Secular princes did use to indict, or permit the
indiction of, synods of bishops. --Jer. Taylor.
Note: This mode of reckoning time is said to have been
introduced by Constantine the Great, in connection with
the payment of tribute. It was adopted at various times
by the Greek emperors of Constantinople, the popes, and
the parliaments of France. Through the influence of the
popes, it was extensively used in the ecclesiastical
chronology of the Middle Ages. The number of indictions
was reckoned at first from 312 a. d., but since the
twelfth century it has been reckoned from the birth of
Christ. The papal indiction is the only one ever used
at the present day. To find the indiction and year of
the indiction by the first method, subtract 312 from
the given year a. d., and divide by 15; by the second
method, add 3 to the given year a. d., and the divide
by 15. In either case, the quotient is the number of
the current indiction, and the remainder the year of
the indiction. See {Cycle of indiction}, under {Cycle}.