Catholic Canon

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Hello,

When did the Catholic church finalize it’s canon of Scripture?

From what I understand it was in 397ad at the council of Carthage.
But was this council binding on the whole church?
 
sloth said:
Hello,

When did the Catholic church finalize it’s canon of Scripture?

From what I understand it was in 397ad at the council of Carthage.
But was this council binding on the whole church?
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The Canon Holy Scripture was declared inerrant by and as a result of the Decree of Pope St. Damasus I at the Council of Rome in A.D. 382.

The Council of Hippo in 393 reaffirmed the canon put forth by Pope Damasus I…

The Third Council of Carthage reaffirmed anew, the Canon put forth by Pope Damasus I…

AD 397:
Council of Carthage III. "It has been decided that nothing except the canonical Scriptures should be read in the Church under the name of the divine Scriptures. (canon 47 A.D. 397).

This Council of Carthage affirms the Decree of Damasus, sending its affirmation and the rest of the canons adopted at its proceedings to Rome for ratification.

418: Pope Boniface I ratifies the canons of the Council of Carthage and sends copies to the sees of Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem, resulting in informal acceptance of the canon world-wide.

419: The Fourth Council of Carthage re-affirms the actions of Pope Boniface. Canonical discussions remain mostly settled for the next three centuries.

787: The Second Council of Nicea formally ratifies the canon for the Eastern Churches.

1546: The Council of Trent again re-affirms the Scriptures traditionally recognized by the Church.
 
It was not until the council of Trent that the canon was finalized to counter the reformation taking books out and calling them apocryphal. However when Jerome first translated the Latin Vulgate from the Greek Septuagint, he had a copy which did not include 3 and 4 Maccabees, and 1 and 2 Esdras, otherwise they would probably be in our canon as well like Eastern Orthodox churches. However Orthodox churches are much different with Canon’s than the Catholic church. Some regional orthodox churches will have different canons, such as Ethiopian Orthodox Church who has the largest canon which includes Enoch and Jubilees.
 
Depends on your vantage point. The 382 canon by Damasus ended up being the final one. Local councils did affirm that in the next couple hundred years. The ecumenical council of Florence in the 15th century repeated it. And often you hear people say finalized at Trent, although, as I said, they finalized what hadn’t changed since the 4th century.

Another interesting debate is whether or not the canon is “closed.” All the preceding councils merely mention what is recognized as Scripture––more an affirmative of the named books than a negation of anything else. But there doesn’t appear to be any sign of that changing anyway… :o
 
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