Early
Calendars
Dennis
the
Small
,
a
6th
century
expert
on
canon
law
,
has
had
an
enduring
,
if
unsung
,
(
1
)
____________________
on
the
affairs
of
the
modern
world
.
It
was
(
2
)
____________________
to
his
calculations
that
the
precise
timing
of
the
2000th
anniversary
of
Christ's
birth
was
recently
confirmed
beyond
(
3
)
____________________
.
Dionysus
Exiguus
,
as
he
was
then
(
4
)
____________________
,
was
charged
in
525
by
Pope
John
I
with
setting
dates
in
the
Christian
calendar
.
Though
he
was
a
good
mathematician
,
the
accuracy
of
Dennis'
calculations
was
limited
by
the
information
(
5
)
____________________
at
the
time
.
Establishing
the
exact
(
6
)
____________________
of
Christ's
crucifixion
-
and
therefore
that
of
Easter
-
(
7
)
____________________
an
especially
difficult
challenge
.
Theologians
had
decreed
that
Easter
should
be
marked
on
the
Sunday
after
the
first
full
(
8
)
____________________
after
the
vernal
equinox
,
but
without
accurate
solar
and
lunar
calendars
how
could
the
church
fathers
predict
the
dates
in
the
future
?
