How the biblical canon formed — lesson 4
Eusebius sorts the evidence
A fourth-century historian's report on which books were acknowledged, disputed and rejected.
What this lesson covers
- Describe Eusebius's threefold sorting.
- Say which books he places in each group.
- Explain what a report of this kind can and cannot establish.
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In Book III chapter 25 of the Church History, archived here, Eusebius does something unusual: he stops narrating and takes stock. He sorts the Christian writings into those universally acknowledged, those disputed, and those to be rejected as fabrications.
He puts first the holy quaternion of the Gospels, then Acts, then the letters of Paul, then 1 John and 1 Peter, and — with a note that some reject it — the Apocalypse of John. Among the disputed but familiar to most he places James, Jude, 2 Peter, and 2 and 3 John.
He then lists writings he calls spurious, including the Acts of Paul, the Shepherd of Hermas, the Apocalypse of Peter, the letter of Barnabas and the Teachings of the Apostles. And finally a group of writings put forward by heretics, which he says no ecclesiastical writer has ever thought worth mentioning.
What this establishes
What his sorting shows is that by the early fourth century the core was not in question and the edges were, and that the categories being used were about reception in the churches rather than about anyone's decree.
Key Scripture
- Luke 1:1-4 — Many had undertaken to compile a narrative — the situation Eusebius is sorting through, two and a half centuries later.
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Patristic and liturgical witnesses
Since we are dealing with this subject it is proper to sum up the writings of the New Testament which have been already mentioned. First then must be put the holy quaternion of the Gospels; following them the Acts of the Apostles.
Why this matters in lived Orthodoxy
Eusebius wrote this within a decade or so of the Council of Nicaea, and was present at it. That he does not mention the council in connection with the canon, and the council does not mention the canon at all, is worth holding on to.
Review
What are Eusebius's three categories?
Why is his inconsistency about the Apocalypse valuable?
Your notes
Going deeper
- Church History, Book III, chapter 25.
- The witness explorer.
Sources for this page
- Tier C Eusebius: Church History, Life of Constantine, Oration in Praise of Constantine Eusebius, Church History, Book III, Chapter 25 translated edition of primary texts Source record (opens in a new tab)
Tiers are explained in the methodology. No page on this site has been reviewed or approved by any bishop, priest, synod or seminary.