Q. What is meant by the Deuterocanonical and Apocryphal books of the Bible?
A. Both apocryphal books and the deuterocanonical books are related to historical questions as to what pious writings, both Christian and Jewish, are truly divinely inspired and as such can be considered authentic books of the Bible.
Since Jesus did not give His followers a complete book of Scripture, it has been left to the Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to determine which books are and which books are not part of the canon.
Apocryphal comes from the Greek meaning “hidden” and is a term used to identify writings, both Jewish and Christian, that claim some sacred origin or hidden revelation. They are often attributed to significant religious figures (such as Enoch or St. Thomas) but contain teachings that are contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Most of the apocryphal writings composed after Christ espouse some elements of the gnostic heresy, namely that salvation comes from secret knowledge reserved for the few, and through liberation from the evil that is the material world. Others significantly contradict the Gospels or were clearly latter stories of the author’s invention. In every case though, the Church rejected their authenticity because they were not in accord with the Tradition handed down from Christ to His Apostles.
Deuterocanonical books are the seven books of the Old Testament (First and Second Maccabees, Sirach, Wisdom, Baruch, Tobit, and Judith as well as portions of Esther and Daniel) whose inclusion in the canon is disputed between Catholics and most Protestants. Catholics base our Old Testament upon the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures written during the 3rd Century B.C. and used by Our Lord and the early Christians. The Septuagint includes the deuterocanonical books.
While there were some disputes regarding the inclusion of the deuterocanonical books in the canon of Scripture (St. Athanasius and St. Jerome were against it), they were largely accepted by Christians until the Protestant Reformation. Arguing that since the Jewish Scripture did not include the deuterocanonical books, the Christian Scripture should not either, they removed these books from Protestant Bibles (although the First King James Bible did include them).
In an effort to correct the errors of the Protestant Reformers the Council of Trent declared that the books that the Council of Florence in 1442 had declared divinely inspired (which included the deuterocanonical books) were the definitive canon of Scripture, ending any debate within the Catholic Church. Trusting as we do in the reality that the Holy Spirit guides ecumenical councils, we can trust fully in the authenticity of the deuterocanonical books.
This question was answered by Father Caleb La Rue, vice chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
