Supper and where the Apostles and disciples continued to meet after the Resurrection. This was one of the first 

places of meeting and prayer of the nascent Church. 

centennial year   a year whose number is evenly divisible by 100; e.g. A.D. 2000, 2100, etc. 

civil calendar, Jewish   The Jewish calendar year beginning with the month of Tishri in the autumn; used to 

count the Sabbatical year in the modern Jewish calendar (though that may not have been the case in the 

ancient Jewish calendar; see chapter 16). 

conjunction of planets   when two planets appear close to one another in the sky. A planet can also have a 

conjunction with a star or with the moon. A double conjunction occurs when two planets appear close to one 

another on two occasions (usually a few months apart). A triple conjunction of planets is when two planets 

appear close to one another on three occasions (usually within the same year or the same 12 month period of 

time). 

Consul   see Roman Consul below. 

crescent new moon   the first visible crescent of the moon after the astronomical new moon. Generally, the 

crescent moon is first seen just after sunset 24 to 48 hours after the astronomical new moon. The observation 

of the crescent new moon was used by the Jews in ancient times to determine the start of each calendar month. 

Dio   Dio Cassius was a Greek, who wrote extensively on the history of Rome. He lived from the mid second 

century to the early third century 

A.D.

1269

 His work,  Roman History, is a major source of information for 

historians and chronologists. 

Dionysius   Dionysius Exiguus was a Roman Catholic abbot and a theologian, with expertise in astronomy 

and mathematics. He devised the 

A.D.

 system of numbering the years according to the life of Christ. See 

chapter 1 for more information. 

Divine Revelation    God's Sacred Infallible Word, found in both Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, 

(which together are called `The Deposit of Faith'). As contrasted with private revelation, Divine Revelation 

refers only to God's revelation within the Deposit of Faith, even though a particular private revelation may 

come from God. 

Dormition    the death of the Virgin Mary. The term literally means falling asleep, but was used by early 

Christians to refer to actual death, because of the hope of the Resurrection. Jesus uses the word  asleep  to 

refer to death (Jn 11:11 14). The Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles also use the word in the same way (Acts 

7:60; 1 Cor 15:6,18; Eph 5:15; 1 Thess 4:13 14; 2 Peter 3:4). 

EFM (Ecclesiastical Full Moon)   the date of the full moon according to a system of charts used by the early 

Christian Church. The EFM is not exact and can differ from the actual full moon date/time by a day or two.  

Equinox   the day when the length of the daylight hours and the nighttime hours are approximately equal; the 

day/time when the sun appears to cross an imaginary line extending outward from the earth's equator; occurs 

twice per year, once in spring and once in autumn. 

Essenes   a Jewish sect active in the first century 

B.C.

 and first century 

A.D.

 Flavius Josephus held them in 

high esteem. They are generally regarded as holy and devout Jews. Many, but not all, of the Essenes kept 

themselves apart from society and lived in community in the desert. 

Eusebius   Bishop of Caesarea, he wrote a detailed history of the early Church which is still used by scholars 

and Biblical chronologists today. He lived in the late third and early fourth century 

A.D.

Feast of Tabernacles    also called the feast of booths; one of the three great feasts in the Jewish faith; 

celebrates the time of forty years the Israelites spent in the desert. 

Feast of Unleavened Bread   also called the feast of Passover; one of the three great feasts in the Jewish faith; 

celebrates the Jews exodus from Egypt and their freedom from slavery. Bread with leavening (such as yeast) is 

removed from the home of devout Jews during this feast; only unleavened bread is eaten during the feast. 

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