Augustus ordered a nationwide census. Everyone had to register in the city where he was born, where his ancestors lived. Joseph was from Bethlehem, so he and Mary traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

Many people gathered in Bethlehem, the hotels were crowded and there was no room for Mary and Joseph. They found shelter outside the city in nativity scene, those. in a cave that was used to corral livestock. Here the greatest event in the history of mankind took place - the Savior of the World was born. God Himself, through the Archangel Gabriel, instructed Mary to name her son Jesus(in Hebrew "Savior") Christ(from Greek " The Anointed One". This is how the ancient Jews called kings, priests, and prophets as a sign of their important service: anointed with myrrh ( miro)- a mixture of fragrant substances specially prepared and illuminated.

Maria swaddled the newborn baby and placed it in nursery- a lattice box in which feed for livestock was placed. Now, in memory of the cradle of Christ, this is the name of the children's institution where small children are raised.

Coming to earth, He was not greeted with honor, nobility and wealth. He had no shelter, no cradle like all children. Nursery, i.e. the cattle feed box became his cradle, the cave became his refuge. But was the Virgin Mary offended by people? She is still humble, radiating love and meekness. (examination of the icon)

Student: Meekness, love and humility are breathed with the breath of roses.

The Infant Christ was sent to save the sinful earth.

The virgin bent over her son, there was purity in her heart.

Angels fly invisibly, glorifying the birth of Christ.

Really, The angels gave little Christ a beautiful song from heaven.

But this event did not go unnoticed by people. The simplest people were the first to know about the birth of Christ. shepherds . That night they tended their flocks in the field, and an angel announced to them great joy that a Savior had been born in the city of David, who is Christ the Lord! And he pointed out the place where they could find him. The shepherds rushed to see the miracle of the baby.

We learned about this event and Magi - ancient scientists who comprehended the secrets of the world from the stars. They believed that at the birth of a great person, a special star appears in the sky. Seeing a bright star that suddenly flared up in the sky and began to shine, they understood with all eight faces that the expected Baby was born. It was this star, which would be given the name Vafliemskaya, that showed the wise men the way to the cave itself.

The names of these wise men are preserved in the Gospel - BELTHAZAR, GASPAR, MELCHEOR. Having bowed to the ground to the Baby, the Magi presented gifts: GOLD like to the king, in the form of tribute. Incense (fragrant resin), as to God, during worship. Myrrh (oil), as for a person going to his death. Because dead people are anointed with fragrant oil.

Mary kept these gifts all her life. Now they are in a monastery on the mountain Athos. An amazing fragrance still emanates from the gifts.

And that's it creatures of God rejoiced at the appearance of the Savior. (Let's listen to wonderful poems about this.)

Students:

In the manger, a quiet, tiny Christ slept on fresh hay.

The moon, emerging from the shadows, stroked the flax of his hair.

The bull breathed on the baby's face and, rustling the straw,

He stared at the elastic knee, barely breathing.

Sparrows poured in a crowd through the roof poles towards the manger.

And the bull, pressed against the niche, kneaded the blanket with his lip.

The dog, sneaking up to the warm leg, licked it secretly.

The most comfortable thing was for the cat to warm the Child sideways in the manger.

The humble white goat was breathing on his forehead.

Only the stupid gray donkey pushed everyone helplessly:

- “If only I could look at the Child for a minute!”

And he cried loudly and loudly in the pre-dawn silence.

And Christ, opening his eyes, suddenly moved apart the circle of animals

And with a smile full of affection. He whispered: “Look quickly!”

Reinforce what you have learned using video material.

Let us also look at this wonderful event - the Nativity of Christ! (cartoon)

What was shown in the last frame of the cartoon? (Christmas tree)

What did the tree look like? (dressy, New Year's)

Why do people have decorated Christmas trees in their homes for Christmas?

The answer to this question can be found in the poem.

With people, all nature rejoiced that night:

Noisily, the leaves on the trees glorified God in a mysterious whisper.

And the flowers smelled stronger.

Three trees - a palm tree, an olive tree and a fir tree grew at the entrance to the cave.

And in the first days, in proud delight, they bowed to the Baby.

The beautiful palm tree overshadowed him with its green crown.

And fragrant oil dripped from the tender branches of the silver olive tree.

Only a modest tree stood sadly; it had no gifts.

And the eyes of people were not captivated by the beauty of her unchanging cover.

The Angel of the Lord saw this and said to the tree with love:

“You are modest, you do not grumble in sorrow, for this you are destined to be rewarded by God.”

He said so and the stars from the sky rolled down onto the tree one after another.

And everything began to shine, and the palm tree and olive tree eclipsed with its beauty.

And to this day the Bethlehem Christmas tree is topped with a star!

For what qualities did the tree receive such a generous reward? (modesty, meekness, humility, patience...)

Check of knowledge:

You also have eight-pointed stars on your desks. Put on each ray a definition corresponding to the term written on the ray . (work in pairs)

Result:

You also deserve gifts for your good work in class. Coloring book with a task. I think that when completing this task you will show not only creative thought, but accuracy and patience.

I suggest you finish the lesson a beautiful song dedicated to the wonderful Orthodox holiday of the Nativity of Christ

The bright holiday of Christmas is a holiday of renewal,

Songs of angelic words flow in the universe.

I proclaim joy to you, this joy will be

To all redeemed hearts, to all people on earth.

This joy is given to us from above, children,

Song of heavenly beauty in the New Testament.

"Christ's Birthday!" - the sky is still rejoicing

Sing from children's lips: Glory, Hallelujah!

It is believed that the first year of the “new era” as the year of the Nativity of Christ was calculated by the Roman monk Dionysius the Small in the 6th century AD. e., that is, more than 500 years after the event he dates. At the same time, Dionysius first calculated the date of the Resurrection of Christ, and then used the church tradition that Christ was crucified in the 31st year of his life. The date of the Resurrection, according to Dionysius, is March 25, 5539 from Adam, and the year of the Nativity of Christ, therefore, is 5508 from Adam (according to the Byzantine era).

The authors of the new chronology note that Dionysius’ calculations are actually incorrect (due to the insufficient development of astronomy at that time). Their fallacy became known already in the 16th-17th centuries, and since then several attempts have been made to count for Dionysius and correct the dates of the Nativity and Resurrection of Christ.

Let us list some of the attempts to “correct Dionysius”:

Christ rose again on April 5, 33 AD. e. at 34 years old;
Christ rose again on April 5, 33 AD. e. at 33 years old(the most widespread opinion until recently; arose in the 19th or 20th century);
Christ rose again on April 9, 30 AD. e., and was born several years BC. e.(modern point of view of the Roman Catholic Church).

None of the above solutions satisfy the calendar “conditions of the Resurrection.” Moreover, it turns out that near the beginning of “AD” there are no dates at all that satisfy these conditions.

In other words, if Dionysius knew modern astronomy, he could not even come close to indicating the year of Christ's birth where he indicated it - at the beginning of our era. Unfortunately, when astronomical data became sufficient to understand this (and this happened only in the 17th century), the “new era” and the date of the “Nativity of Christ” were already widespread in the West and canonized by the Roman Catholic Church, and then by the Orthodox Church. church.

Naturally, the question arises: what are the calendar “conditions of the Resurrection”?

Church tradition, in agreement with the Gospels, states that Christ was resurrected on March 25, Sunday the day after the Jewish Passover, which, therefore, fell this time on March 24 (Saturday). It was these “Easter conditions,” which we will call “conditions of the Resurrection,” that Dionysius had in mind when he carried out his calculations of the date of the Resurrection of Christ, and then the Nativity of Christ.

The fact that Christ was resurrected the day after the Jewish Passover is clearly stated in the Gospel of John. This is also confirmed by church tradition and the entire medieval tradition.

A complete set of calendar conditions accompanying, according to stable church tradition, the Resurrection of Christ can be found in the “Collection of Patristic Rules” by Matthew Blastar:

The legal Passover (Jewish) is celebrated at the equinox on the 14th moon (that is, on the full moon) - from March 21 to April 18 - our Passover is celebrated on the following Sunday.”

Matthew Blastar gives the following calendar instructions for the year of the Resurrection of Christ:

1) circle to the sun 23;

2) circle of the moon 10;

3) the day before, March 24, there was the Jewish Passover, celebrated on the day of the 14th moon (that is, on the full moon);

4) the Jewish Passover was on Saturday, and Christ was resurrected on Sunday.

Nosovsky and Fomenko conducted computer calculations for each year from 100 BC. e. before 1700 AD e. The day of the spring full moon (14th moon, or Jewish Easter) was calculated using Gauss's formulas, and Christian Easter, the circle of the sun and the circle of the moon - according to Paschal. Just like Dionysius (and Matthew Blastar), they assumed that the day of the Resurrection was Easter day according to Paschal.

As a result of the study, they came to the conclusion that the calendar “conditions of the Resurrection” were fulfilled only once: in 1095 AD e.

The Nativity of Christ thus refers approximately to 1064 AD e. - 31 years before 1095 AD. e.

Date 1095 AD e. ideally corresponds to the new chronology constructed in the works of A.T. Fomenko.

Comparing it with the dating of the First Ecumenical Council, we see that it turns out that the First Ecumenical Council took place before the incarnation of Christ. Does this contradict church tradition? It turns out not. This certainly contradicts only the view of the history of the Church, which was formed no earlier than the 14th-15th centuries, but not church tradition.

Ancient texts have preserved for us the “conditions of the Resurrection,” which make it possible to unambiguously restore the sought-after date.

Let us take a closer look at the “conditions of the Resurrection” 1-4. They are not equal. Conditions 3 and 4 are known from many sources and constitute a stable church tradition. Conditions 1 and 2 are very specific calendar guidelines. What happens if you try to satisfy only two conditions 3 and 4?

As shown by a computer calculation carried out by the authors of the new chronology, “conditions of the Resurrection” 3 and 4 for the period of time from 100 BC. e. before 1700 AD e. were carried out only in the following years:

1) 42 (BC);

2) 53 AD e.;

3) 137 AD e.;

4) 479 AD e.;

5) 574 AD e.;

6) 658 AD e.;

7) 753 AD e.;

8) 848 AD e.;

9) 1095 AD e. (satisfies the full set of conditions 1-4);

10) 1190 AD e.

It is easy to see that here too there is not a single solution that would satisfy the traditional chronology.

The widespread church tradition, clearly reflected in the Gospel of John and in the writings of many church writers, cannot be reconciled with the date of Christ's birth around the beginning of our era. In order to achieve such agreement, it is necessary to shift the date of the Nativity of Christ at least 70 years ago or at least 20 years forward. If we add here also conditions 1-2, then the solution becomes unambiguous and gives the 11th century AD. e.

Fomenko and Nosovsky consider the substantive meaning of the obtained “date of the Resurrection of Christ” - March 25, 1095 AD. e.

March 25, 1095 AD e. was the day of the so-called “Kyrio-Easter” (that is, “royal Easter”, “Easter of the high priest”) - Easter, which coincided with the Annunciation (March 25). Kyriopascha is a rather rare event. In church tradition it is associated with the coming of Christ.

According to the Gospels and church tradition, in the year of the Nativity of Christ, a new star flashed in the east, and 31 years later, in the year of the Resurrection, a total solar eclipse occurred. Church sources clearly speak specifically about a solar eclipse in connection with the Resurrection of Christ, and do not always refer it to Good Friday. Note that a solar eclipse in a given area, and even more so a total solar eclipse, is an extremely rare event. Biblical science of the 18th-19th centuries, having not, naturally, discovered the Gospel solar eclipse “where it should be” in Palestine at the beginning of the century. e., converted it into a lunar one. This, however, still did not help - an exactly suitable lunar eclipse was not found either. However, since then it has become common to believe that the Gospels describe not a solar eclipse, but a lunar eclipse.

Fomenko and Nosovsky consider the initial point of view, reflected in the primary sources, according to which the eclipse was solar.

It turns out that such a pair of rare astronomical events - the outbreak of a new star and 31 years later - a total solar eclipse in the Mediterranean, really happened, but not in the 1st, but in the 11th century AD. e.! This is the famous nova explosion in 1054 and total solar eclipse on February 16, 1086(on Monday). The shadow of this eclipse passed through Italy and Byzantium.

It is curious that traces of mentions of Christ in medieval chronicles dating back to the 11th century have survived even to this day. For example, a chronograph from 1680 reports that Pope Leo IX was visited by Christ himself: “It is narrated that Christ, in the form of a beggar, visited him (Leo IX) in a spoon.” It is important that this is the only mention of this kind, except in cases of retelling of the Gospels.

As 1 year according to "R.H." Many chronicles imply 1054 AD. e. (the so-called “major shift of 1053 years in chronology”). This means that medieval chroniclers often dated the Nativity of Christ precisely to 1054 (or 1053).

Apparently, these are traces of another tradition dating the Nativity and Resurrection of Christ to the era of the 11th century AD. e. According to this tradition, Christmas was in 1054, the year of the nova, and the Resurrection was in 1086, when a total solar eclipse was observed.

By the way, the beginning of the First Crusade - the campaign “for the liberation of the Holy Sepulcher” - dates back to 1096. On the other hand, medieval church sources, which often describe events related to Christ in more detail than the Gospels, claim that immediately after the Resurrection, Pilate was summoned to Rome and executed there, and Caesar's troops were sent to attack Jerusalem and captured it. . Today it is believed that these are medieval speculations, since in Scaliger’s chronology there is no Roman campaign against Jerusalem in the 30s of the 1st century AD. e. No. However, if the Resurrection dates back to the end of the 11th century, this statement of medieval sources takes on a literal meaning - meaning the First Crusade, during which Jerusalem was taken. If we date the Resurrection to 1095, it turns out that the crusade began the very next year - exactly as described in the mentioned medieval texts.

Where did the Crusader troops go to liberate the Holy Sepulcher? Naturally, the reader will say, to Jerusalem. This is true. But the fact is that Jerusalem at that time was called, as we have already said, a city located on the site of modern Istanbul, which was the capital of the Second Rome. This means that Christ was crucified not on the territory of modern Jerusalem, which is located in Israel, but on the territory of modern Turkey. This, it turns out, is why the Crusader troops fought with Byzantium. There was a war for the Holy Sepulcher.

According to the Gospels, Mount Golgotha (on which Christ was crucified) was located somewhere in or near Jerusalem. When they mistakenly identified Jerusalem with the Palestinian village of El-Quds, they naturally tried to “find” a suitable mountain here. However, these attempts, Fomenko and Nosovsky believe, should be considered unsuccessful. Because what is offered to us today as the gospel Calvary is a small hill, which, if desired, can be found almost anywhere. Is there a place near Istanbul that could be fairly reliably identified with the Gospel Golgotha?

It turns out there is. This is the highest mountain on the Upper Bosphorus called Beykos. At the very top of this mountain there is a gigantic symbolic grave called the “Tomb of Jesus” (Yushi in Turkish). According to the reconstruction of the new chronology, this is the famous evangelical Mount Golgotha, that is, the site of the crucifixion of Christ.

Here is what the famous Muslim author of the 19th century, Jelal Essad, writes about this: “Following along the Asian coast of the Bosphorus, we reach a small pier called Syut-lyudzhe, from where the path leads to the highest mountain of the Upper Bosphorus (to Golgotha, according to Fomenko and Nosovsky). At the top of this mountain (180 meters above sea level) there is the grave of Joshua (Jush)... Local residents call her grave of Saint Yusha or Iusha, that is, Jesus».

It turns out that this tomb matches ancient descriptions of the tomb of Jesus Christ. We see such a description, for example, in the work “The Walking of Abbot Daniel.” In the modern Russian translation, this text reads like this: “The Crucifixion of the Lord is located on the eastern side on a stone. It was high, a copy above. The stone was round, like a small hill. And in the middle of that stone, at the very top, a well was carved about an elbow deep, and less than a span in width in circumference (in the perimeter). The cross of the Lord was erected here. In the ground, under that stone, lies the head of the primordial Adam... And that stone split over Adam’s head... and there is this cleft on that stone to this day... the crucifix of the Lord and that holy stone are surrounded by a wall... and there are two doors (in the wall).

This description of Daniel of the site of Christ’s crucifixion, Fomenko and Nosovsky note, perfectly corresponds to what we see today on Mount Beykos on the outskirts of Istanbul. Namely, a round stone like a small slide with a hole at the very top, in the center. There is a crack in this stone. The very name of the monument is “Jesus’s grave.” There is a wall around this shrine. Even the number of doors in the wall is the same - two. In addition, next to the stone, a high pole was stuck into the ground and tied to it, on top of which today there is a gold (or gilded) disk with an Arabic inscription. This pole may well symbolize the spear mentioned by Daniel, with which, as is known (according to the Gospels), Jesus was struck in the side on the cross.

Indeed, Fomenko and Nosovsky say, at the other end of the “grave” lies a second stone, approximately the same size as the first, and approximately the same shape. But no crack. It lies approximately 10-15 meters from the first stone. No other such stones are visible inside the fenced area (measuring 17 meters by 2 meters). It is difficult to escape the impression, they emphasize, that the second stone marks the place of removal, that is, the place where they laid the body of Jesus after taking him down from the cross.

It is well known that from the beginning of “our era” (“new era”) there was no continuous counting of years - from the first year to the current year, 1990. The first year of the “new era” was calculated much later as the year of the birth of Christ. It is believed that this year was first calculated by the Roman monk Dionysius the Small in the 6th century AD. e., i.e. more than 500 years after the event he dates. At the same time, Dionysius first calculated the date of the resurrection of Christ, and then used the church tradition that Christ was crucified at the age of 31. The date of the Resurrection according to Dionysius is March 25, 5539 from Adam, and the year of the Nativity of Christ, therefore, is 5508 from Adam (according to the Byzantine era).

Dionysius's calculations raised doubts in the West until the 15th century, and were never recognized as canonical in Byzantium:

“This era (Dionysius) was tested in 607 by Pope Boniface IV, it is also found in the document of Pope John XII (965-972). But only since the time of Pope Eugene IV (1431) is the era from the “Nativity of Christ” regularly used in documents of the papal office... Disputes about the date of birth of Christ continued in Constantinople until the 14th century.” , With. 250.

Moreover, today we know that Dionysius' calculations are in fact incorrect (due to the insufficient development of astronomy at that time). Their fallacy became known already in the 16th-17th centuries, and since then several attempts have been made to count for Dionysius and correct the dates of the Nativity and Resurrection of Christ. For example, in a chronograph from the late 17th century we read:

“In what year was Christ the Lord born? There are many opinions about this, and more than fourty (i.e., 40! - Author) are counted in terms of understanding,” l. 102.

Let us list some of the attempts to “correct Dionysius”:

– Christ rose again on April 5, 33 AD. e. at 33 years old (the most widespread opinion until recently; arose in the 19th or 20th century);

– Christ rose again on April 9, 30 AD. e., and was born several years BC. e. (modern view of the Roman Catholic Church, see also).

But why do we get different answers when trying to correct Dionysius’ calculations? After all, Dionysius received his date of the Resurrection as a date that satisfied certain calendar “Easter conditions”, or more precisely, the “conditions of the Resurrection”. These conditions are well known today (more on them below). Let us perform Dionysius’ calculations again, using modern astronomical data, and we will obtain an unambiguous answer. In particular, we will understand where the different answers (solutions) from previous researchers came from.

The fact is that none of the above solutions satisfy the “conditions of the Resurrection” of Dionysius. Moreover, it turns out that near the beginning of “AD” there are no dates at all that satisfy these conditions. In other words, if Dionysius knew modern astronomy, he could not even come close to indicating the year of Christ’s birth where he indicated it - at the beginning of our era. e. Unfortunately, when astronomical data became sufficient to understand this (and this happened only in the 17th century), the “new era” and the date of the “Nativity of Christ” were already widespread in the West and canonized by the Roman Catholic Church, and then by the Orthodox Church. church. In addition (and this, apparently, is the main thing), the date of the Nativity of Christ is closely connected with the Scaligerian chronological scale and a strong shift in this date destroys the entire chronological construction of Scaliger (in other words, “contradicts the traditional chronology accepted today”).

Therefore, researchers who tried to “correct” Dionysius had very little freedom - they could slightly shift the date of the Nativity of Christ by at most a few years. And then only backwards, so as not to increase the “skew” already existing in the Scaligerian chronology of 3...4 years between the date of the birth of Christ and the reigns of Augustus and Herod, p. 244. Therefore, under the pressure of traditional Scaligerian chronology, researchers were forced to discard some of the conditions used by Dionysius in dating, and also resort to various stretches in order to obtain a date close to the beginning of our era.

2.2. Calendar “Conditions of the Resurrection”

The fact that Christ was resurrected the day after the Jewish Passover is clearly stated in the Gospel of John. This is also confirmed by church tradition and the entire medieval tradition.

The fact that Christ was resurrected on March 25 is known from church tradition. We have seen that the calculations of Dionysius the Less are based on the assumption that the resurrection of Christ was precisely on March 25.

It is known that all-Eastern church writers unanimously asserted that Christ was resurrected on March 25. See, for example,.

A complete set of calendar conditions accompanying, according to stable church tradition, the resurrection of Christ can be found in the “Collection of Patristic Rules” by Matthew Blastar (XIV century):

“For the Lord suffered for our salvation in 5539, when the circle of the sun was 23, the circle of the moon was 10, and the Jews had the Passover on Saturday (as the evangelists write) March 24. On the Sunday following this Saturday, March 25... Christ was resurrected. The legal Passover (Jewish) is celebrated at the equinox on the 14th moon (i.e., on the full moon) - from March 21 to April 18 - our Passover is celebrated on the following Sunday.” , sheet 185.

Church Slavonic text:

“For the Lord saved the passion of the five thousandth and five hundredth and 39 present year, 23 for the sun passes in circles, 10 the moon, and for the Jews of the Jews had the Passover on the last day of the week (Saturday), as the Evangelist decided to be great, calling that day the Sabbath, March 24; in the coming week (on Sunday), as the sun was cut off considerably, and in the twenty and fifth consecutive year (i.e., March 25), the mental sun Christ rose from the tomb. Since then, the lawful Passover (Jewish Passover) is celebrated on the 14th moon after the equinox, from the twentieth and first of March to the eighteenth day of April: it is our custom to fall on it on a week (on Sunday).” , leaf. 185.

The year of the passion of Christ given by Matthew Blastar (5539 from Adam) is exactly the year calculated by Dionysius. (Subtracting 31 years from it - the age of Christ - Dionysius received the beginning of his era - AD: 5508 from Adam). In addition, Matthew Blastar gives the following calendar instructions for the year of Christ's resurrection:

1) circle to the sun 23,

2) circle of the moon 10,

3) the day before, March 24, there was the Jewish Passover, celebrated on the day of the 14th moon (i.e., on the full moon),

4) the Jewish Passover was on Saturday, and Christ rose on Sunday.

Question: is it possible to reconstruct the year (date) of the Resurrection using these data? Answer: yes.

We will call the set of these 4 points the calendar “conditions of the Resurrection.”

2.3. Dating of the Resurrection of Christ according to the full set of “conditions of the Resurrection”

We carried out computer calculations for each year from 100 BC. e. before 1700 AD e. The day of the spring full moon (14th moon or Jewish Easter) was calculated using Gauss's formulas, and Christian Easter, the circle of the sun and the circle of the moon - about Paschal. Just like Dionysius (and Matthew Blastar), we assumed that the day of the Resurrection was Easter day according to Paschal.

Statement 3.

The calendar “conditions of the Resurrection” 1-4, associated with the stable church tradition of the 14th century with the date of the passion and resurrection of Christ, were fulfilled only once:

in 1095 AD e.

It should be emphasized that the very fact of the existence of such a solution is absolutely non-trivial. If these conditions were the fruit of pure fantasy, then, most likely, we would not have found a single exact solution in the historical era (it can be shown that an arbitrarily taken set of conditions of this type, as a rule, has no solutions in the historical era and only in In some cases there is only one solution).

Consequence.

The Nativity of Christ thus dates back to approximately 1064 AD. e. - 31 years before 1095 AD. e.

Note 1.

Date 1095 AD e. ideally corresponds to the new non-Scaligerian chronology (“statistical chronology”), constructed in the works of A. T. Fomenko [nx-1]. Comparing it with the dating of the 1st Ecumenical Council (see above), we see that it turns out that the 1st Ecumenical Council took place before the incarnation of Christ.

Does this contradict church tradition? It turns out that this question is not at all simple. We did not find any obvious contradictions.

This certainly contradicts only the view of the history of the church, which was formed no earlier than the 14th-15th centuries, but not church tradition.

Note 2.

The above passage from Matthew Blastar with the date of the resurrection of Christ and the “conditions of the Resurrection” shows that ancient dates contained in medieval sources (and thanks to the school of Scaliger, often mechanically copied onto the pages of our textbooks) should be treated with extreme caution.

Many of these dates are the results of calculations based on still insufficiently developed science (including astronomical science) and may contain errors for many years.

It is precisely such huge errors, and not inaccuracies of several years, that arise in calendar calculations based on inaccurate medieval astronomy. For example, in the above passage from Matthew Blastar, the date is given: 5539 from Adam and its calendar characteristics (Easter conditions - conditions of the Resurrection).

The medieval chronologist (Dionysius?) calculated this date from a set of “conditions of the Resurrection” in accordance with the level of knowledge of this chronologist. Today, carrying out precise calculations again, we see that this date is wrong by at least 1000 (thousand) years!

We were lucky: in this case, the ancient texts preserved for us the conditions (conditions of the Resurrection) that allow us to unambiguously restore the sought-after date. In any other case, when such conditions (data) are lost, it is no longer possible to verify the validity of the ancient date. But it is also impossible to assume that it is (at least approximately) accurate without additional research. All this suggests that the Scaligerian version of chronology accepted today, based on a very uncritical use of sources, requires careful verification by the methods of modern science. This work was done in [nx-1], where an “optimal statistical chronology” of the ancient and medieval world was proposed. This study confirms the conclusions of A. T. Fomenko.

2.4. Dating of the Resurrection of Christ according to an abbreviated set of “Conditions of the Resurrection”

Let's take a closer look at the “conditions of the Resurrection” 1-4. They are not equal. Conditions 3 and 4 are known from many sources and constitute a stable church tradition (for links, see, for example, in). Conditions 1 and 2 are very specific calendar guidelines. What happens if you try to satisfy only two conditions 3 and 4? Let us present the result of the computer calculation.

Statement 4.

“Conditions of the Resurrection” 3 and 4 for the period of time from 100 BC. e. before 1700 AD e. were carried out only in the following years:

1) -42 year (BC);

2) 53 AD e.;

3) 137 AD e.;

4) 479 AD e.;

5) 574 AD e.;

6) 658 AD e.;

7) 753 AD e.;

8) 848 AD e.;

9) 1095 AD e. (satisfies the full set of conditions 1-4);

10) 1190 AD e.

It is easy to see that here too there is not a single solution that would satisfy the chronologists of the Scaligerian school. So, let's conclude.

The widespread church tradition, clearly reflected in the Gospel of John and in the writings of many church writers, cannot be reconciled with the date of the birth of Christ around the beginning of our era. e.

In order to achieve such agreement, it is necessary to shift the date of the birth of Christ at least 70 years ago or at least 20 years forward. If we add here also conditions 1-2, then the solution becomes unambiguous and gives the 11th century AD. e.

2.5. Could Dionysius the Small have lived in the 6th century AD? e.?

Today it is believed that Dionysius the Small lived in the 6th century AD. e. and carried out my calculations as follows:

Dionysius allegedly carried out all these reasonings and calculations while working with Paschal. Having discovered that in the almost contemporary year 563 (279 according to the era of Diocletian) the “conditions of the Resurrection” were fulfilled, he postponed 532 years ago (i.e., postponed the value of the Great Indiction, when shifted by which the Paschal is completely repeated) and received the date of the Resurrection of Christ . At the same time, he did not know that the Jewish Passover (14th moon) cannot be shifted by 532 years (due to the inaccuracy of the Metonic cycle), and as a result, Dionysius was mistaken:

“Dionysius failed, although he did not know it. After all, if he sincerely believed that the First Easter was on March 25, 31 AD. e., then he was grossly mistaken in extrapolating the inaccurate Metonic cycle back by 28 circles (i.e., 532 years 28 hours 19 = 532). In fact, the 15th of Nissan - the Jewish Passover - in 31 was not on Saturday, March 24, ... but on Tuesday, March 27! " , With. 243.

This is a modern reconstruction of the actions of Dionysius the Less in the 6th century. Everything would be fine in her, but she assumes that in the year 563 AD, close to Dionysius. e. The 14th moon (Jewish Passover) actually fell on March 24th. Let Dionysius not know about the inaccuracy of the Metonic cycle and made a mistake, shifting the Jewish Passover from 563 to the same date in March in 31 AD. e. But when the Jewish Passover actually happened in the almost contemporary year 563, he, of course, should have known! To do this, it was enough for him to apply the Metonic cycle only 30-40 years in advance, and the inaccuracy of the Metonic cycle does not affect such a short period of time. But the most striking thing is that in 563, the Jewish Passover (14th moon) did not fall on March 24, but on Sunday March 25, i.e., it coincided with the Christian Easter, determined by Paschal. Working specifically with the calendar situation of the year 563 almost contemporary to him and basing the calculation of the era from the “Nativity of Christ” on this situation, Dionysius could not help but see that:

Firstly, the calendar situation in 563 does not correspond to the gospel description, and

Secondly, the coincidence of Jewish and Christian Easter in 563 contradicts the essence of the definition of Christian Easter (which forms the basis of Easter; see above).

Therefore, it seems completely incredible to us that calculations of the date of the resurrection and birth of Christ were carried out in the 6th century on the basis of the calendar situation of 563. And besides, we have already shown that the Paschalia itself, which Dionysius used, was compiled no earlier than the 8th century and was canonized only at the end of the 9th century.

Consequently, the calculations of Dionysius the Less (or those attributed to him) were carried out no earlier than the 10th century AD. e. (and therefore “Dionysius the Small” himself most likely could not have lived earlier than the 10th century AD).

Hypothesis.

We saw (see above) that in the section of the “Patristic Rules” of Matthew Blastar dedicated to Easter (chapter 7 of the 80th composition), it is said that the equinox “currently” falls on March 18th. In fact, the spring equinox during the time of Vlastar (i.e. in the 14th century) fell on March 12th. And on March 18 it fell in the 6th century.

This means that by dating Vlastar’s text according to the vernal equinox, we automatically get the 6th century! Apparently, the same late medieval text was included both in the “Rules” of Matthew Blastar and in the work of Dionysius the Less (in the Latin version). Perhaps this is a text written by Vlastar himself or one of his immediate predecessors in the 13th-14th centuries. It contains, as we have seen, the dating of the resurrection of Christ, but there is not a word about the date of the Nativity of Christ. It was probably the text of Vlastar that was soon used by “Dionysius the Lesser,” who subtracted 31 years from the date of the resurrection of Christ, thus obtaining the date of the “Nativity of Christ” and introducing his new era. If this happened in the 14th century, then it is not surprising that the systematic use of this era began only in the 15th century (since 1431) in the West. Subsequently (apparently in the 17th century), the Latin text of Dionysius was dated by the equinox to the 6th century and the above reconstruction of his calculations appeared. The very name “Dionysius the Small” (Maly-Exiguus, lat.) is, according to the hypothesis expressed in [nx-1], simply the name of the 17th century chronologist Dionysius Petavius (Petavius-Maly), who completed the construction of the Scaliger chronology.

2.6. Discussion

This date was restored by us according to the surviving traces of the Byzantine church tradition of the 13th-14th centuries and, therefore, should be considered primarily as part of this tradition.

March 25, 1095 AD e. was the day of the so-called “Kyriopascha” (i.e. “royal Easter”, “Easter of the high priest”) - Easter, which coincided with the Annunciation (March 25). Kyriopascha is a rather rare event. In church tradition it is associated with the coming of Christ. We have seen that the calculations of “Dionysius the Less” were, in essence, a search for a suitable kyriopascha. Approximately imagining the time of Christ’s resurrection, he took Kyriopascha, which fell at that time, and took it as the date of the Resurrection.

It is possible that the date March 25, 1095, accepted by the chroniclers of the 13th-14th centuries as the date of the resurrection of Christ, was based on similar considerations - that is, this date was chosen by them as the appropriate time for Kyriopaskha (according to their ideas about chronology).

Therefore, strictly speaking, the conclusion that we can draw from all that has been said is the following.

According to the Byzantine chroniclers of the 13th-14th centuries, the resurrection of Christ took place at the end of the 11th century, and Christmas - in the middle of the 11th century.

Comment. According to the Gospels and church tradition, in the year of the Nativity of Christ, a new star flashed in the east, and 31 years later, in the year of the Resurrection, a total solar eclipse occurred.

(Church sources clearly speak specifically about a solar eclipse in connection with the resurrection of Christ, and do not always refer it to Good Friday. Note that a solar eclipse in a given area, and even more so a total solar eclipse, is an extremely rare event. The fact is that solar eclipses, although they occur every year, are visible only in the region of a narrow strip of the trajectory of the lunar shadow on Earth - in contrast to lunar eclipses, which are visible immediately from half the globe.Biblical science of the 18th-19th centuries, without, naturally, discovering the Gospel solar eclipses “where it was needed” - in Palestine at the beginning of our era - converted it into a lunar eclipse. This, however, still did not help - they also did not find an exactly suitable lunar eclipse. However, since then it has become common to believe that in the Gospels It is not a solar eclipse, but a lunar eclipse that is described. We will consider the original point of view, reflected in the primary sources, according to which the eclipse was solar.)

It turns out that such a pair of rare astronomical events - the outbreak of a new star and, 31 years later, a total solar eclipse in the Mediterranean - really happened, but not in the first, but in the 11th century AD. e.! This is the famous nova in 1054 and the total solar eclipse of February 16, 1086 (Monday).

The shadow of this eclipse passed through Italy and Byzantium.

We will not go into historical and theological disputes, since our task here is only to study the old church (Byzantine) tradition in order to restore the dates associated with this tradition. Let us note that there is a clearly expressed traditional church medieval view.

(Helmsman, Chrysostom, Theophylact), according to which the Jewish Passover-full moon in the year of Christ’s crucifixion was on Saturday, as stated in the Gospel of John, and Christ deliberately ordered the Paschal lamb to be prepared ahead of schedule - on Thursday. This violation of timing was especially emphasized by Eastern theologians, since it is indirectly reflected in the worship of the Orthodox Church, which, when celebrating the liturgy, uses leavened (yeast) bread rather than unleavened bread - since, according to church tradition, at the Last Supper, which took place on Thursday even before Passover, there were no unleavened bread (they were supposed to be eaten starting from the Passover evening). The same view is expressed by Matthew Blastar in his canonical “Collection of Patristic Rules,” which we used in dating.

2.9. Why do calendar issues seem so “dark” today?

A modern reader, even if he has the necessary special knowledge to understand calendar issues, when reading books on history, as a rule, misses all the calendar and chronological details “out of ear.” And in fact, these details seem so dark and confusing that the reader simply regrets the time to sort them out (especially since he does not see any benefit in it).

Meanwhile, the point is not in the complexity of calendar issues in themselves. They're not that complicated. The deliberate confusion of calendar-chronological discussions is often a direct consequence of hidden errors in the chronology accepted today. This confusion is a kind of “covering up tracks” in order to prevent the reader from understanding what, in the opinion of the author-historian, he “shouldn’t” understand. Let's give a few examples.

Let's take, say, the textbook for students “Introduction to Special Historical Disciplines” (Moscow Publishing House of Moscow State University, 1990), approved by the USSR State Committee for Public Education as a teaching aid for students of higher educational institutions studying in the specialty “History”. In this textbook, among other sections (genealogy, heraldry, numismatics, etc.), chronology is in fifth place. We cannot list here all the errors, inaccuracies and typos made in this section - there are too many of them. Here we present only the “record result”: 4 fundamental errors in one sentence.

Describing the Gregorian calendar reform, the author writes:

“Corresponding changes were also made to the calculations of Easter, which was lagging behind by the end of the 16th century. from the vernal equinox, which is the starting point for determining the timing of Easter, by 3-4 for” (page 179). But:

1) The formal reason for the Gregorian reform was that by the 16th century Easter “laged behind” (that is, fell later) from the first spring full moon, and not from the vernal equinox.

2) The starting point for Easter in Paschal is not the spring equinox, but the (calendar) first spring full moon.

3) The very indication of the “size of the lag” between Easter and the first spring full moon (and even more so from the spring equinox) does not make sense, since the time interval between these two events is not constant (it is different in different years). In fact, this refers to the lag of the calendar Easter full moons (which are the starting points for Easter) from the true astronomical full moons in the 16th century. However:

4) The lag of Easter full moons from the true ones in the 16th century was not 3-4, but 1-3 days. This can be seen from the table below comparing the dates of Easter and true spring full moons in the 19-year cycle (“circle of the Moon”) at the time of the Gregorian reform:

As for the lag between (the earliest) Easter and the vernal equinox, which the author formally speaks of (and which is not relevant to the essence of the issue at all), in the 16th century it was also not 3-4, but 10 days.

One will inevitably feel sorry for the history students who study from such textbooks.

Even in those books on chronology that are generally written in good faith, one can encounter deliberate concealment of “inconvenient” information from the reader. So, for example, in the book by I. A. Klimishin “Calendar and Chronology” (M. Nauka, 1975) on page 213, the quotation from Matthew Vlastar about the rules for determining Easter is cut off immediately before Vlastar gives an important chronological indication - the explicit date of establishment Easter "nineteen days" - Metonic cycle: 6233-6251. “from the existence of the world,” i.e. 725-743. n. e. (VIII century!). Elsewhere in the same book, on page 244, I. A. Klimishin writes: “Somewhat later, the Greek historian John Malala (491-578) attributed the “Nativity of Christ” to the year (Ol. 193.3), 752 from the “foundation Rome"; 42nd August..."

John Malala actually gives in his Chronicle the year of Christ’s birth: 6000 “from Adam,” i.e. 492 AD. e. (see the publication by O. V. Tvorogov of the text of the “Sofia Chronograph” in volume 37 of the “Proceedings of the Department of Old Russian Literature”). Why does I. A. Klimishin give this date using the “Olympiads” calculation, which is clearly incomprehensible in this context? Moreover, without any instructions on how to use it, which makes it impossible for the circle of readers to whom the book is addressed to perceive this date. This is a vivid example of blatant concealment of “inconvenient information.”

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