Council of Trent

A list of writings in the original Bible as defined by the Council of Rome (A.D. 382). The councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage III (397) defined the very same canon. The Orthodox have added to it, Protestants have subtracted from it.

The order of the Old Testament books begins here:

Genesis, one book
Exodus, one book
Leviticus, one book
Numbers, one book
Deuteronomy, one book
Joshua Nave, one book
Judges, one book
Ruth, one book
Kings, four books [= 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings]
Paralipomenon, two books [= 1 & 2 Chronicles]
Psalms, one book
Solomon, three books:
Proverbs, one book
Ecclesiastes, one book
Canticle of Canticles, one book
Wisdom, one book [= Wisdom of Solomon]
Ecclesiasticus, one book [= Sirach]
Isaiah, one book
Jeremiah, one book [includes Baruch]
with Ginoth, that is, with his Lamentations
Ezekiel, one book
Daniel, one book
Hosea, one book
Micah, one book
Joel, one book
Obadiah, one book
Jonah, one book
Nahum, one book
Habakkuk, one book
Zephaniah, one book
Haggai, one book
Zechariah, one book
Malachi, one book
Job, one book
Tobias, one book [= Tobit]
Esdras, two books [= Ezra & Nehemiah]
Esther, one book
Judith, one book
Maccabees, two books
according to Matthew, one book
according to Mark, one book
according to Luke, one book
according to John, one book.
The Epistles of Paul, in number fourteen:
to the Romans, one
to the Corinthians, two
to the Ephesians, one
to the Thessalonians, two
to the Galatians, one
to the Philippians, one
to the Colossians, one
to Timothy, two
to Titus, one
to Philemon, one
to the Hebrews, one
the Apocalypse of John, one book.
and the Acts of the Apostles, one book.
epistles, in number seven:
of Peter the Apostle, two epistles
of James the Apostle, one epistle
of John the Apostle, one epistle
of another John, the presbyter, two epistles
of Jude the Zealot, the Apostle, one epistle.
The canon of the New Testament ends here.

[Source: Denzinger, The Sources of Catholic Dogma, Thirtieth Edition, Sect. 84, pages 33-34]

The Vulgate (published A.D. 405) contains the canon of the Council of Rome. The Council of Trent confirmed this original canon (reiterated at the Councils of Hippo, Carthage III and IV, and Florence).

Council of Florence:

It [the Council of Florence] professes that one and the same God is the author of the old and the new Testament — that is, the law and the prophets, and the gospel — since the saints of both testaments spoke under the inspiration of the same Spirit. It accepts and venerates their books, whose titles are as follows.

Five books of Moses, namely Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy; Joshua, Judges, Ruth, four books of Kings, two of Paralipomenon, Esdras, Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther, Job, Psalms of David, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Baruch, Ezechiel, Daniel; the twelve minor prophets, namely Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi; two books of the Maccabees; the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; fourteen letters of Paul, to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, two to the Thessalonians, to the Colossians, two to Timothy, to Titus, to Philemon, to the Hebrews; two letters of Peter, three of John, one of James, one of Jude; Acts of the Apostles; Apocalypse of John. [Lamentations was included in Jeremiah.]

COUNCIL OF TRENT – FOURTH SESSION

[After naming these same books, the Council added:]

But, if any one receive not, as sacred and canonical, the said books entire with all their parts, as they have been used to be read in the Catholic Church, and as they are contained in the old Latin vulgate edition; and knowingly and deliberately contemn the traditions aforesaid; let him be anathema. Vatican, I did not reiterate each book. This is what Vatican I decreed regarding Sacred Scripture.

Now this supernatural revelation, according to the belief of the universal church, as declared by the sacred council of Trent, is contained in written books and unwritten traditions, which were received by the apostles from the lips of Christ himself, or came to the apostles by the dictation of the holy Spirit, and were passed on as it were from hand to hand until they reached us.

The complete books of the old and the new Testament with all their parts, as they are listed in the decree of the said council and as they are found in the old Latin Vulgate edition, are to be received as sacred and canonical.
These books the church holds to be sacred and canonical not because she subsequently approved them by her authority after they had been composed by unaided human skill, nor simply because they contain revelation without error, but because, being written under the inspiration of the holy Spirit, they have God as their author, and were as such committed to the church.


Now since the decree on the interpretation of holy scripture, profitably made by the council of Trent, with the intention of constraining rash speculation, has been wrongly interpreted by some, we renew that decree and declare its meaning to be as follows: that in matters of faith and morals, belonging as they do to the establishing of christian doctrine, that meaning of holy scripture must be held to be the true one, which holy mother church held and holds, since it is her right to judge of the true meaning and interpretation of holy scripture. In consequence, it is not permissible for anyone to interpret holy scripture in a sense contrary to this, or indeed against the unanimous consent of the Fathers.

4. If anyone does not receive as sacred and canonical the complete books of sacred scripture with all their parts, as the holy council of Trent listed them, or denies that they were divinely inspired : let him be anathema.

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