9: The Canon Flashcards
What are the main pillars upon which the proto-orthodox staked their claims?
1st Element: Creed
2nd Element: Hierarchy
3rd Element: Canon
1st Element: Creed
Nicene Creed and Apostles Creed
More or less completely defined what truths should be believed by Christians all over the world at the universal level. If a belief was not in conformity with the Nicene creed, a person was not a correctly-believing Christian, and was therefore heretic.
2nd Element: Hierarchy
The order and hierarchy was clear-cut: those who were leaders could decide at an official level which rules were to be implemented and which books were to be accepted. Frequently, the reasons were theological, but there were also social and political reasons that were very important in their decisions.
The structure was heavily episcopal.
Where does authority reside in the Community?
There are many forms of authority and governance in different Christian communities. This issue is one of the leading causes of division amongst Christians.
How did the canon come to be?
The Bible did not float down from heaven! Instead, there was a long, arduous process before the majority of Christian throughout the ancient world were agreed that certain books should be considered as “Sacred Scripture”
Be familiar with the process by which an official “canon” was adopted in Christianity
Constantine, Emperor of Rome, saw political value in the strong unity of orthodox Christianity, and converted.
If Constantine had not converted, Christianity would not have become the religion of the Roman Empire, and the dominant religion of the West.
Constantine commissioned 50 Bibles to be hand copied for 50 Churches (all of those 50 Bibles are lost)
He commissioned Eusebius to oversee this project, so we can assume that Eusebius included the 18 books he includes in his history
Eusebius was an important figure in the formation of the canon.
Athanasius is the next and most important because he wrote in his 367 Festal Letter the 27 books that he considers as the most Holy Scripture and that his Churches should consider as Holy Scripture (they are the 27 books that were accepted in the NT by universal Christianity, and the OT too).
Athanasius’ Canon was binding LOCALLY, not UNIVERSALLY. Other communities were still free to decide their own lists at this point. Different localities had slight variations on Athanasius’ canon although Athanasius’ list was considered authoritative. Examples: The Syrian Church did not accept 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, The Ethiopian Church added 4 other books
It was only at the Council of Trent in 1546 that an official list of books in the canon was defined with universal value for Roman Catholics.
Only from the 1700s onwards did the Pope have great power that could not be opposed.
Codex Vaticanaus (in the Vatican in Rome)
Codex Sinaiticus (in Egypt)
These are the two most precious and almost complete manuscripts of the Bible that we have today. They only date to the fourth century (the first 250-300 years are lost, and all we have are fragments). They contain disputed books that were not in the list of Eusebius. SO are these even 2 of the 50 books that Constantine commissioned?
When the Muslims conquered Constantinople, there was lots of damage done to Christianity and Christian artifacts
Athanasius’ “Festal Letter” and its significance
367: Athanasius, bishop of ALexandria, issued his annual “festal letter:
There he stated the books that the churches under him should accepts as “Holy Scripture”
They are: the books of the OT and the 27 books now included in the NT
“In these alone the teaching of godliness is proclaimed. Let no one add to these; let nothing be taken away from them.”
In a sense, the CLOSING OF THE CANON
In the ancient world, Kings proclaimed things and scribes would write them down
When it was written, it was written
Athanasius was the leader of his diocese, and his characteristic of the canon became official
The “New School” is against the idea of closing the canon, because when we close the canon to these 27 books, we forget the rich diversity of early Christianity, and that makes us all the poorer of recognizing the various forms of early Christianity
Why were the Hebrew Scriptures included in the Christian canon?
- Jesus and the earliest disciples all thought of the Hebrew Scriptures as “sacred scriptures”
- Acknowledging Christianity’s ancient roots in Judaism gives the religion more credibility because it did not spring out of nowhere, but rather, developed from antiquity
What materials became included in what we now know as the New Testament?
Old Testament
1. Hebrew Scripture
Note: “Old Testament” Controversy
Except for Marcion, there was no other major problem in accepting these books as Christian Sacred Scripture
The Church eventually opposed Marcion, since Jesus and his followers were Jews and accepted the OT
Jesus and the earliest disciples all thought of the Hebrew Scriptures as “sacred scriptures”
New Testament
2. Writings of Jesus
the words and actions of Jesus, the story of how he suffered, died and rose, and the story of how he was born
- Actions and Reflections of the Apostles
the words, actions and reflections of the apostles and their immediate disciples.
e.g. letters of Paul and other prominent disciples, Acts and Revelation
These became the content of what came to be known as the New Testament.
Be familiar with the Muratorian Canon and Eusebius’ Canon
The Muratorian Canon is a document discovered by Ludovico Muratori in Milan and published in 1740. It is the oldest surviving document which deals with a list of New Testament books to be regarded as canonical. Not identical with Athanasius’ list, only has 22 books (excludes Heb. James, 1 and 2 Peter and 3 John).
It lists the different criteria that should be used in order to know which books are okay.
The different criteria used in the Muratorian Canon
- Antiquity: the closer it is to Jesus, the more authoritative. The much-loved The Shepherd of Hermas fails the criterion.
- Apostolicity: a book must deal with Jesus, his direct disciples or their direct disciples
- Catholicity: the book should have enjoyed universal acceptance in the different communities of the Christian world
- Orthodoxy: should conform to the accepted and orthodox faith (as decreed by the councils). Most Important Factor.
We can say that other bishops, including Athanasius, were working on these principles.
The different criteria used in Eusebius’ canon
In his Church History (311 CE), he has different categories of books
1. Acknowledged Books: most of what is in our NT. Although Revelation was not yet universally acknowledged (it became acknowledged because it was thought that John wrote it).
- Disputed Books: James, Jude, 2 Peter, and 2 and 3 John
- Spurious Books: Acts of Paul, Shepherd of Hermas, the Didache, etc.
- Heretical Books: Gospels of Peter, Gospel of Thomas, etc.
What is the significance of the Council of Carthage regarding the canon?
By 397 CE, at the Council of Carthage, we have a list of books that is identical to what we know as the New Testament.
Therefore, we know that as far as the church in North Africa is concerned (Carthage is in North Africa), the matter is settled.
The document states that “the church across the sea (Rome) should be consulted about this confirmation”
We do not have a document which confirms the “confirmation” of Rome but we know that increasingly after this date, the list if books stated by the Council of Carthage is generally acknowledged throughout Christianity.
IMPORTANT: Why do we need a canon?**
In the New Testament, we could still see a remarkable diversity, BUT there are limits to that diversity. If Early Christianity were more tolerant, it would have developed into a less authoritarian, more inclusive and tolerant entity today. Perhaps, that would have been more attractive, but it is not likely that Christianity would be more popular as a result, because if Early Christianity were more tolerant, it might not have survived. It would have become very fragmented and that would have been its demise.
The Canon is the:
1 ) Word of God: All Christian groups are virtually agreed on the immense importance of the New Testament as the Word of God
2 ) Rule of Faith: Another way Christians describe the NT is as the Rule of Faith
The New Testament is also the major basis for the Christian Tradition; everything should be rooted in the New Testament; it functions as a root/source of tradition and theology.
Why were some books accepted and not others?
Suffering and Death. Martyrdom and Suffering of early Christians is an important context; books that presented Jesus’ suffering and death had an advantage.
Jesus. Jesus (in the story) had to lead by example. A Jesus that only teaches (as in the Gnostic gospels) was not attractive.
Authorship. The issue of authorship provided to be the most crucial issue (the earlier the better!). This notion of “apostolic” origin depended on how early Christianity were convinced about the pedigree of a particular work. We know that many things they believed about apostolic authorship are not historically true.
Politics. Politics were very important too.
Little Fragmentation. The Unity of the Empire demanded that fragmentation should be kept minimum Hence, standards of orthodoxy had been drawn up.
