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==Church's Position==
Although the Orthodox Byzantine Empire was a theocracy which saw the ecclesiastical theological date of creation unified with the administrative system of Indiction cycles in the Byzantine dating system, nevertheless the Church as such has had no official teaching regarding the true date of creation (i.e. as defined by ecumenical councils).
Furthermore, the Bible's description of creation is not a "scientific account". It is not read for scientific knowledge but for spiritual truth and divine revelation. The physcial-scientific side of the origins of mankind, though important, is really quite secondary in significance to the Church's message. The central image of [[Adam and Eve|Adam]] as God's image and likeness, who also represents fallen and sinful humanity, and the new Adam, [[Jesus Christ]], who is the "beginning", the first-born of the dead (Colossians 1:18) and the "first-fruits" of those who were dead, and are now alive (1 Corinthians 15:20-23), is what is really important.<ref>Stanley S. Harakas. ''The Orthodox Church: 455 Questions and Answers''. Light & Life Publishing, Minneapolis, 1988. pp.88,91.</ref>
