The Living Tradition An Orthodox Archive of the Church Fathers and Early Church

Canon-of-Scripture witness — date contested: late second century or fourth

The Muratorian Fragment

A damaged, anonymous Latin list of accepted writings — the earliest of its kind if the traditional dating holds, which is disputed.

  • Disputed historyHistorians genuinely disagree. The page gives the range the evidence supports rather than choosing the most striking version.
  • Disputed authorshipThe attribution of a work is contested, or is known to be a scholarly convention. A work's authorship and the Church's reception of it are two separate questions.

Primary evidence verified Content last reviewed 2026-08-29

What still needs checking (1)
  • Add tier D scholarship presenting the case for the late-second-century and the fourth-century datings.

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The fragment survives in one eighth-century manuscript, in poor Latin probably translated from Greek. It begins and ends mid-sentence. It lists writings the author accepts, comments on several, and rejects others by name.

It accepts four Gospels (the surviving text begins in the middle of the account of Luke as the third), Acts, thirteen letters of Paul, Jude, two letters of John, the Wisdom of Solomon and the Apocalypse of John. It mentions an Apocalypse of Peter that some will not have read in church. It says the Shepherd of Hermas may be read privately but not publicly among the prophets or the apostles.

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
Luke and John Treated as Scripture The surviving text begins mid-account of Luke as the third Gospel.
Acts Treated as Scripture
Thirteen letters of Paul Treated as Scripture
Jude Treated as Scripture
Two letters of John Treated as Scripture
The Wisdom of Solomon Treated as Scripture Listed among the accepted writings, which is itself notable.
The Apocalypse of John Treated as Scripture
The Apocalypse of Peter Named as disputed Accepted by the author, but he notes that some will not have it read in church.
The Shepherd of Hermas Named as disputed May be read privately, but not publicly among the prophets or the apostles.
Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter Not mentioned Absent from the surviving text. The text is damaged; absence is not evidence of rejection.

Sources for this page

  1. Tier C Fathers of the Third Century: Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (eds.) Fragments of Caius, with the Muratorian Fragment appended translated edition of primary texts Archived as printed, with a warning about the attribution. Source record

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