Comments | christianity: Greek vs. Latin canon

chrysologus400 in christianity

Greek vs. Latin canon

Mar 05, 2010 16:55

Does anyone know why the Orthodox Church considers 3 Maccabees canonical yet relegates 4 Maccabees to the appendix of their Bibles? Both texts are part of the Septuagint (LXX). I don't have access to the Orthodox Study Bible, but it would be great if someone could summarize what it says on this issue, if anything. There is no ancient Latin version ( Read more... )

canon, catholic church, east, latin, orthodox church, greek, west

Comments 4

martiancyclist March 6 2010, 02:43:40 UTC

From what I understand, the Slavonic canon contains neither 3 nor 4 Maccabees. However, since there are no lectionary readings from any Maccabee book, which ones are bound in our Bibles is not an issue we consider terribly essential.

chrysologus400 March 6 2010, 03:50:53 UTC

The New Oxford Annotated Bible says otherwise, though it may be wrong.

martiancyclist March 6 2010, 12:44:20 UTC

It may well be right, too; by the time you get into these most minor books of the OT, it's hard to find sources who care, and I wouldn't be surprised if there are internal contradictions within the Russian Church. There were some minor Jesuit influences in some Russian seminaries at one point, and the Tridentine canon may have crept in in a few places.

alasthai March 7 2010, 02:19:25 UTC

On a quick look at #2, I think that it may have had more to do with the earlier councils and canon lists than with the earlier Bibles: Carthage in 397, the Decretum Gelasianum probably in the C6th, and John Damascene's list in the C8th all omit 3 and 4 Esdras, the others being harder to pick because they could be compounded with other texts. That may be where the cause of omission is to be found.