The Coptic calendar, also called the Alexandrian calendar, is a liturgical calendar used by the farming populace in Egypt and used by the Coptic Orthodox and Coptic Catholic churches. It was used for fiscal purposes in Egypt until the adoption of the Gregorian calendar on 11 September 1875 (1st Thout 1592 AM).[1] Like the Julian calendar (and unlike the international Gregorian calendar), the Coptic calendar has a leap year every four years invariably; it does not skip leap years three times every 400 years.[2]
This calendar is based on the ancient Egyptian calendar. This calendar contained only 365 days each year, year after year, so that the date relative to the seasons shifted about one day every four years). To avoid the "creep" of the latter around the seasons, a reform of the ancient Egyptian calendar was introduced at the time of Ptolemy III (Decree of Canopus, in 238 BC) which consisted of adding an extra day every fourth year. However, this reform was opposed by the Egyptian priests, and the reform was not adopted until the Roman Emperor Augustus decreed that Egypt must adopt the system as its official calendar.[3][bettersourceneeded][a]
To distinguish it from the Ancient Egyptian calendar, which remained in use by some astronomers until medieval times, this reformed calendar is known as the Coptic or Alexandrian calendar and its epoch (first day of first year) equates to 29 August 284AD. The neighbouring Ethiopian calendar is very similar to the Coptic calendar, except that it has a different epoch (29 August, 8AD) and different names for the days of the week and months of the year.[2] Like the Julian calendar (and unlike the international Gregorian calendar), the Coptic calendar has a leap year every four years invariably; it does not skip leap years three times every 400 years.[2]
The Coptic year is the extension of the ancient Egyptian civil year, retaining its subdivision into the three seasons, four months each. The three seasons are commemorated by special prayers in the Coptic Liturgy. This calendar is still in use all over Egypt by farmers to keep track of the various agricultural seasons.[4]
The Coptic calendar has 13 months, 12 of 30 days each and one at the end of the year of five days (six days in leap years). The Coptic Leap Year follows the same rules as the Julian Calendar so that the extra month always has six days in the year before a Julian Leap Year.[5]
The year starts on the Feast of Neyrouz, the first day of the month of Thout, the first month of the Egyptian year. For 1900 to 2099 it coincides with the Gregorian Calendar's 11 September, or 12 September before a leap year. For any year, it coincides with the Julian Calendar's 29 August, or 30 August before a leap year. Coptic years are counted from 284AD,[2] the year Diocletian became Roman Emperor, whose reign was marked by tortures and mass executions of Christians, especially in Egypt.[5] Hence, the Coptic year is identified by the abbreviation A.M. (for Anno Martyrum or "in the Year of the Martyrs"). The first day of the first year of the Coptic era was 29 August 284 in the Julian calendar.[b] To obtain the Coptic year number, subtract from the Julian year number either 283 (before the Julian new year) or 284 (after it).
Easter
The date of Easter is determined the same way as is done by the Orthodox churches.[2]
In Coptic Christendom, the feast of Christmas is observed on 29 Koiak of the Coptic calendar (25 December (Julian), 7 January Gregorian.[6])
Coptic months
The following table refers to dates for Coptic years not containing 29 February. Such years are preceded by a Coptic leap day at the end of the preceding year. This causes dates to move one day later in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars from the Coptic New Year's Day until the leap day of the Julian or Gregorian Calendar respectively.
↑ The date of the decree is unknown: the mid-20s BC is conjectured not supported by reliable evidence.[3]
↑ The abbreviation A.M. is also used for unrelated calendar eras (such as the Freemasonic and Jewish calendar epochs) which start at the putative creation of the world; it then stands for Anno Mundi.
1 2 Fr Tadros Y Malaty (1988). The Coptic Calendar and Church of Alexandria (Report). The Monastery of St. Macarius Press, The Desert of Scete. Archived from the original on 13 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
↑ Fr. John Ramzy. "The Glorious Feast of Nativity: 7 January? 29 Kiahk? 25 December?". Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. Archived from the original on 2002-06-20. states that Christmas has always been celebrated on 29 Kiahk in the Coptic calendar, and that this is equivalent to 25 December in the Julian calendar (until 2100, 7 January Gregorian).
↑ Černý, Jaroslav (1976). Coptic Etymological Dictionary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-0-521-07228-1.
↑ Vycichl, Werner (1983). Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue Copte. Leuven: Peeters. ISBN978-2-8017-0197-3.
↑ Hinds, Martin; Badawi, El-Said (1986). A Dictionary of Egyptian Arabic: Arabic-English. Beirut: Librairie du Liban. ISBN978-0-8288-0434-9.
↑ Crum, W.E. (1939). A Coptic Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p.54.
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