Annates (Latin: annatae, from annus, "year") were a payment from the recipient of an ecclesiastical benefice to the ordaining authorities. Eventually, they consisted of half or the whole of the first year's profits of a benefice; after the appropriation of right of consecration by the Vatican, they were paid to the papal treasury, ostensibly as a proffered contribution to the church. They were also known as the "First Fruits"' (primitiae), a concept which dates back to earlier Greek, Roman, and Hebrew religions.