Beginning of Catholicism?

Question

Is the begining of the Gregorian Calander / Catholicism Christ's Birthday or Crusifixion?

Is Christ's Birthday / Crusifixion 0 A.D./B.C. or 1 A.D.?

What religion are you?

Answer 1

"A.D." is short for "Anno Domini," which means "The Year of Our Lord" in Latin. Jesus was born in 1 A.D., (in other words, the first year of our Lord). "B.C." means "Before Christ" so the year before he was born is 1 B.C. There is no year 0. Many people nowadays say "C.E." ("Common Era") and "B.C.E" ("Before the Common Era") instead of A.D. and B.C.

The Gregorian Calendar did not begin in 1 A.D. It was invented in 1563 because under the older calendar system, known as the Julian Calendar, the dates had gradually shifted in relation to the solar year, so that Easter was no longer close to the first day of Spring. This is because the Earth travels around the sun in about 365 and a quarter days, not just 365. So one of the most important things the Gregorian Calendar fixed was adding the extra day in February every fourth year, (called the Leap Year), so that the days would stay the same in relation to the seasons. Without leap year, after a few hundred years, January would be in the autumn and April would come in the middle of winter.

I would like to address another assumption underlying your question: Catholicism did not begin in the year 1. There was no Christian religion in any form until Jesus started teaching his Apostles and other followers around 30 A.D. The Catholic Church counts the Apostle Peter as the first Pope, so in that case, the beginning of the Catholic Church would be, at the very earliest, sometime after Jesus said to his Apostle Simon, "I give you the name 'Peter,' which means 'Rock,' because you are the rock upon which I will build my Church." All the teachings and interactions with the Apostles reported in the Bible took place over the last few years before Jesus was crucified in 33 A.D.

So the year 1 marks the birth of Jesus, but the religion we call Chrisianity began about 30 years later, and grew into what we now recognize as the Early Church after Jesus' crucifixion.

For the first few hundred years, however, there were several different groups of people practicing the Christian religion, who had very different ideas about the person of Christ and the meaning and purpose of religion. The group we now recognize as the Catholic Church came to prominence among these competing strains after the First Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.; before that, it's problematic to refer to the Church as "Catholic." In those earliest days it was more like today, where in addition to the Catholic Church there are groups of Christians such as the many Orthodox Churches, and Protestants like Presbyterians and Lutherans, whose beliefs and practices are fairly similar to the Catholics, and also groups like the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses whose ideas and practices are very different from those of the more traditional groups. It was only during the Middle Ages, from about 400 A.D. to 1000 A.D., where there was only one predominant form of Christianity that could accurately be identified as an early predecessor of what we now know as the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

I should also mention, the answers above are written taking the basic mythology of Christianity for granted. The question gets a lot more complicated when you look at it from the vantage point of non-Christians or even non-Catholics. For example, many people would argue that Jesus probably never said anything like "On this Rock I will build my Church," but that that was added into the Gospels long after Jesus lived, when Jesus' followers had taken on more of the character of a Church in the sense in which we know it today. Historians also have strong reasons for placing the actual, physical birth of Jesus some years before the year we call "1 A.D." In other words, our numbering of the years in relation to the birth of Jesus is probably a mistake -- so Jesus may have been born anytime between 4 or 8 B.C.

To answer your final question, "What religion are you," I was raised as a nihilist, but now I'm a former Episcopalian.

Answer 2

The beginning of the Gregorian calender corresponds to Jesus' birth. A.D. in latin Anno Domini means 'In the Year of the Lord' while B.C. means Before Christ. So i think the year that jesus is born is typically denoted to be 0 A.D. (although i am not sure ) I am Catholic.

Answer 3

I think these are the answers you are looking for.
The Catholic Church's liturgical calendar begins on the first Sunday of Advent (the season before Christmas).
The day we celebrate the Birthday of the Church is Pentecost.
The Church was born on Calvary.
Historians typically say that Christ's birth was in 4 B.C. There is no 0 A.D.
I am a Roman Catholic.
Hope this helps.

Answer 4

If your question is "What's the beginning of the calender?" then, the answer is B.C stands for “Before Christ” and is not Latin at all, but English. It is paired with A.D., or “Anno Domini” (meaning the year of our Lord), which is in Latin. That'd be "After Christ" so to say, so from the crucifixion.

Answer 5

I am not quite sure, however, I think the begining of Catholicism is the Resurrection, around the year 33....not sure how to date it...whether it is A.D or B.C.

Answer 6

I am Catholic, the beginning is Jesus Birthday the perfect baby. .