Dear Catholic Exchange,
Is it true that the Deuterocanonical books were added during the Counter Reformation and were not part of the canon earlier?
Thanks and may God bless you,
Savio
Dear Savio,
Regarding both the Old and New Testament Canons, Pope Damasus I convoked a synod in 382 and defined the Canon of Sacred Scripture as we know it today. Pope Innocent I (401-417) sent this identical Canon to a Gallican bishop who had inquired about the matter. The Synod of Hippo (393) and the three Synods of Carthage (393, 397, 419) all confirmed the inclusion of the deuterocanonicals in the Canon of Sacred Scripture. By the end of the seventh century, the Oriental Churches had accepted the decisions of Western authority on this matter. In accord with the Council of Florence (1431-1445) Pope Eugenius IV issued the Decretum pro Jacobitis (Decree for the Jacobites) which listed the Canon of Sacred Scripture as including the deuterocanonicals. When the Protestants raised dispute over the Canon of Sacred Scripture, the Council of Trent made clear that no Catholic could question the divine inspiration of the disputed books.
For more information, try these Faith Facts:
The Complete Bible: Why Catholics Have Seven More Books
What's in a Name?: Protocanon, Deuterocanon and Apocrypha
United in the Faith,
Eric Stoutz
Information Specialist
Catholics United for the Faith
