(Latin indictio, a declaring) is a term which designates "a chronological system, including a circle of fifteen years:
(1) the Caesarean, used long in France and Germany, beginning on Sept. 24;
(2) the Constantinopolitan, used in the East from the time of Anastasius, and beginning Sept. 1; and
(3) the Papal, reckoned from Jan. 1,313. The Council of Antioch, 341, first gives a documentary date, the 14th indiction. The computation prevailed in Syria in the fifth century, and is mentioned by Ambrose as existing at Rome. It is, however, asserted that in the West, the East, and Egypt, with the exception of Africa, the indictions, until the 16th century, were reckoned from Sept. 1, 312, and that they commenced in Egypt in the time of Constantine." — Walcott, Sacred Archaeology, p. 327; see also Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 2, 141. (See CYCLE).
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More