Appendix V 

Glossary 

antedating    the practice of counting a ruler's reign as beginning before the previous ruler left office. For 

example, the Roman emperor Vespasian counted his reign as beginning July 1, even though the previous 

emperor, Vitellius, was not removed from power until several months later. (See chapter 13 for examples and 

references.) 

A.D.

    anno Domini,  which translates as:  in the year of the Lord.  Originally, the Christian calendar of 

Dionysius was based on the year of the incarnation of the Lord:  ab incarnatione Domini,  which translates 

as:  from the Incarnation of the Lord. 

1265

 This expression was later changed to  anno Domini.  

apparent solar noon   midday according to a sundial, i.e. when shadows from the sun are shortest; when the 

sun reaches it's highest point in the sky; referred to by the Jews as `the sixth hour.' 

accession year   the year that a ruler, usually a king or emperor, receives the throne. 

accession year system   a calendar system which counts the first full year of the ruler's reign as year one. The 

year during which the ruler received the throne is called the  accession year  and is not numbered.

1266

  Roman 

practice often counted the years of an emperor's reign in this way. 

astronomical new moon   when the moon passes an imaginary line drawn between the earth and the sun. The 

moon is not visible at the time of the astronomical new moon, except when the moon passes directly between 

the earth and sun, resulting in a solar eclipse. The time/date of the astronomical new moon is usually 

determined by calculation, because the moon is not visible at that time (except during a solar eclipse). 

Assumption   the raising of a human person, body and soul, to Heaven. The Assumption of the Virgin Mary 

occurred after her death and Resurrection. The Assumption of the Faithful occurs after the general 

Resurrection.

1267

 Christ ascended to Heaven by His own Divine power, so this event is called the Ascension. 

The Virgin Mary was brought up to Heaven by Christ, so this event is called the Assumption. 

A.U.C.   ab urbe condita, which translates as:  from the founding of the city.  The city referred to is Rome. 

B.C.

    before Christ;  used to specify the years prior to 

A.D.

 1. The year 1 

B.C.

 immediately precedes the year 

A.D.

 1; there is no year zero. 

Biblical chronology   the study of `what happened when' in Biblical times. 

Emmerich, Anne Catherine   Blessed Anne Catherine lived from 1774 to 1824, and spent most of her adult 

years as a nun in an Augustinian convent. She had the stigmata, the wounds of Jesus Christ, in her body, and 

she suffered many times with Christ while meditating on His Passion.

1268

 She was certainly a devout disciple of 

Jesus Christ. The Catholic Church has declared Anne Catherine Emmerich to be Blessed, that is, to be an 

example of holiness for faithful Christians to emulate. 

    Blessed Anne Catherine had many visions from God about the lives of Jesus and Mary. Since she was close 

to God, had the stigma, and suffered much for Christ, she must have been telling the truth about her visions 

from God. These visions from God are not merely the meditations of a pious nun. Blessed Anne Catherine 

clearly and repeatedly spoke of these visions as having come from God. Her visions are private revelation, 

subject to error in her understanding of the visions and in the writing down of the visions, but the source of the 

visions is entirely reliable. 

calculation based calendar   modern calendar system used by the Jews, which counts the start of each month 

according to a calculation of the astronomical new moon (before the new moon can be seen as a new 

crescent). 

Cenaculum   also referred to as the Cenacle; a small dining room, usually on an upper floor. In the context of 

New Testament events, this refers to the dining room on an upper floor where Christ celebrated the Last 

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