Pope Benedict says in a new book that Jesus was born earlier than commonly believed, suggesting the entire Christian calendar is based on a miscalculation, London's
Telegraph reports.
The error was made by a 6th century monk named Dennis the Small. The pontiff says in his new book 'Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives', that the monk was off by several years.
"The calculation of the beginning of our calendar – based on the birth of Jesus – was made by Dionysius Exiguus (Dennis the Small), who made a mistake in his calculations by several years," the Pope writes in the book which was published Wednesday around the world. "The actual date of Jesus's birth was several years before."
Dennis the Small created the current Christian calendar which has been accepted historically, although many scholars share the Pope's view that he was off by several years as no one knows exactly how he calculated the date of Jesus' birth. Most scholars believe Jesus was born between 6 BC and 4 BC.
Christ's birth date is not the only controversy raised by the Pope in his new book; he says there were no oxen or other animals in the nativity scene at Jesuss birth and he rejects the notion that some scholars have suggested, that Jesus was born in Nazareth, not Bethlehem.
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