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The '''Apocrypha''' refers to books of the Bible that are not considered part of the Biblical Canon - precisely which books varies between denominations.

The '''Apocrypha''' refers to books of the Bible that are not considered part of the Biblical Canon - precisely which books varies between denominations.

The Protestant canon of 66 books was originally formulated by [[Martin Luther]], the [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] definitive final canon of 73 books was retained "as read by the Church" by the [[Council of Trent]]. This canon was listed by the [[Council of Chalcedon|Fourth Council of Chalcedon (451)]]. The Catholic Bible includes 27 books of the New Testament and 46 books "with all their parts" from the ancient [[Septuagint]] as used by the apostles and the early Christian church and included in [[Jerome]]'s [[Vulgate]] translation as part of the [[Old Testament]] and accepts those books as scripture. For some time the [[King James Bible]] contained those books deemed as apocryphal books in a separate section, between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The [[Episcopal Church]] includes the books of the Apocrypha in the cycle of scripture readings in its services, but holds that the apocryphal books are useful for study and [[edification]], but not for doctrine.  Most Protestant churches do not use the Apocrypha as scripture at all.

The Protestant canon of 66 books was originally formulated by [[Martin Luther]], the [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] definitive final canon of 73 books was retained "as read by the Church" by the [[Council of Trent]]. This canon was listed by the [[Third Council of Carthage (397)]]. The Catholic Bible includes 27 books of the New Testament and 46 books "with all their parts" from the ancient [[Septuagint]] as used by the apostles and the early Christian church and included in [[Jerome]]'s [[Vulgate]] translation as part of the [[Old Testament]] and accepts those books as scripture. For some time the [[King James Bible]] contained those books deemed as apocryphal books in a separate section, between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The [[Episcopal Church]] includes the books of the Apocrypha in the cycle of scripture readings in its services, but holds that the apocryphal books are useful for study and [[edification]], but not for doctrine.  Most Protestant churches do not use the Apocrypha as scripture at all.

Books apocryphal to the Protestant canon include (''titles as listed in Bibles printed in 1881''):

Books apocryphal to the Protestant canon include (''titles as listed in Bibles printed in 1881''):

* the [[archangel]] [[Raphael]] is known from the book of Tobit.

* the [[archangel]] [[Raphael]] is known from the book of Tobit.

There are also a number of books which are not included in the Catholic Bible either, which are part of the [[Orthodox Church|Orthodox canon]], 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras, Prayer of Manasseh, Psalm 151, 3 Maccabees, and the appended 4 Maccabees. Other apocryphal works are called "[[pseudepigrapha]]". These include, for example, the [[Book of Enoch]] and the [[Book of Jubilees]] and the [[Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs]] from the Old Testament period. The "Apostolic Fathers" include the [[Didache]] and the [[Epistles of Ignatius]] and the [[Shepherd of Hermas]] from the early 2nd century. The later [[Gnostic]] writings and gospels such as the [[Gospel of Thomas]], found hidden in the abandoned monastery library at [[Nag Hammadi]] in Egypt, were written after the New Testament period. These books were of disputed status in the early Church as to whether they were scriptural or not, and were not included by the regional Third Council of Chalcedon and by the later General Council of Trent in the list of canonical scriptures. The Early Church fathers were concerned only with books relevant to the Christian faith, books which concerned salvation and growing in the Lord, following the oral tradition of the apostles ([http://biblehub.com/multi/2_thessalonians/2-15.htm 2 Thessalonians 2:15]).

There are also a number of books which are not included in the Catholic Bible either, which are part of the [[Orthodox Church|Orthodox canon]], 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras, Prayer of Manasseh, Psalm 151, 3 Maccabees, and the appended 4 Maccabees. Other apocryphal works are called "[[pseudepigrapha]]". These include, for example, the [[Book of Enoch]] and the [[Book of Jubilees]] and the [[Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs]] from the Old Testament period. The "Apostolic Fathers" include the [[Didache]] and the [[Epistles of Ignatius]] and the [[Shepherd of Hermas]] from the early 2nd century. The later [[Gnostic]] writings and gospels such as the [[Gospel of Thomas]], found hidden in the abandoned monastery library at [[Nag Hammadi]] in Egypt, were written after the New Testament period. These books were of disputed status in the early Church as to whether they were scriptural or not, and were not included by the regional Third Council of Carthage and by the later General Council of Trent in the list of canonical scriptures. The Early Church fathers were concerned only with books relevant to the Christian faith, books which concerned salvation and growing in the Lord, following the oral tradition of the apostles ([http://biblehub.com/multi/2_thessalonians/2-15.htm 2 Thessalonians 2:15]).

== References ==

== References ==