\In*dic"tion\, n. [L. indictio: cf. F. indiction. See
{Indict}, {Indite}.]
1. Declaration; proclamation; public notice or appointment.
   [Obs.] ``Indiction of a war.'' --Bacon.
         Secular princes did use to indict, or permit the
         indiction of, synods of bishops.      --Jer. Taylor.
2. A cycle of fifteen years.
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}.