biblical canon

The First Council of Nicaea (AD 325), convened by Emperor Constantine, brought together the bishops of the Roman Empire to resolve the Arian controversy. It affirmed the consubstantiality of Christ with the Father, adopted the Nicene Creed still used today, set the date of Easter and strengthened the alliance between the Church and the Roman Empire, thus laying the doctrinal and liturgical foundations of Christianity.

Level: Intermediate Level: Intermediate

There are not several Bibles, but different translations of the same Greek and Hebrew source texts. Changes in language require regular revisions. Catholics include seven deuterocanonical books that are absent from the Protestant canon. The Jehovah's Witnesses' New World Translation is criticised for its theologically motivated choices.

Level: Easy Audience: Beginners

The apocryphal books are religious writings excluded from the official biblical canon. A distinction is made between the Old Testament apocrypha (Tobit, Judith, Maccabees, Sirach…), recognized as deuterocanonical by Catholics and Orthodox, and those of the New Testament (the Gospels of Thomas, Philip, Mary Magdalene…), often with a Gnostic coloring. Their study sheds light on the religious history and debates of the first Christian centuries, without placing them on the level of the canonical Scriptures.

Level: Intermediate Level: Intermediate