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===Alexandrian Christian Era===
The ''[[w:Coptic calendar|"Alexandrian Calendar"]]'', or ''' ''Alexandrian Christian Era'' ''' was the second dominant system present alongside the ''Byzantine Creation Era.'' After the attempts by Hippolytus, Clement of Alexandria and others, the Alexandrian computation of the date of creation was worked out to be 25 March 5493 BC.<ref>Elias J. Bickerman. ''Chronology of the Ancient World''. 2nd edition. Cornell University Press. 1980. p.73.</ref>. It was adopted by church fathers such as [[Maximus the Confessor]] and [[Theophanes the Confessor]], as well as historians such as [[w:George Syncellus|George Syncellus]].
[[w:Pope Dionysius of Alexandria|Dionysius of Alexandria]] emphatically quoted mystical justifications for the choice of March 25th:
:[[March 25]] was considered to be the anniversary of Creation itself. It was the first day of the year in the medieval [[Julian calendar]] and the nominal vernal equinox (it had been the actual equinox at the time when the Julian calendar was originally designed). Considering that Christ was conceived at that date turned March 25 into the Feast of the [[Annunciation]] which had to be followed, nine months later, by the celebration of the [[Nativity|birth of Christ]], Christmas, on [[December 25]].
By the late tenth century the ''Byzantine Creation Era'' (dating of September 1 5508 BC) had become the widely accepted calendar of choice for Chalcedonian Orthodoxy. The ''Alexandrian Era'' continued to be used from the sixth century on by the [[w:Coptic calendar|Coptic]] Church and in a modified form by the [[w:Ethiopian calendar|Ethiopian]] Orthodox Church, forming their calendars up until the present day.
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:An immense intellectual effort was expended during the Hellenistic period by both Jews and pagans to date creation, the flood, exodus, building of the Temple... In the course of their studies, men such as [[w:Tatian|Tatian of Antioch]] (flourished in 180), [[Clement of Alexandria]] (died before 215), [[w:Hippolytus of Rome|Hippolytus of Rome]] (died in 235), [[w:Sextus Julius Africanus|Julius Africanus]] of Jerusalem (died after 240), [[Eusebius of Caesarea]] in Palestine (260-340), and Pseudo-Justin frequently quoted their predecessors, the Graeco-Jewish biblical chronographers of the Hellenistic period, thereby allowing discernment of more distant scholarship.<ref>Dr. Ben Zion Wacholder. ''Biblical Chronology in the Hellenistic World Chronicles.'' in '''The Harvard Theological Review''', Vol.61, No.3 (Jul., 1968), pp.451-452.</ref>.
==Alexandrian Christian Era==
The ''[[w:Coptic calendar|"Alexandrian Calendar"]]'', or ''' ''Alexandrian Christian Era'' ''' was the precursor to the ''Byzantine Creation Era'' and the second dominant system present alongside it, varying slightly. After the attempts by Hippolytus, Clement of Alexandria and others, the Alexandrian computation of the date of creation was worked out to be 25 March 5493 BC.<ref>Elias J. Bickerman. ''Chronology of the Ancient World''. 2nd edition. Cornell University Press. 1980. p.73.</ref>. It was adopted by church fathers such as [[Maximus the Confessor]] and [[Theophanes the Confessor]], as well as historians such as [[w:George Syncellus|George Syncellus]].
[[w:Pope Dionysius of Alexandria|Dionysius of Alexandria]] emphatically quoted mystical justifications for the choice of March 25th as the start of its year:
:[[March 25]] was considered to be the anniversary of Creation itself. It was the first day of the year in the medieval [[Julian calendar]] and the nominal vernal equinox (it had been the actual equinox at the time when the Julian calendar was originally designed). Considering that Christ was conceived at that date turned March 25 into the Feast of the [[Annunciation]] which had to be followed, nine months later, by the celebration of the [[Nativity|birth of Christ]], Christmas, on [[December 25]].
By the late tenth century the ''Byzantine Creation Era'', fixed at September 1 5508 BC, had become the widely accepted calendar of choice for Chalcedonian Orthodoxy. The ''Alexandrian Era'' continued to be used from the sixth century on by the [[w:Coptic calendar|Coptic]] Church, and in a modified form by the [[w:Ethiopian calendar|Ethiopian]] Orthodox Church, forming their calendars up until the present day.
==Accounts in Church Fathers==
==Other Dominant Church Dates==
===Roman Martyrology===
Some [[w:Traditionalist Catholic|Traditionalist Catholics]] use the year 5199 BC, which is taken from [[w:Roman Martyrology|Catholic martyrologies]], and referred to as the true date of Creation in the "''Mystical City of God''," a 17th-century mystical work written by Maria de Agreda concerning creation and the life of the Virgin Mary. This year was also used earlier by the church historian [[Eusebius of Caesarea]] in 324.<ref>V. Grumel. ''La Chronologie''. 1958. pp.24-25.</ref>
