Origo Bibliorum Sanctorum

ORIGO BIBLIORUM SANCTORUM

Amici,

Protestors say that they believe the Bible is inerrant and that the Bible is the only authority for spiritual truth. The first part of what they say is true and correct: the Bible is without error. Yet these same protestors reject the very Church which determined what books would be in the Bible and what books would not be. The second part of what they say is false: the Bible is the only authority for spiritual truth. In point of fact, both Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium of the Church are authoritative, especially since it was on the basis of these that the Church determined what would be in the Bible and what would not be. Therefore, if someone says that he accepts the authority of the Bible, then by definition he must accept the authority of Sacred Tradition and the authority of the Church. If he rejects either of the last two, then when he says he accepts only the authority of the Bible, he is a hypocrite and a heretic.

THE CHURCH: THE PILLAR AND BULWARK OF TRUTH

St. Paul writes in 1st Timothy 3:15 the following:

“…if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.”

It is the Church, NOT Sacred Scripture, which is the pillar and bulwark of the truth. Sacred Scripture records that truth but it is NOT that truth. There is a difference between a record and that which is recorded. Therefore, if it is accepted that Sacred Scripture records the truth, and if the Church according to that Scripture is the pillar and bulwark of that truth, then everyone – Protestants, Orthodox and Catholic – is obligated to give assent to the Church.

TRADITION: BOTH VERBAL AND WRITTEN ARE AUTHORITATIVE

St. Paul writes in 2nd Thessalonians 2:15 the following:

“So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter.”

Tradition then is authoritative and must be obeyed, whether verbal or written. To reject the authority of the Sacred Tradition of the Church is to reject Sacred Scripture which admonishes us to adhere to Tradition. Therefore, if it is accepted that Sacred Scripture records the truth, then everyone – Protestants, Orthodox and Catholic – is obligated to accept as authoritative the past 2000 years of the Church’s Sacred Tradition.

SCRIPTURE: CONTENT AT THE TIME OF CHRIST

At the time of Christ, the Scriptures held to be sacred and divine were those recorded in the Septuagint, a translation into Koine Greek of the books in the Old Testament completed by 70 scholars in Alexandria, Egypt in 132 BC. It was this translation which the writers of the New Testament quoted throughout the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles and Revelation. Therefore, it is stipulated that the books in this translated were regarded by Jesus, His disciples and St. Paul as canonical. These included the standard 66 books recognized by the protestors of the 16th century as well as 1st and 2nd Maccabees, Judith, Tobit, Baruch, Wisdom and Sirach. Yet in spite of the fact that Jesus Himself and his disciples accepted these books, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and the other protestors rejected them on their own cognizance. They defied the Church and the Holy Spirit Who inspired the Church on what to accept and what to reject as canonical.

SCRIPTURE: DETERMINED BY THE CHURCH

The content of the New Testament was written by the Apostles in the 1st century AD, but there was a lot of controversy over what was canonical and what was not canonical in the first 400 years of the Church. Some noteworthy and salutary books like the Shepherd of Hermas, the Didache, and the letters of Clement, were highly regarded and read as Scripture in some of the local Churches. Others, like the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Judas, were Gnostic and clearly heretical; these were rejected outright. And still others such as the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Epistle of St. Jude and the Book of Revelation, while regarded as canonical today, were not always accepted by every local Church in the first few centuries after Christ. So how and when did the Church Universal (i.e., Catholic) – the undivided Church of East (Orthodox) and West (Roman) – decide on which books would be accepted as canonical and which would not be? The Church did in the late 4th century AD what She had done to decide the problem of Judaizers in 1st century AD as recorded in Acts 15:6-29. She held a Council of the Bishops and Presbyters (i.e., Priests). Actually, she held two councils: one at Rome in AD 382 and another at Carthage in AD 397. The relevant text of the proceedings of these Councils is reproduced below. The reader must bear in mind, however, that the names given to the books of the Old Testament in this text are their Greek versions given in the Septuagint vice their original Hebrew or Aramaic versions to which the Protestants default in their publications. That is because Jesus and His Apostles, and hence the early Church used the Septuagint.

STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL OF ROME IN AD 382 ON SACRED SCRIPTURE

It is likewise decreed: Now, indeed, we must treat of the divine Scriptures: what the universal Catholic Church accepts and what she must shun.

The list of the Old Testament begins: Genesis, one book; Exodus, one book: Leviticus, one book; Numbers, one book; Deuteronomy, one book; Jesus Nave, one book [Joshua]; of Judges, one book; Ruth, one book; of Kings, four books [1st & 2nd Samuel and 1st & 2nd Kings]; Paralipomenon, two books [1st & 2nd Chronicles]; One Hundred and Fifty Psalms, one book; of Solomon, three books: Proverbs, one book; Ecclesiastes, one book; Canticle of Canticles, one book; likewise, Wisdom, one book; Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), one book; Likewise, the list of the Prophets: Isaiah, one book; Jeremias, one book; along with Cinoth, that is, his Lamentations; Ezechiel, one book; Daniel, one book; Osee [Hosea], one book; Amos, one book; Micheas, one book; Joel, one book; Abdias, one book; Jonas, one book; Nahum, one book; Habacuc, one book; Sophonias [Zephaniah], one book; Aggeus [Haggai], one book; Zacharias, one book; Malachias, one book. Likewise, the list of histories: Job, one book; Tobias, one book; Esdras, two books [Ezra and Nehemiah]; Esther, one book; Judith, one book; of Maccabees, two books.

Likewise, the list of the Scriptures of the New and Eternal Testament, which the holy and Catholic Church receives: of the Gospels, one book according to Matthew, one book according to Mark, one book according to Luke, one book according to John.

The Epistles of the Apostle Paul, fourteen in number: one to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, one to the Ephesians, two to the Thessalonians, one to the Galatians, one to the Philippians, one to the Colossians, two to Timothy, one to Titus one to Philemon, one to the Hebrews.

Likewise, one book of the Apocalypse of John. And the Acts of the Apostles, one book.

Likewise, the canonical Epistles, seven in number: of the Apostle Peter, two Epistles; of the Apostle James, one Epistle; of the Apostle John, one Epistle; of the other John, a Presbyter, two Epistles; of the Apostle Jude the Zealot, one Epistle.

Thus concludes the canon of the New Testament.

Likewise it is decreed: After the announcement of all of these prophetic and evangelic or as well as apostolic writings which we have listed above as Scriptures, on which, by the grace of God, the Catholic Church is founded, we have considered that it ought to be announced that although all the Catholic Churches spread abroad through the world comprise but one bridal chamber of Christ, nevertheless, the holy Roman Church has been placed at the forefront not by the conciliar decisions of other Churches, but has received the primacy by the evangelic voice of our Lord and Savior, who says: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it; and I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you shall have bound on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall have loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL OF CARTHAGE IN AD 397

It was also determined that besides the Canonical Scriptures nothing be read in the Church under the title of divine Scriptures. The Canonical Scriptures are these: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua the son of Nun, Judges, Ruth, four books of Kings [1st & 2nd Samuel, and 1st and 2nd Kings], two books of Paraleipomena [1st & 2nd Chronicles], Job, the Psalter, five books of Solomon, the books of the twelve prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezechiel, Daniel, Tobit, Judith, Esther, two books of Esdras [Ezra and Nehemiah], two books of the Maccabees. Of the New Testament: four books of the Gospels, one book of the Acts of the Apostles, thirteen Epistles of the Apostle Paul, one epistle of the same [writer] to the Hebrews, two Epistles of the Apostle Peter, three of John, one of James, one of Jude, one book of the Apocalypse of John. Let this be made known also to our brother and fellow-priest Boniface, or to other bishops of those parts, for the purpose of confirming that Canon, because we have received from our fathers that those books must be read in the Church. Let it also be allowed that the Passions of Martyrs be read when their festivals are kept.