The Formation of the Canon of the New

Testament (NT) and the Early

Ecumenical Councils
 Rylands Library Papyrus P52

- the oldest known manuscript

fragment of the NT;

- contains a portion of the
Gospel of
John;
- was written in Greek;
- possible dates 125-200;
- exposed at John Rylands
Library,
Manchester;
 Rylands Library Papyrus P52
(front; John 18,31-33)

the Jews, "For us it is not permitted to kill anyone," so

that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spoke
signifying what kind of death he was going to die.
Entered therefore again into the Praetorium Pilate and
summoned Jesus and said to him, "Thou art king of the
Jews?
 Rylands Library Papyrus P52
(back; John 18,37-38)

a King I am. For this I have been born and (for this) I
have come into the world so that I would testify to the
truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears of me my
voice." Said to him Pilate, "What is truth?" and this
having said, again he went out unto the Jews and said to
them, "I find not one fault in him
 The Formation of the
Canon of the NT

1. Terminology:

→ Bible → gr. τὰ βιβλία/tà biblía → “the books”;

→ Canon → gr. Κανών/kanon → “measuring stick”

↓
a tool used to determine proper
measurement;

→ a list of Scriptural Books considered to be

inspired by God;
 The Formation of the
Canon of the NT

Why is the Scripture so important?

2 Timothy 3, 15-17:

and how from childhood you have been acquainted

with the sacred writings, which are able to make
you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable
for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for
training in righteousness, that the man of God may
be competent, equipped for every good work.
 The Formation of the
Canon of the NT

Why are the Apostles so important?

Holy Spirit → Apostles → NT Books

1 Corinthians 2, 9-13:

But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear

heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God
has prepared for those who love him"— these
things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.
For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths
of God. … And we impart this in words not taught
by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit,
interpreting spiritual truths to those who are
spiritual.
 The Formation of the
Canon of the NT

2. Timeline:
→ 51-125: The NT books are written, but during this same period
other early Christian writings are produced (ex. The Didache in
70, 1 Clement in c. 96, the Epistle of Barnabas in c. 100, the 7
letters if Ignatius of Antioch in c. 120);
→ c. 140: the ‘heretic’ Marcion compiled the first NT, keeping
only the 10 letters of Paul and 2/3 of Luke's gospel (he deletes
references to Jesus' Jewishness) → forces the mainstream Church
to decide on a core canon: the four Gospels and the letters of
Paul;
→ c. 200: ‘The Muratorian Canon’ → the oldest known list of
most of the books of the NT → 22 of the 27 books that were later
included in the NT;
 The Formation of the
Canon of the NT

→ Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea Palestinae → c. 330’s → Vita

Constantini (The Life of Constantine [the Great]) → The Fifty
Bibles of Constantine;
→ 331→ Constantine the Great
commissioned 50 Bibles, written in Greek,
for the use of the Bishop of Constantinople
→ Eusebius prepared these Bibles;
↓
FIRST ‘canon list’
 The Formation of the
Canon of the NT

→ 367: Athanasius ‘the Great’, bishop of Alexandria → ‘Easter Letter’ →

is the first person to identify the same 27 books of the NT that are in
use today. Up until then, various similar lists of works to be read in
churches were in use.
“These are the springs of salvation,
so that he that is thirsty may be filled
with the (divine) responses in them;
in these alone is the good news of the
teaching of true religion proclaimed; let
no one add to them or take away any of
them”
 The Formation of the
Canon of the NT

→ 397: Council of Carthage → the 27 books of the New

Testament are formally confirmed as canonical;

Formal approval of the NT canon:

→ 1546 → Roman-Catholic Church → Council of Trent;
→ 1559 → Calvinism → ‘Gallic Confession of Faith’;
→ 1563 → Church of England → ‘Thirty-nine Articles of Religion’;
→ 1672 → Eastern Orthodox Church → Synod of Jerusalem;
 The Formation of the
Canon of the NT

The Official Collection of 27 NT Books:

→ 4 Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John;

→ 1 Book of Acts of the Apostles;
→ 14 Epistles of Paul (Romans, Ephesians,
Colossians etc.);
→ 7 ‘Catholic’ Epistles (James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1
John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude);
→ 1 Revelation;
 The Formation of the
Canon of the NT

3. Misconceptions about the NT canon:

→ represent a unified tradition;

→ has existed since apostolic times;

→ Apostles collaborated in writing the New Testament

Books;

→ The Church Councils established it;

→ Emperor Constantine the Great (306-337) established

it;
 The Formation of the
Canon of the NT

4. Criteria:
→ Orthodox → had to be theologically orthodox; the other three
were secondary to this one;

→ Ancient → had to have been written near the time of Jesus;

→ Apostolic → had to be written by an apostle or a companion

of an apostle;

→ Catholic → had to be universally read among established

churches;
 The Formation of the
Canon of the NT

5. Why the need for a canon?

→ heretics → false writings;

→ persecution → Roman (pagan) authorities tried to

destroy the
Christian writings in order to destroy
Christianity;
 How was the Trinity
structured in Origen
(185-254)?

HIERARCHY:
1. The Father is unbegotten, transcendental and immaterial.
2. The Son is the Logos, who mediate between the Father and the
world.
3. The Spirit is the active force of God.

The Son and the Spirit, although subordinated, are co-eternal with the
Father.
 Arius (c. 256-336)

Arius was a presbyter of the Church

of Alexandria.

He is the founder of a heretical

movement called Arianism.

Arianism was condemned several times:

• In 300, Arius was condemned for heresy by the patriarch of Alexandria;

• In 318, Arianism was condemned as heretical;
• In 325, the Arian faction was outnumbered in the Council of Nicaea.
 1.1 God and the
Trinity

LETTER OF ARIUS TO EUSEBIUS OF NICOMEDIA, 4-5

‘But what do we say and think and what have we previously taught and do we
presently teach? — that the Son is not unbegotten, nor a part of an
unbegotten entity in any way, nor from anything in existence, but that he is
subsisting in will and intention before time and before the ages, full <of grace
and truth,> God, the only-begotten, unchangeable. Before he was begotten, or
created, or defined, or established, he did not exist. For he was not
unbegotten. But we are persecuted because we have said the Son has a
beginning but God has no beginning. We are persecuted because of that and
for saying he came from non-being. But we said this since he is not a portion of
God nor of anything in existence. That is why we are persecuted; you know the
rest.’
1.1 God and the Trinity in Arius

The Father is the only truly divine person, for he is the only
unbegotten one;

The Son

Since the Son is generated If the Son is generated by

by the Father, the Son the Father, the Son cannot
cannot be co-eternal with be as divine as the Father
the Father
 1.2 Why were Arius’
teachings considered
heretical?

a. He denied the divine nature of the Son, for he considered the

Son the first creature of the Father.
b. He denied the hypostatic union, that is the unity of human and
divine nature in the Son.
c. He denied the co-eternity of the three persons of the Trinity

MAJOR CONSEQUENCE: By denying the hypostatic union, he was

implicitly denying the effectiveness of Christ death on the cross.
2. Council of Nicaea
(325)

Three main factions:

1. Arius and his followers.

2. Alexander of Alexandria and

Athanasius, who were Arius’ main
opponents.

3. Eastern priests who wanted to

preserve the Logos theology, as
expressed by Origen.
 2.1 The Nicaean
Creed

The most significant document produced by the Council of Nicaea is

the Nicaean Creed.
The main doctrines are:
• The Son is ‘begotten’ (and ‘not made’) from the Father, therefore he
cannot be considered a creature;
• The Son is both God and man (hypostatic union);
•The homoousios: The Father and the Son share the same substance.
 The Council of
Constantinople (381)

The Council of Constantinople was

summoned by the emperor Theodosius I
(379-395)
 The Decisions of the
Council of
Constantinople
1. Arianism was definitively condemned.
2. The Cappadocian Trinitarian formula was accepted, thus explaining the
meaning and orthodox use of the term homoousios.

This council endorsed the Nicene Creed, adding also some parts about the
Son and the procession of the Spirit from the Father. These are the addition in
the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed:

◦ The Son is ‘begotten of the Father before all worlds’.

◦ The Spirit ‘proceedeth from the Father’; and ‘with the Father and the Son
together is worshipped and glorified’.
 Conclusions

→ the NT canon was not summarily decided in large,

bureaucratic Church council meetings, but rather
developed slowly;

→ the Christian world needed a NT canon due to other

heretical works;

→ ALL the Scripture is inspired by God through the Holy

Spirit;

→ The first two Ecumenical Councils established the

Orthodox Trinitarian doctrine and also issued the Creed
(Nicene-Constantinopolitan);