Church History · AD 382 to 419

The Councils of Rome, Hippo and Carthage Settle the Canon in the West

Between 382 and 419, church councils in Rome and North Africa issued lists of the books of Scripture. They named the same 27 New Testament books we have today and an Old Testament that included Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach and Maccabees. That is the root of the 73 book Catholic Bible.

Read it in the Bible: Romans 3:2 Luke 24:44 2 Timothy 3:16 Psalm 119:105

Between AD 382 and 419, a series of church councils in Rome and North Africa wrote down lists of the books of the Bible. The Synod of Hippo in 393 and the Councils of Carthage in 397 and 419 named the same 27 New Testament books that every Christian Bible has today. Their Old Testament lists also included books like Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach and 1 and 2 Maccabees. Those lists became the standard in the Western church, and they are the basis of the 73 book Bible used by Catholics today.

Why Did the Church Need Councils on the Canon?

By the late 300s, the core of the Bible had been accepted for a long time. The four Gospels, Acts and Paul's letters were read everywhere. But a few New Testament books, like Hebrews, James, 2 Peter and Revelation, were accepted in some regions sooner than others. And churches used the Greek Old Testament, called the Septuagint, which included extra books that were not in the Hebrew Bible.

Now that the church was free and growing, leaders wanted one clear list for public reading in worship. The word canon comes from a Greek word for a measuring rod. The canon is the set of books that measure everything else.

What Happened at the Council of Rome in 382?

Tradition says that in 382, Pope Damasus held a council in Rome that issued a list of the books of Scripture. This list is preserved in a document called the Decretum Gelasianum, and it matches the later African lists. Jerome was in Rome at the time, and Damasus soon asked him to revise the Latin Bible.

Here we need to be honest. Many scholars today think the Decretum Gelasianum was actually written in the 500s, and that the link to a council in 382 is uncertain. Some Catholic scholars still hold that the list goes back to Damasus. Either way, Rome's later practice agreed with the African councils. In 405, Pope Innocent I sent a letter to a bishop in Gaul with the same list.

What Did the Synod of Hippo Decide in 393?

Hippo was a port town in North Africa, in what is now Algeria. In 393 the bishops of Africa met there. A young priest named Augustine, who would soon become bishop of Hippo, preached at the meeting. In its rule on Scripture, the synod listed:

Old Testament: the five books of Moses, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, four books of Kings, which are our 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings, two books of Chronicles, Job, Psalms, five books of Solomon, the twelve minor prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Tobit, Judith, Esther, two books of Ezra and two books of Maccabees.
New Testament: four Gospels, Acts, fourteen letters of Paul, two of Peter, three of John, one of James, one of Jude and Revelation.

The five books of Solomon meant Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom and Sirach. Baruch was usually counted as part of Jeremiah.

What Did the Councils of Carthage Add in 397 and 419?

The original records of Hippo were lost, but a summary was read and approved at the Council of Carthage in 397. That council repeated the same list and said it should be confirmed by the church across the sea, meaning Rome. In 419 another Council of Carthage repeated the list again in its canon 24. That 419 collection of African church rules was later used widely in both East and West.

These were regional councils, not councils of the whole church like Nicaea. But their lists became the accepted Bible of the Latin speaking West for the next thousand years.

Why Do Catholic and Protestant Bibles Have Different Numbers of Books?

This is where the story matters today. All Christians agree on the 27 books of the New Testament. The difference is in the Old Testament.

Catholic Bibles follow the councils of Hippo and Carthage and have 46 Old Testament books, for 73 in all. The Council of Trent made this list official for Catholics in 1546.
Protestant Bibles follow the Hebrew Bible used by the Jewish community, which has the same content as 39 books in our count, for 66 in all. The Reformers pointed out that Jesus and the apostles quote the Old Testament often but never quote these extra books as Scripture, and that Jerome had questioned them.
Orthodox Bibles include a few more, such as 1 Esdras, 3 Maccabees, the Prayer of Manasseh and Psalm 151.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Bible is larger still, with books like 1 Enoch and Jubilees.

Catholics call the extra books deuterocanonical, which means second canon. Protestants usually call them the Apocrypha. Luther and the early English Bibles, including the 1611 King James, kept them in a separate section between the Testaments, as useful to read but not equal to Scripture. The FAQ on this site called Why Do Some Bibles Have More Books explains each side's reasons in more detail, and the Apocrypha page tells how those books later left most Protestant Bibles.

Paul gives a reason the Hebrew Scriptures carried special weight.

Much in every way. First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God. Romans 3:2

Did These Councils Decide What Was Inspired?

Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christians all agree that councils did not make books inspired. God inspired the books when they were written. The councils recognized and confirmed what the churches had already been reading. Where Christians differ is how much authority those confirmations carry. Catholics see the church's councils as a trustworthy guide in this. Protestants hold that Scripture stands above councils, and that councils can be tested by Scripture.

Why These Councils Matter for You Today

Whatever Bible you carry, the councils of Hippo and Carthage are part of its story. They show a church working carefully, over centuries, to guard the word God had given.

And they agree with every Christian today on the New Testament, the 27 books that tell us about Jesus, His death and resurrection, and how to follow Him. That shared foundation is bigger than our differences.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105

Get Nate's Highlighting Guide Free

Free. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

Questions People Ask

What did the Synod of Hippo decide?

In 393, the Synod of Hippo in North Africa issued a list of the books of Scripture. It included the same 27 New Testament books we have today and an Old Testament that included Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach and 1 and 2 Maccabees. The Councils of Carthage repeated this list in 397 and 419.

Did the Council of Rome in 382 set the canon?

Tradition says Pope Damasus issued a list of books at a council in Rome in 382. The list is preserved in the Decretum Gelasianum, but many scholars now date that document to the 500s and question the link to 382. Some Catholic scholars still accept it.

Why do Catholic Bibles have 73 books?

Catholic Bibles follow the Old Testament list of Hippo and Carthage, which includes seven books not in the Hebrew Bible, along with additions to Esther and Daniel. That makes 46 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books. The Council of Trent made this official in 1546.

Why do Protestant Bibles have 66 books?

Protestant Bibles follow the Hebrew Bible for the Old Testament, which has 39 books in our count. The Reformers noted that the extra books were not in the Hebrew Bible, were not quoted by Jesus as Scripture and were questioned by scholars like Jerome. All Christians share the same 27 New Testament books.

Sources

← Christianity Becomes the Official Religion of Rome Augustine: Confessions and The City of God →

See the whole Church History