Canonical Lists of the Books
of Scripture and Commentary on the Deuterocanonical Books
Canon LXXXV of the Holy
Apostles
To all
you Clergymen and Laymen let the following books be venerable and sacred: Of
the Old Testament, the five of Moses, namely, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, and Deuteronomy; the one of Jesus of Nave (commonly called Joshua in
English); the one of Judges; the one of Ruth; the four of the Kingdoms; two
Paralipomena of the Book of Days; two of Esdras, one of Esther; three of the
Maccabees; one of Job; one Psalter (commonly called the Psalms in English and
also in Greek); three of Solomon, namely, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song
of Songs; twelve of the Prophets; one of Isaiah; one of Jeremiah; one of
Ezekiel; one of Daniel; outside of these is permissible for you to recount in
addition thereto also the Wisdom of very learned Sirach by way of teaching your
younger folks. Our own books, that is to say, those of the New Testament,
comprising four Gospels, namely, that of Matthew, of Mark, of Luke, and of
John; fourteen Epistles of Paul; two Epistles of Peter, three Epistles of John;
one of James; one of Jude; two Epistles of Clement; and the Injunctions
addressed to you Bishops through me, Clement, in eight books, (which ought not
to be divulged to all on account of the secret matters they contain) and the
Acts of us Apostles.
Canon XXXII of
It
has pleased the Council to prohibit the reading of anything besides the
canonical Scriptures in church under color of divine Scriptures. The canonical
Scriptures are the following, to wit: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
Deuteronomy, Joshua the son of Nun, Judges, Reigns 4, Paralipomena 2 books,
Job, the Psalter, the 4 books of Solomon, the 12 books of the Prophets, Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Tobit, Judith, Esther, the 2 books of Ezra; of the
New Testament, the 4 Gospels, Acts of the Apostles (one book), the 14 Epistles
of Paul, the 2 of Peter the Apostle, the 3 of John the Apostle, the 1 of James
the Apostle, the 1 of Jude the Apostle, the Revelation of John (1 book).
The Canon of St. Gregory
the Theologian
“Be
not disposed to treat books with the mind of a thief,
For
there are many pieces of viciousness interpolated therein.
“Accept
this number, my friend, from me as the approved list:
Of
historical books there are but twelve all told;
“They
are the products of the most ancient, Hebrew wisdom.
The
first one is Genesis, then comes Exodus, then Leviticus,
“Followed
by Numbers, next by Deuteronomy, or the Second Law,
After
which come Joshua, and Judges, and Ruth, which is the eighth;
“The
ninth and tenth books are the Acts of the Kings;
Then
come the two Chronicles, and lastly thou hast Ezra.
“The
poetical books are five, of which the first is Job,
The
next is David, followed by the three books of Solomon,
“Ecclesiastes,
the Song of Songs, and Proverbs.
And
five likewise are of a prophetic spirit.
“One
book in Scripture is formed of twelve as follows:
Hosea,
and Amos, and Micah, which is the third one;
“Afterwards
come Joel, then Jonah, and then Obadiah;
The
next ones are Nahum, and Habakkuk, and Zephaniah;
“The
last three of them are Haggai, and Zechariah, and Malachi.
These
forming one book, the second book is Isaiah.
“Afterwards
comes the one called Jeremiah in his infancy,
Next
thereafter Ezekiel, and the grace of Daniel.
“Of
the ancient Scripture I have listed twenty-two books;
These
writings of the Hebrews are opposed by twenty-two others.
“Now
let us count those of the New Mystery:
Matthew
wrote the miracles of Christ to the Hebrews.
“Mark
wrote them to
And
to all men John the great preacher who visited heaven.
“Afterwards
come the Acts of the wise Apostles,
Ten
books are Paul’s, and so are four Epistles.
“There
are seven Epistles Catholic, of which that of James is one,
Two
are those of Peter, and three are those of John again.
“The
seventh is that of Jude, and thou hast them all.
if
any be found outside of these, they are not genuine.”
Canon of St. Amphilochius
“Nevertheless,
there is another thing thou oughtest to learn “More than anything else. That
not every book is safe, “Though possessing the venerable name of Scripture.
“For there are, there are indeed at times books “With a false title, some of
them being middle ground and, “So to speak, neighbors bordering upon the word of
truth. “Others again are spurious and exceeding misleading, “Like decorations
hung on the breast and counterfeit coins “Which bear the inscription of the
Emperor, true enough, “But which are proved to be counterfeit by their
materials. “Since thou hast the grace to ask which books are God-inspired,
“Thus shalt thou learn clearly each book in order. “I will tell thee those of
the Odd Testament: “The Pentateuch, comprising Genesis, or Creation, then
Exodus, “And containing the Book of Leviticus in the middle; “After which come
Numbers, and then The Second Book of Laws. “Add to these Joshua and the Judges.
“Afterwards Ruth and the four books of the Kings. “Following these come at
least the two books of Chronicles. “Next thereafter the first and the second of
Ezra. “Next I will tell thee five poetical books. “That of Job, who was crowned
with achievements, suffering much, “The Book of Psalms, full of songs to
benefit souls; “Three books of Solomon the Wise, comprising Proverbs,
“Ecclesiastes, and another the Song of Songs. “Right now to these Prophets add
the twelve I name: “Hosea first, then Amos second, “Micah, Joel, Obadiah, and
the type “Of the three days’ passion called Jonah; “Nahum, and after him
Habakkuk; then the ninth “Zephaniah; and nextly Haggai and Zechariah; “And
finally the angel of two names Malachi. “After whom thou shalt learn the four
great Prophets, “Namely, Isaiah the great speaker who speaks out boldly,
“Jeremiah, who is sympathetic and mystical, “Ezekiel; and last of all of them
Daniel, “The same who is wisest in deeds and words. “In addition to these some
approve of Esther. “Of the New Testament now let me tell thee the books.
“Accept only four Evangelists, and none other ones; “Namely: Matthew, then
Mark, and third after these Luke, “Count close, take time, and add to these
three “As the fourth one John, but first in sublimity of dogmas; “For I
naturally and fitly call him a son of thunder, “Who in speech has sounded
loudest and greatest to God. “But accept also the second book of Luke, namely,
“That of the catholic Acts of the Apostles. “Thereupon add the ‘chosen vessel,’
“The preacher and Apostle to the heathen nations, “Paul, who wrote wisely to
the Churches “Twice seven Epistles, and to the Romans one. “To the latter one
must conjoin two to the Corinthians, “That to the Galatians, and that to the
Ephesians; “After which that to the Philippians, that written “To the
Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, “And one each to Timothy, Titus, and
Philemon; “Besides which the one wrongly called spurious “To the Hebrews, for
the grace of it is genuine. “Well. What about the Epistles Catholic? “Some say
there are seven of them, and some only three. “We must accept that of James as
one; “That of Peter as one, of those of John one, “Though some say the three of
them, and in addition thereto “They accept the two of Peter; and that of Jude
as the seventh. “As for the Book of Revelation of John again, “Some approve it,
but at least a majority call it spurious. “This should be a most truthful canon
of the God-inspired Scriptures.”
The 3rd Canonical Epistle
of St. Athanasius the Great.
But
inasmuch as we have mentioned heretics as dead persons, and ourselves as having
salvation in the divine Scriptures, I fear lest, as Paul wrote to the
Corinthians (II Cor. 11:3). some of the honest ones be led astray from
simplicity and chastity by the craftiness of men, and thereafter begin relying
upon other things, the so-called apocrypha, deceived by the likeness of the
titles with the names of the true books, I beg you to be tolerant if what
things I am writing about with a view to their necessity and usefulness to the
Church are things which you already know and understand thoroughly. Since I am
about to state these things, by way of excusing my boldness in doing so I shall
make use of the formula of St. Luke the Evangelist, who himself says:
“Forasmuch as many men have taken in hand to set forth in due order a
declaration on their part (Luke 1:1) of the so-called apocrypha and to intermix
these with God-inspired Scripture, concerning which we have full confidence,
just as those who were eye-witnesses and servants of the Logos in the beginning
have handed down the facts by tradition to the Fathers, it has seemed good to
me too to set forth, at the express request of genuine brethren and after
learning the following facts from above, the rules which have been laid down as
canons and delivered as teachings and believed to be divine books, in order
that anyone, if deceived, may lay the blame on those who deceived him, or if he
has remained clean and pure, he may rejoice again in finding himself reminded
thereof. Now, therefore, be it said that the total number of books in the Old
Testament is twenty-two; for, as I have been told, such is precisely the number
of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. In order and by name each of them stands as
follows. First comes Genesis, then Exodus, then Leviticus, and after this
Numbers, and thereupon Deuteronomy. The rest of them are: Joshua of Nun, and
Judges, and after this Ruth. And again the next are Kingdoms, four books; of
which the first and the second are counted together as one, and the third and
the fourth likewise as one. After these come Paralipomena (or Chronicles, first
and second, likewise counted as one book. The Esdras, first and second,
likewise counted as one. After these comes the Book of Psalms, and thereupon
Proverbs. Then Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs. In addition to these there
is the book of Job. This followed by the Prophets, the twelve of which are
counted as one book. Then come Isaiah and Jeremiah, and together with the
latter are Baruch, Lamentations, and the Epistle, and with them are also
Ezekiel and Daniel. Up to this point those enumerated have been books of the
Old Testament. Those of the New Testament, again, must not be left out of the
reckoning. They are: Four Gospels, according to Matthew, according to Mark,
according to Luke, according to John; 1 then and after these come the Acts of
the Apostles and the seven so-called catholic (or general) Epistles of the
Apostles, these being as follows: of James, one; of Peter, two; then of John,
three; and of Jude, one. In addition to all these there are also fourteen
Epistles of St. Paul the Apostle, which are found written in the following
order: the first one to the Romans; then to the Corinthians, two; and after
these the one to the Galatians and one to the Ephesians, then one to the
Philippians, and one to the Colossians, and two to the Thessalonians; after
which comes the Epistle to the Hebrews, and thereupon come two Epistles to
Timothy, one to Titus, and lastly one to Philemon; 2 and, again, the Revelation
of John. These are all sources of salvation, so that anyone thirsting should
take pains to fill himself with the sayings and facts recorded therein. In
these alone it is that one may find a teaching ground on which to proclaim the
good tidings of the Gospel, and to acquire the religion of piety. Let no one
superimpose anything thereon, nor delete anything therefrom. Concerning these
the Lord rebuked the Sadducees by saying: “Ye do err, not knowing the
Scriptures, nor their powers” (Matt. 22:29; Mark 2:24, John 5:31).
Nevertheless, for the sake of greater exactness, I add also this, writing as I
do the fact as a matter of necessity, that, there are also other books than
these outside of the list herein given, which, though not canonically
sanctioned, are to be found formally prescribed by the Fathers to be read to
those who have just joined and are willing to be catechized with respect to the
word of piety, namely: the Wisdom of Solomon; the Wisdom of Sirach; and Esther,
and Judith, and Tobias; and the so-called Didache (i.e., salutary teaching) of
the Apostles,1 and the Shepherd.2 And yet, dear readers, both with those
canonically sanctioned and these recommended to be read, there is no mention of
the Apocrypha; but, on, the contrary, the latter are an invention of heretics
who were writing them as they pleased, assigning and adding to them dates and
years, in order that, by offering them as ancient documents, they might have a
pretext for deceiving honest persons as a consequence thereof.
The Synod of Jerusalem (1672) (from the
Confession of St. Dositheus):
What
Books do you call Sacred Scripture?
Following
the rule of the Catholic Church, we call Sacred Scripture all those which Cyril
[Lucar] collected from the Synod of Laodicea, and enumerated, adding thereto
those which he foolishly, and ignorantly, or rather maliciously called
Apocrypha; to wit, “The Wisdom of Solomon,” “Judith,” “Tobit,” “The History of
the Dragon,” “The History of Susanna,” “The Maccabees,” and “The Wisdom of
Sirach.” For we judge these also to be with the other genuine Books of Divine
Scripture genuine parts of Scripture. For ancient custom, or rather the
Catholic Church, which hath delivered to us as genuine the Sacred Gospels and
the other Books of Scripture, hath undoubtedly delivered these also as parts of
Scripture, and the denial of these is the rejection of those. And if, perhaps,
it seemeth that not always have all been by all reckoned with the others, yet
nevertheless these also have been counted and reckoned with the rest of
Scripture, as well by Synods, as by how many of the most ancient and eminent Theologians of the
Catholic Church; all of which we also judge to be Canonical Books, and confess
them to be Sacred Scripture.
31. How many are the books of the Old Testament?
St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St.
Athanasius the Great, and St. John Damascene reckon them at twenty-two,
agreeing therein with the Jews, who so reckon them in the original Hebrew
tongue. (Athanas. Ep. xxxix. De Test.; J. Damasc. Theol. lib. iv.
c. 17.)
32. Why should we attend to the reckoning of the
Hebrews?
Because, as the Apostle Paul
says, unto them were committed the oracles of God; and the sacred books of the
Old Testament have been received from the Hebrew Church of that Testament by
the Christian Church of the New. Rom. iii. 2.
33. How do St. Cyril and St. Athanasius enumerate the
books of the Old Testament?
As follows: 1, The book of
Genesis; 2, Exodus; 3, Leviticus; 4, the book of Numbers; 5, Deuteronomy; 6, the
book of Jesus the son of Nun; 7, the book of Judges, and with it, as an
appendix, the book of Ruth; 8, the first and second books of Kings, as two
parts of one book; 9, the third and fourth books of Kings; 10, the first and
second books of Paralipomena; 11, the first book of Esdras, and the second, or,
as it is entitled in Greek, the book of Nehemiah; 12, the book of Esther; 13,
the book of Job; 14, the Psalms; 15, the Proverbs of Solomon; 16, Ecclesiastes,
also by Solomon; 17, the Song of Songs, also by Solomon; 18, the book of the
Prophet Isaiah; 19, of Jeremiah; 20, of Ezekiel; 21, of Daniel; 22, of the
Twelve Prophets.
34. Why is there no notice taken in this enumeration
of the books of the Old Testament of the book of the Wisdom of the son of
Sirach, and of certain others?
Because they do not exist in
the Hebrew.
35. How are we to regard these last-named books?
Athanasius the Great says
that they have been appointed of the Fathers to be read by proselytes who are
preparing for admission into the Church.
Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy, The
Law of God, on the Deuterocanonical books:
Besides the
canonical books, a part of the Old Testament is composed of non-canonical
books, sometimes called Apochrypha among non-Orthodox. These are books which the Jews lost and which
are not in the contemporary Hebrew text of the Old Testament. They are found in the Greek translations of
the Old Testament, made by the 70 translators of the Septuagint three centuries
before the birth of Christ (271 B.C.).
These book have been included in the Bible from ancient times and are
considered by the Church to be sacred Scripture. The translation of the Septuagint is accorded
special respect in the Orthodox Church.
The Slavonic translation of the Bible was made from it.
To the
non-canonical books of the Old Testament belong:
1. Tobit
2. Judith
3. The Wisdom of
Solomon
4.
Ecclesiasticus, or the Wisdom of Sirach
5. Baruch
6. Three books of
Maccabees
7. The Second and
Third book of Esdras
8. The additions
to the (Book of Esther,) II Chronicles (The Prayer of Manasseh) and Daniel (The
Song of the Youths, Susanna and Bel and the Dragon).”
(Archpriest
Seraphim Slobodskoy, The Law Of God: For
Study at Home and School—Jordanville, NY: Holy Trinity Monastery, 1996, p.
423.)
Fr. Michael Pomazansky, Orthodox Dogmatic Theology on
the Deuterocanonical Books:
The Church recognizes 38
books of the Old Testament. After the example of the Old Testament Church,
several of these books are joined to form a single book, bringing the number to
twenty-two books, according to the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet.
These books, which were entered at some time into the Hebrew canon, are called
"canonical." To them are joined a group of "non-canonical"
books-that is, those which were not included in the Hebrew canon because they
were written after the closing of the canon of the sacred Old Testament books.
The Church accepts these latter books also as useful and instructive and in
antiquity assigned them for instructive reading not only in homes but also in
churches, which is why they have been called "ecclesiastical." The
Church includes these books in a single volume of the Bible together with the
canonical books. As a source of the teaching of the faith, the Church puts them
in a secondary place and looks on them as an appendix to the canonical books.
Certain of them are so close in merit to the Divinely-inspired books that, for
example, in the 85th Apostolic Canon the three books of Maccabees and the book
of Joshua the son of Sirach are numbered together with the canonical books,
and, concerning all of them together it is said that they are "venerable
and holy." However, this means only that they were respected in the
ancient Church; but a distinction between the canonical and non-canonical books
of the Old Testament has always been maintained in the Church.
Comparisons of Canonical Lists:
A
Table Depicting Old Testament Books Recognized as Canonical By Various
Christian Churches
Comparison of the Texts of
the Major Versions