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Why is the Ethiopian calendar 7–8 years different from the calendar we use today?
Updated: Jul 26
How two Christian chronologies came to number the years differently
The Ethiopian calendar is often described as seven or eight years “behind” the Gregorian calendar. However, it is not behind in the sense of being less advanced. It follows a different Christian chronology and therefore numbers the years from a different calculation of the Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Both Ethiopian and Western Christian traditions date back years from the Incarnation of Christ, but they inherited different historical calculations for their starting point. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church preserves an ancient Alexandrian chronology, while the Anno Domini system widely used in the West developed from the calculations of Dionysius Exiguus in the sixth century.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Calculation of the Incarnation
In the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo tradition, it is taught that Our Lord was born 5,500 years after the creation of the world. This belongs to an ancient form of Christian sacred chronology, often called Anno Mundi, meaning “in the year of the world.”
Around the beginning of the fifth century, the Alexandrian chronographer Annianus developed a chronology based on biblical history and the Incarnation. His calculation differed from the chronology that later became widely adopted in Western Europe. The Ethiopian Era of the Incarnation preserves this ancient Alexandrian approach to numbering the Christian years.
The Ethiopian year count is therefore not the result of missing or losing several years. It reflects a distinct Christian understanding of where the numbered era should begin.
Both Christian chronologies seek to number the years in relation to the Incarnation of Our Lord—a sacred mystery made visible in K. Haile Maskel’s Christmas Carol.
The Western Calculation of Dionysius Exiguus
The Gregorian calendar used internationally today follows the Anno Domini, or AD, system for numbering its years.
This method was introduced by Dionysius Exiguus, a sixth-century monk working in Rome. In AD 525, while preparing tables for calculating the date of Easter, Dionysius numbered the years in relation to the Incarnation of Our Lord rather than continuing to use an era associated with the Roman emperor Diocletian.
The system was gradually adopted more widely in Western Europe and was later retained when the Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582.
Dionysius’s calculation and the Alexandrian calculation preserved in Ethiopia placed the beginning of the Christian era several years apart. As a result, the same moment in time is given a different year number in the two calendars.
Why the Difference Changes Between Seven and Eight Years
The difference between the Ethiopian and Gregorian year numbers is sometimes seven years and sometimes eight years because the two calendars begin their new years at different times.
The Gregorian year begins on 1 January, while the Ethiopian New Year, Enkutatash, normally falls on 11 September and occasionally on 12 September.
From January until the Ethiopian New Year in September, the Ethiopian year number is eight years lower than the Gregorian year number. After the Ethiopian New Year, the difference becomes seven years until the next Gregorian year begins.
For example, during most of 2026, before Enkutatash, the Ethiopian calendar is in 2018. At the Ethiopian New Year in September 2026, it becomes 2019.
It is therefore more accurate to say that the Ethiopian calendar is seven to eight years different from the Gregorian calendar rather than simply saying that it is “behind.”
More Than a Difference in Numbers
The difference between the two calendars is not simply a mathematical curiosity. Both chronologies developed within Christian traditions seeking to place human history in relation to the Incarnation of Our Lord.
For the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the calendar remains part of a living spiritual tradition. It shapes fasting, feasting, worship and the remembrance of Christ, Saint Mary, the angels and the saints throughout the year.
The year number, therefore, carries more than just a historical date. It connects the passage of time with sacred history and the life of the Church.
Sacred Time Made Visible Through Art
For Konjo Arts, the Ethiopian calendar is not only a method of calculating dates. It belongs to a Christian tradition in which time is understood through the Gospel, worship and sacred remembrance.
Ethiopian Orthodox iconography makes this understanding visible. Paintings of the Annunciation, the Nativity and the Holy Family remind us that Christian sacred time is centred on the mystery of God entering human history.
Through the artwork of K. Haile Maskel, these events are expressed through radiant colour, symbolic composition and recognisable figures. Sacred chronology therefore becomes more than something to calculate—it becomes something that can be seen, remembered and passed from one generation to another.
This reflects the direction of Konjo Arts: preserving Ethiopian Orthodox iconography, sharing spiritual teaching through beauty and bringing sacred tradition into everyday life.
Understanding the Ethiopian Calendar
The Ethiopian calendar is not seven or eight years different because it developed more slowly or lost part of its history. It preserves a different ancient Christian chronology.
The Ethiopian Orthodox tradition follows an Alexandrian calculation of the Incarnation, while the Western Anno Domini system developed from the work of Dionysius Exiguus. Because these two traditions selected different starting points for numbering the Christian era, their current year numbers differ.
Understanding this history allows us to see the Ethiopian calendar not as an unusual version of the Gregorian calendar, but as a living expression of Ethiopia’s ancient Christian heritage.
Continue Exploring the Ethiopian Calendar
Explore Ethiopian Sacred Art
Discover Ethiopian Orthodox iconography by K. Haile Maskel, created to inspire reflection and bring sacred tradition into everyday life.
Sources and Further Reading
Display the sources separately rather than in one compressed paragraph:
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Religious Holidays and Calendar
Annianus of Alexandria and the Alexandrian Era of the Incarnation
Dionysius Exiguus and the development of Anno Domini dating
A Handbook of Dates for Students of British History, Cambridge University Press
Ethiopian Embassy, The Ethiopian Calendar
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