The Development of the Canon of the New Testament

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The Development of the Canon of the New Testament
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Early Lists of the Books of the New Testament

The following lists are taken directly from [Metzger] and [Schneemelcher].

Catalogue inserted in codex Claromontanus	4th century?
The Canon of Cyril of Jerusalem	~350 CE
The Cheltenham Canon	~360 CE
The Canon approved by the Synod of Laodicea	~363 CE ?
The Canon approved by the 'Apostolic Canons'	~385 CE
The canon of Gregory of Nazianzus	329-389 CE
The canon of Amphilochius of Iconium	died after 394 CE
The Canon approved by the Third Synod of Carthage	~397 CE
The Decretum Gelasianum	6th century
Catalogue of the Sixty Canonical Books	7th century
The Stichometry of Nicephorus	9th

Early Christian Authorities

An early Christian authority is included in this survey if he or it gives important evidence on the development of the canon of the New Testament (perhaps even having some influence on it) and did so before ~400 CE, when the first complete manuscripts of the Vulgate were issued. The early 'authorities' fall into these categories:

Early Church fathers (Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement, Tertullian, Origen, Eusebius, Didymus the Blind)
Early heretics and their followers (Marcion and Marcionites, Valentinus and the Valentinians)
Lists of canonical books (Muratorian Canon, Athanasius' Festal Epistle)
Physical manuscript collections of books (codex Sinaiticus)
Series of manuscripts (Peshitta, Vulgate)

Authority Date CE Form of evidence provided on the development of the canon of the New Testament

Ignatius of Antioch ~110 7 letters with quotations and allusions to Christian writings as scripture. There are no citations by name.

Polycarp of Smyrna ~110 1 letter with ~100 quotations and allusions to Christian writings as scripture. There are no citations by name.

Marcion ~140 founded a sect with its own "New Testament" collection. There was one Gospel, based mostly on the Gospel according to Luke

Valentinus 140-150 Valentinus and his followers - Heracleon, Ptolemy, Marcus - were Gnostic heretics so their doctrines mostly survive in the writings of the orthodox, such as Irenaeus, who summarized the Valentinian views before attacking them. The Gospel of Truth from Nag Hammadi probably derives from the Valentinians, but this is not certain.

Justin Martyr 150-160 many of his writings survive; he was the most prolific Christian writer up to his time.

Irenaeus ~180 two of his writings survive in translations (Latin and Armenian). There are quotations and allusions to Christian writings as scripture, and citations by name.

Clement 180-200 many of his writings survive; in them are about 8000 citations - over 1/3 of them from pagan sources. There are citations by name.

Tertullian 200-210 Tertullian was the most prolific writer of the Latin Fathers in pre-Nicene times (before 325 CE). There are citations by name.

Muratorian Canon 200-300 a manuscript discovered in the Ambrosian Library in Milan with a catalogue (in Latin) of the New Testament writings with comments

Origen 220-350 only a small part of his works survives, but this fills volumes There are citations by name.

Eusebius 300-330 much of the works of Eusebius survives, but here we only use his famous classification in [Eusebius]

codex Sinaiticus ~350 a manuscript discovered in 1859 containing a 4th-century New Testament

Athanasius ~367 his 39th Festal Epistle of 367 CE has a list of canonical books

Didymus the Blind 350-398 some of his exegetical writings have survived, including six commentaries discovered in 1941

Peshitta ~400 a series of manuscripts of the Bible in Syriac including 22 New Testament books

Vulgate ~400 a series of manuscripts (over 10,000) of the Bible in Latin, whose New Testament coincides (more or less) with the present one

Authority	Date CE	Form of evidence provided on the development of the canon of the New Testament
Ignatius of Antioch	~110	7 letters with quotations and allusions to Christian writings as scripture. There are no citations by name.
Polycarp of Smyrna	~110	1 letter with ~100 quotations and allusions to Christian writings as scripture. There are no citations by name.
Marcion	~140	founded a sect with its own "New Testament" collection. There was one Gospel, based mostly on the Gospel according to Luke
Valentinus	140-150	Valentinus and his followers - Heracleon, Ptolemy, Marcus - were Gnostic heretics so their doctrines mostly survive in the writings of the orthodox, such as Irenaeus, who summarized the Valentinian views before attacking them. The Gospel of Truth from Nag Hammadi probably derives from the Valentinians, but this is not certain.
Justin Martyr	150-160	many of his writings survive; he was the most prolific Christian writer up to his time.
Irenaeus	~180	two of his writings survive in translations (Latin and Armenian). There are quotations and allusions to Christian writings as scripture, and citations by name.
Clement	180-200	many of his writings survive; in them are about 8000 citations - over 1/3 of them from pagan sources. There are citations by name.
Tertullian	200-210	Tertullian was the most prolific writer of the Latin Fathers in pre-Nicene times (before 325 CE). There are citations by name.
Muratorian Canon	200-300	a manuscript discovered in the Ambrosian Library in Milan with a catalogue (in Latin) of the New Testament writings with comments
Origen	220-350	only a small part of his works survives, but this fills volumes There are citations by name.
Eusebius	300-330	much of the works of Eusebius survives, but here we only use his famous classification in [Eusebius]
codex Sinaiticus	~350	a manuscript discovered in 1859 containing a 4th-century New Testament
Athanasius	~367	his 39th Festal Epistle of 367 CE has a list of canonical books
Didymus the Blind	350-398	some of his exegetical writings have survived, including six commentaries discovered in 1941
Peshitta	~400	a series of manuscripts of the Bible in Syriac including 22 New Testament books
Vulgate	~400	a series of manuscripts (over 10,000) of the Bible in Latin, whose New Testament coincides (more or less) with the present one

For a summary of the authorities' opinions on New Testament writings, see the beow

Cross Reference Table: Writings and Authorities

Each symbol in the large table below corresponds to a specific authority and a specific writing.
The symbols summarize the opinion of the authority about the writing.
If the symbol is blue, select it with the mouse to jump to the evidence.
The symbols have this meaning:

Symbol Opinion of Authority

accepted; true; scriptural; or quoted from very approvingly

possible approving quotation or allusion

acceptable, but only with changes

dubious; disputed; or useful for inspiration

spurious (in the classification of Eusebius)

false; heretical; heterodox; quoted from very disapprovingly

· not mentioned or quoted from; opinion unknown

Each symbol in the large table below corresponds to a specific authority and a specific writing. The symbols summarize the opinion of the authority about the writing. If the symbol is blue, select it with the mouse to jump to the evidence. The symbols have this meaning:
Symbol	Opinion of Authority
	accepted; true; scriptural; or quoted from very approvingly
	possible approving quotation or allusion
	acceptable, but only with changes
	dubious; disputed; or useful for inspiration
	spurious (in the classification of Eusebius)
	false; heretical; heterodox; quoted from very disapprovingly
·	not mentioned or quoted from; opinion unknown

Ig = Ignatius	Po =Polycarp	M = Marcion	Va =Valentinus
JM =Justin Martyr	Ir =Irenaeus	C = Clement	T =Tertullian
MC = Muratorian Canon	O = Origen	E = Eusebius	CS = Codex_Sinaiticus
A = Athanasius	D = Didymus	P = Peshitta	V = Vulgate

Gospel according to Matthew

Gospel according to Mark

Gospel according to Luke

Gospel according to John

Acts

Romans

I Corinthians

II Corinthians

Galatians

Ephesians

Philippians

Colossians

I Thessalonians

II Thessalonians

I Timothy

II Timothy

Titus

Philemon

Hebrews

James

I Peter

II Peter

I John

Pages created by Glenn Davis, 1997-2002.
For additions, corrections, and comments send e-mail to [email protected]

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