Theological glossary · FaithLogic

Canon

The list of books the church recognises as Scripture — the 'measuring rule' of faith.

Greek kanōn, 'a straight rod, rule, standard'; used by Athanasius and others for the authoritative list.

The principle in Deuteronomy 4:2 (nothing added or taken away); 2 Peter 3:16 (Paul's letters 'with the other Scriptures'); Revelation 22:18–19.

The church recognised, rather than conferred, canonicity — by apostolic origin/sanction, consistency with the rule of faith, and continuous churchwide use. The NT core (Gospels, Paul) was undisputed early; the edges (Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, Jude, Revelation) took longer. Athanasius's Festal Letter 39 (367) lists today's 27 NT books; Hippo (393) and Carthage (397) ratified.

Protestants receive 66 books (Hebrew OT + 27 NT); Catholics and Orthodox also receive the deuterocanonical/apocryphal books from the Septuagint (Trent, 1546, defined the wider Catholic list).

The extent of the OT canon (the apocrypha); whether the church's judgement confers infallible certainty of the list (Catholic) or only recognises intrinsic authority (Protestant).

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