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Canon-of-Scripture witness — around 350

Cyril of Jerusalem instructs catechumens

A bishop telling candidates for baptism which books the Church reads — catechesis rather than controversy, which is what makes it valuable.

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Primary evidence verified Content last reviewed 2026-08-29

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In his fourth catechetical lecture, Cyril sets out the faith point by point and then turns to the Scriptures, telling the candidates which books the Church reads and warning them against apocryphal writings.

The value of this witness is its setting. It is not a polemical list drawn up to win an argument; it is what an ordinary candidate for baptism in Jerusalem was told, in the middle of the fourth century.

What this witness says about particular books

Books this witness names, and how it treats them. A book's absence from a list is not by itself a rejection — see the limits above.
BookTreatmentNote
The four Gospels Treated as Scripture
Acts Treated as Scripture
The seven catholic epistles Treated as Scripture
Fourteen letters of Paul Treated as Scripture Counting Hebrews among them.
The Apocalypse of John Not mentioned Absent from his New Testament list, as from much Eastern usage of the period.
Apocryphal writings Rejected Cyril warns the candidates against them expressly.

Sources for this page

  1. Tier C Cyril of Jerusalem and Gregory Nazianzen Philip Schaff and Henry Wace (eds.) Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 4 translated edition of primary texts Source record

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