1 Maccabees
The First Book of Maccabees is found in the books of the Septuagint, the Old Testament accepted as inspired and canonical by the Orthodox Church in the Greek Orthodox Bible, and found in the books of the Old Testament of the Vulgate and included in the canon of inspired scripture by the Third Council of Carthage (397). Since the Council of Trent it is dogmatically accepted as inspired and canonical by the Catholic Church in the Catholic Bibleâbooks of the Bible accepted as divinely inspired by the majority of Christian believers in the United States.[1]
This is one of the historical books of the Bible, similar in tone to the books of Kings and Chronicles and Joshua and Judges. It covers the history of the Jews from the time of the rise of Alexander the Great during the high priesthood of Jaddua about 333 B.C., through the persecution of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the resistance of the Maccabees, to the beginning of the high priesthood of John Hyrcanus I of the Hasmonean Dynasty and the establishment of the independent kingdom of Judea about 124 B.C.. It demonstrates the miraculous providence of God in preserving the nation in the face of violent religious oppression, and the overcoming of pagan forces seeking the annihilation of the Jews and the destruction of the books (scrolls) of the sacred scriptures containing the written Word of God.
Chapter 4:36-59 relates the triumphant recovery and dedication of the Temple after the defilement of the pagans and apostate Jews who had gone over to Hellenism. The Feast of the Dedication is mentioned in the Gospel According to John, chapter 10:22-23. Today this celebration is called Ḥanukkah.
1 Maccabees was first removed from the Old Testament and placed in the Apocrypha by Martin Luther in the 16th century.
See Apocrypha.
References
- â The Catholic Church is the world's largest Christian body comprised of several distinct "Rites". The Catholic Church (Latin Rite) is the largest religious body in the United States, with over 60 million adherents (4 times as large as the second largest church, the Orthodox).
âThe Global Catholic Population,â © 2011, Pew Research Center.
The Largest Catholic Communities
The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also referred to as the Orthodox Church and Orthodoxy, is the second largest Christian church in the world, with an estimated 225â300 million adherents, most of whom live in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Russia.
The Greek (Eastern) Orthodox Church. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Of America (1983). Retrieved on 7 May 2014.
Christianity:Basics:Eastern Orthodox Church Denomination. about.com. Retrieved on 22 May 2014.
Christianity. Major Branches of Religions Ranked by Number of Adherents. adherents.com. Retrieved on 22 May 2014.