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The canon of the New Testament is the set of books many modern Christians regard as divinely inspired and constituting the New Testament of the Christian Bible.For most churches, the canon is an agreed-upon list of 27 books [1] that includes the canonical Gospels, Acts, letters attributed to various apostles, and Revelation.
Athanasius' 39th Festal Letter, written in 367, is widely regarded as a milestone in the evolution of the canon of New Testament books. [49] Some claim that Athanasius is the first person to identify the same 27 books of the New Testament that are in use today. Up until then, various similar lists of works to be read in churches were in use.
At least half of the canons are derived from earlier constitutions, and probably not many of them are the actual productions of the compiler, whose aim was to gloss over the real nature of the Constitutions, and secure their incorporation with the Epistles of Clement in the New Testament of his day.
Thus from the 4th century there existed unanimity in the West concerning the New Testament canon as it is today, [59] with the exception of the Book of Revelation. In the 5th century the East too, with a few exceptions, came to accept the Book of Revelation and thus came into harmony on the matter of the New Testament canon. [60]
Although the order in which Athanasius places the books is different from what is now usual, his list is the earliest reference to the present canon of the New Testament. [5] Athanasius reckons the Book of Wisdom, Sirach, the Book of Esther, Judith, the Book of Tobit, the Teaching of the Apostles, and the Shepherd of Hermas not as part of the ...
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During the time period of early Christianity, there was no accepted "New Testament", merely books considered of greater or lesser value. While likely not intended strictly as a canon list, the fragment is evidence of the first attempts to systemize such a group of approved writings, at least if it indeed dates to the 2nd century.