Canon of the New Testament

The canon of the New Testament is the authoritative collection of 27 books recognized by the church as divinely inspired Scripture. The word canon (Greek kanon, "rule" or "measuring rod") denotes the standard by which books were judged. The process of canonization was not a single council decision but a gradual, organic recognition over the first four centuries. Paul's letters were circulating and being collected within decades of his death (cf. 2 Pet. 3:16, which already groups them with "other Scriptures"). The major criteria applied by the early church were apostolicity (authorship by an apostle or apostolic associate), catholicity (acceptance by the church broadly), orthodoxy (conformity with the rule of faith), and liturgical use. Disputed books — Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2–3 John, Jude, Revelation — achieved full recognition by different regions at different times. Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History, c. 325) distinguished between the homologoumena (universally accepted), antilegomena (disputed), and rejected writings. The Festal Letter of Athanasius (367) is the first surviving document listing exactly the 27 books of the present NT canon. The councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397) ratified this list for the Western church.