The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations .
74-466: Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel , while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy . The Catholic Church is the largest non-governmental provider of education and medical services in the world. The Catholic Church has had a long tradition of coordinating charity to the poor, something that
148-438: A careful and ordered transmission of it." NT Wright also argued for a stable oral tradition, stating "Communities that live in an oral culture tend to be story-telling communities [...] Such stories [...] acquire a fairly fixed form, down to precise phraseology [...] they retain that form, and phraseology, as long as they are told [...] The storyteller in such a culture has no license to invent or adapt at will. The less important
222-469: A loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words and deeds of Jesus , culminating in his trial and death and concluding with various reports of his post-resurrection appearances . The gospels are a kind of bios , or ancient biography , meant to convince people that Jesus was a charismatic miracle-working holy man, providing examples for readers to emulate. As such, they present the Christian message of
296-418: A variety of reasons, the majority of scholars have abandoned this view or hold it only tenuously. In the immediate aftermath of Jesus' death, his followers expected him to return at any moment, certainly within their own lifetimes, and in consequence there was little motivation to write anything down for future generations, but as eyewitnesses began to die, and as the missionary needs of the church grew, there
370-705: Is highly unlikely that the author had direct knowledge of events, or that his mentions of the Beloved Disciple as his source should be taken as a guarantee of his reliability, and the Synoptic Gospels are the primary sources for Christ's ministry. Assessments of the reliability of the Gospels involve not just the texts but studying the long oral and written transmission behind them using methods like memory studies and form criticism , with different scholars coming to different conclusions. James D.G. Dunn believed that
444-552: Is not without historical value: certain of its sayings are as old or older than their synoptic counterparts, and its representation of the topography around Jerusalem is often superior to that of the synoptics. Its testimony that Jesus was executed before, rather than on, Passover, might well be more accurate, and its presentation of Jesus in the garden and the prior meeting held by the Jewish authorities are possibly more historically plausible than their synoptic parallels. Nevertheless, it
518-441: Is that the gospels are a subset of the ancient genre of bios , or ancient biography . Ancient biographies were concerned with providing examples for readers to emulate while preserving and promoting the subject's reputation and memory; the gospels were never simply biographical, they were propaganda and kerygma (preaching), meant to convince people that Jesus was a charismatic miracle-working holy man. As such, they present
592-481: Is the first to make Christological judgements outside the context of the narrative of Jesus's life. He presents a significantly different picture of Jesus's career, omitting any mention of his ancestry, birth and childhood, his baptism , temptation and transfiguration ; his chronology and arrangement of incidents is also distinctly different, clearly describing the passage of three years in Jesus's ministry in contrast to
666-479: Is used less since it differs from the synoptics. However, according to the manuscript evidence and citation frequency by the early Church Fathers, Matthew and John were the most popular Gospels while Luke and Mark were less popular in the early centuries of the church. Many non-canonical gospels were also written, all later than the four canonical gospels, and like them advocating the particular theological views of their various authors. Important examples include
740-471: The Apostle Paul , who did not know him personally. Ehrman explains how the tradition developed as it was transmitted: You are probably familiar with the old birthday party game " telephone ." A group of kids sits in a circle, the first tells a brief story to the one sitting next to her, who tells it to the next, and to the next, and so on, until it comes back full circle to the one who started it. Invariably,
814-464: The Historical Jesus . Other scholars have been more skeptical and see more changes in the traditions prior to the written Gospels. There is near-consensus that John had its origins as the hypothetical Signs Gospel thought to have been circulated within a Johannine community . In modern scholarship, the Synoptic Gospels are the primary sources for reconstructing Christ's ministry while John
SECTION 10
#1733093491114888-813: The Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church and the East Syriac Chaldean Catholic Church , which is in communion with the Holy See , still only present lessons from the 22 books of the original Peshitta. The Armenian Apostolic church at times has included the Third Epistle to the Corinthians in its biblical canon, but does not always list it with the other 27 canonical New Testament books. The church did not accept Revelation into its Bible until 1200 CE. English translations were made in
962-563: The Medieval Latin adjective apocryphus , 'secret' or 'non-canonical', which in turn originated from the Greek adjective ἀπόκρυφος ( apokryphos ), 'obscure', from the verb ἀποκρύπτειν ( apokryptein ), 'to hide away'. Apokryptein in turn comes from the Greek prefix apo- , meaning 'away', and the Greek verb kryptein , meaning 'to hide'. The general term is usually applied to
1036-565: The Nag Hammadi library . Some texts take the form of an expounding of the esoteric cosmology and ethics held by the Gnostics. Often this was in the form of dialogue in which Jesus expounds esoteric knowledge while his disciples raise questions concerning it. There is also a text, known as the Epistula Apostolorum , which is a polemic against Gnostic esoterica, but written in a similar style as
1110-507: The Parousia (second coming) is made up almost entirely of quotations from scripture. Matthew is full of quotations and allusions , and although John uses scripture in a far less explicit manner, its influence is still pervasive. Their source was the Greek version of the scriptures, called the Septuagint ; they do not seem familiar with the original Hebrew. The consensus among modern scholars
1184-594: The Questions of Bartholomew or the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is in fact the unknown Gospel of Bartholomew . A number of texts aim to provide a single harmonization of the canonical gospels, that eliminates discordances among them by presenting a unified text derived from them to some degree. The most widely read of these was the Diatessaron . In the modern era, many Gnostic texts have been uncovered, especially from
1258-480: The biblical canon . Despite this, some scholars have noted that the very number of surviving infancy manuscripts attests to their continued popularity. Most of these manuscripts were based on the earliest infancy gospels, namely the Infancy Gospel of James (also called the "Protoevangelium of James") and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas , and on their later combination into the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew (also called
1332-459: The synoptic gospels because they present very similar accounts of the life of Jesus. Mark begins with the baptism of the adult Jesus and the heavenly declaration that he is the son of God; he gathers followers and begins his ministry, and tells his disciples that he must die in Jerusalem but that he will rise; in Jerusalem, he is at first acclaimed but then rejected, betrayed, and crucified, and when
1406-726: The "Infancy Gospel of Matthew" or "Birth of Mary and Infancy of the Saviour"). The other significant early infancy gospels are the Syriac Infancy Gospel , the History of Joseph the Carpenter , and the Life of John the Baptist . The Jewish–Christian Gospels were gospels of a Jewish Christian character quoted by Clement of Alexandria , Origen , Eusebius , Epiphanius , Jerome and probably Didymus
1480-545: The 3rd and 4th Centuries generally distinguished between canonical works and those that were not canonical but 'useful,' or 'good for teaching,' though never relegating any of the final 27 books to the latter category. One aim with establishing the canon was to capture only those works which were held to have been written by the Apostles, or their close associates, and as the Muratorian fragment canon (ca. 150–175 CE) states concerning
1554-470: The Baptist , calls disciples, teaches and heals and confronts the Pharisees , dies on the cross and is raised from the dead. Each has its own distinctive understanding of him and his divine role and scholars recognize that the differences of detail among the gospels are irreconcilable, and any attempt to harmonize them would only disrupt their distinct theological messages. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are termed
SECTION 20
#17330934911141628-643: The Blind . Most modern scholars have concluded that there existed one gospel in Aramaic/Hebrew and at least two in Greek, although a minority argue that there were only two: one Aramaic/Hebrew and one Greek. None of these gospels survive today, but attempts have been made to reconstruct them from references in the Church Fathers . The reconstructed texts of the gospels are usually categorized under New Testament Apocrypha. The standard edition of Schneemelcher describes
1702-461: The Catholic and Orthodox traditions, what are called the apocrypha by Protestants include the deuterocanonical books: in the Catholic tradition, the term apocrypha is synonymous with what Protestants would call the pseudepigrapha, the latter term of which is almost exclusively used by scholars. That some works are categorized as New Testament apocrypha is indicative of the wide range of responses to
1776-409: The Christian message of the second half of the first century AD, and modern biblical scholars are cautious of relying on the gospels uncritically as historical documents, though they provide a good idea of the public career of Jesus. The majority view among critical scholars is that the authors of Matthew and Luke based their narratives on Mark's gospel, editing him to suit their own ends, and
1850-570: The Didache, Shepherd of Hermas, 1 Clement, 2 Clement, the Epistle of Barnabas, and to a lesser extent the Apocalypse of Peter . Considering the generally accepted dates of authorship for all of the canonical New Testament works ( c. 100 CE ), as well as the various witnesses to canonicity extant among the writings of Ignatius, Polycarp, Irenaeus, etc., the four gospels and letters of Paul were held by
1924-510: The Earth and thus the Church should have four pillars. He referred to the four collectively as the "fourfold gospel" ( euangelion tetramorphon ). The many apocryphal gospels arose from the 1st century onward, frequently under assumed names to enhance their credibility and authority, and often from within branches of Christianity that were eventually branded heretical. They can be broadly organised into
1998-584: The East. Often used by scholars is the term pseudepigrapha , meaning 'falsely inscribed' or 'falsely attributed', in the sense that the writings were written by an anonymous author who appended the name of an apostle to his work, such as in the Gospel of Peter or the Ethiopic Apocalypse of Enoch : almost all books, in both Old and New Testaments, called "apocrypha" in the Protestant tradition are pseudepigrapha. In
2072-470: The Gnostic texts. The Sethians were a gnostic group who originally worshipped the biblical Seth as a messianic figure , later treating Jesus as a re-incarnation of Seth. They produced numerous texts expounding their esoteric cosmology, usually in the form of visions: Some of the Gnostic texts appear to consist of diagrams and instructions for use in religious rituals: Several texts concern themselves with
2146-572: The Gospels themselves. The canonical gospels are the four which appear in the New Testament of the Bible . They were probably written between AD 66 and 110. Most scholars hold that all four were anonymous (with the modern names of the " Four Evangelists " added in the 2nd century), almost certainly none were by eyewitnesses, and all are the end-products of long oral and written transmission. According to
2220-696: The New Testament Apocrypha in German is that of Schneemelcher , and in English its translation by Robert McLachlan Wilson. Constantin von Tischendorf and other scholars began to study New Testament apocrypha seriously in the 19th century and produce new translations. The texts of the Nag Hammadi library are often considered separately but the current edition of Schneemelcher also contains eleven Nag Hammadi texts. Books that are known objectively not to have existed in antiquity are usually not considered part of
2294-579: The New Testament apocrypha. Among these are the Libellus de Nativitate Sanctae Mariae (also called the "Nativity of Mary") and the Latin Infancy gospel. The latter two did not exist in antiquity, and they seem to be based on the earlier Infancy gospels. Information about the childhood of Jesus was supplied by a number of 2nd-century and later texts, known as infancy gospels, none of which were accepted into
Catholic charities - Misplaced Pages Continue
2368-516: The United States, each diocese typically has a Catholic Charities organization that is run as a diocesan corporation, i.e., a civil corporation owned by the diocese or archdiocese. Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel "), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was reported. In this sense a gospel can be defined as
2442-461: The books that were considered by the church as useful, but not divinely inspired. As such, to refer to Gnostic writings as "apocryphal" is misleading since they would not be classified in the same category by orthodox believers. Often used by the Greek Fathers was the term antilegomena , or 'spoken against', although some canonical books were also spoken against, such as the Apocalypse of John in
2516-453: The canon was formally decided at the end of that century. Among historians of early Christianity, the books are considered invaluable, especially those that almost made it into the final canon, such as Shepherd of Hermas . Bart Ehrman , for example, said: The victors in the struggles to establish Christian Orthodoxy not only won their theological battles, they also rewrote the history of the conflict; later readers then naturally assumed that
2590-448: The contradictions and discrepancies among these three versions and John make it impossible to accept both traditions as equally reliable with regard to the historical Jesus. In addition, the gospels read today have been edited and corrupted over time, leading Origen to complain in the 3rd century that "the differences among manuscripts have become great [...] [because copyists] either neglect to check over what they have transcribed, or, in
2664-471: The earliest tradents within the Christian churches [were] preservers more than innovators [...] seeking to transmit, retell, explain, interpret, elaborate, but not create de novo [...] Through the main body of the Synoptic tradition [...] we have in most cases direct access to the teaching and ministry of Jesus as it was remembered from the beginning of the transmission process [...] and so fairly direct access to
2738-411: The early 18th century by William Wake and by Jeremiah Jones , and collected in 1820 by William Hone 's Apocryphal New Testament . The series Ante-Nicene Fathers , volume 8, contains translations by Alexander Walker. New translations by M. R. James appeared in 1924, and were revised by J.K. Eliott, The Apocryphal New Testament , Oxford University Press, 1991. The "standard" scholarly edition of
2812-493: The early church. Those marked with a lozenge (♦) are included in the collection known as the Apostolic Fathers : Several works frame themselves as visions, often discussing the future, afterlife, or both: Several texts (over 50) consist of descriptions of the events surrounding the varied fate of Mary (the mother of Jesus): These texts, due to their content or form, do not fit into the other categories: In addition to
2886-483: The following categories: The apocryphal gospels can also be seen in terms of the communities which produced them: It was originally written in Greek and is often interpreted as a Gnostic text. It is typically not considered a gospel by scholars since it does not focus on the life of Jesus. New Testament apocrypha The New Testament apocrypha (singular apocryphon ) are a number of writings by early Christians that give accounts of Jesus and his teachings,
2960-577: The gentile Christian community as scriptural, and 200 years were needed to finalize the canon; from the beginning of the 2nd Century to the mid-4th Century, no book in the final canon was ever declared spurious or heretical, except for the Revelation of John which the Council of Laodicea in 363–364 CE rejected (although it accepted all of the other 26 books in the New Testament). This was possibly due to fears of
3034-618: The gospels of Thomas , Peter , Judas , and Mary ; infancy gospels such as that of James (the first to introduce the perpetual virginity of Mary ); and gospel harmonies such as the Diatessaron . Gospel is the Old English translation of the Hellenistic Greek term εὐαγγέλιον , meaning "good news"; this may be seen from analysis of ευαγγέλιον ( εὖ "good" + ἄγγελος "messenger" + -ιον diminutive suffix). The Greek term
Catholic charities - Misplaced Pages Continue
3108-684: The hypothesized Q source used by Matthew and Luke. The authors of Matthew and Luke, acting independently, used Mark for their narrative of Jesus' career, supplementing it with the hypothesized collection of sayings called the Q ;source and additional material unique to each called the M ;source (Matthew) and the L ;source (Luke). Mark, Matthew, and Luke are called the synoptic gospels because of their close similarities of content, arrangement, and language. The authors and editors of John may have known
3182-452: The influence of Montanism which used the book extensively to support their theology. See Revelation of John for more details. Athanasius wrote his Easter letter in 367 CE which defined a canon of 27 books, identical to the current canon, but also listed two works that were "not in the canon but to be read:" The Shepherd of Hermas and the Didache . Nevertheless, the early church leaders in
3256-423: The known apocryphal works, there are also small fragments of texts, parts of unknown (or uncertain) works. Some of the more significant fragments are: Several texts are mentioned in many ancient sources and would probably be considered part of the apocrypha, but no known text has survived: While many of the books listed here were considered heretical (especially those belonging to the gnostic tradition—as this sect
3330-576: The majority of scholars, Mark was the first to be written, using a variety of sources, followed by Matthew and Luke , which both independently used Mark for their narrative of Jesus's career, supplementing it with a collection of sayings called "the Q source ", and additional material unique to each. There have been different views on the transmission of material that lead to the Synoptic Gospels , with various scholars arguing memory and orality reliably preserved traditions that ultimately go back to
3404-405: The methodological challenges historical Jesus studies have flowered in recent years; Dale Allison laments, "The publication of academic books about the historical Jesus continues apace, so much so that no one can any longer keep up; we are all overwhelmed." The oldest gospel text known is 𝔓 , a fragment of John dating from the first half of the 2nd century. The creation of a Christian canon
3478-505: The ministry and teaching of Jesus through the eyes and ears of those who went about with him. According to Bruce Chilton and Craig Evans , "...the Judaism of the period treated such traditions very carefully, and the New Testament writers in numerous passages applied to apostolic traditions the same technical terminology found elsewhere in Judaism [...] In this way they both identified their traditions as 'holy word' and showed their concern for
3552-431: The ministry of Jesus . During the first centuries following Jesus' ministry, considerable debate was held in regards to safeguarding the authenticity of his teachings. Three key methods developed to address this survive to the present day: ordination , where groups authorize individuals as reliable teachers of the message; creeds , where groups define the boundaries of interpretation of the message; and canons , which list
3626-541: The nature of God , or the teachings of his apostles and of their lives. Some of these writings were cited as scripture by early Christians, but since the fifth century a widespread consensus has emerged limiting the New Testament to the 27 books of the modern canon . Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant churches generally do not view the New Testament apocrypha as part of the Bible. The word apocrypha means 'things put away' or 'things hidden', originating from
3700-629: The ninth century to be full of folly, self-contradiction, falsehood, and impiety. The Acts of Thomas and the Acts of Peter and the Twelve are often considered Gnostic texts. While most of the texts are believed to have been written in the 2nd century, at least two, the Acts of Barnabas and the Acts of Peter and Paul are believed to have been written as late as the 5th century. There are also non-canonical epistles (or "letters") between individuals or to Christians in general. Some of them were regarded very highly by
3774-483: The primary documents certain groups believe contain the message originally taught by Jesus. The first centuries of Christianity saw substantial debate in regards to which books should be included in the canons. In general, those books that the majority regarded as the earliest books about Jesus were the ones included. Books that were not accepted into the canons are now termed apocryphal ; some were vigorously suppressed and survive only as fragments, or only in mention in
SECTION 50
#17330934911143848-439: The process of checking, they make additions or deletions as they please." Most of these are insignificant, but some are significant, an example being Matthew 1:18, altered to imply the pre-existence of Jesus. For these reasons, modern scholars are cautious of relying on the gospels uncritically, and critical study can attempt to distinguish the original ideas of Jesus from those of later authors. Scholars usually agree that John
3922-452: The remembered Jesus. The idea that we can get back to an objective historical reality, which we can wholly separate and disentangle from the disciples' memories...is simply unrealistic." According to Chris Keith, a historical Jesus is "ultimately unattainable, but can be hypothesized on the basis of the interpretations of the early Christians , and as part of a larger process of accounting for how and why early Christians came to view Jesus in
3996-419: The rest of the New Testament , the four gospels were written in Greek. The Gospel of Mark probably dates from c. AD 66 –70, Matthew and Luke around AD 85–90, and John AD 90–110. Despite the traditional ascriptions, most scholars hold that all four are anonymous and most scholars agree that none were written by eyewitnesses. A few scholars defend the traditional ascriptions or attributions, but for
4070-493: The second half of the first century AD, and modern biblical scholars are cautious of relying on the gospels uncritically as historical documents, though according to E. P. Sanders "we have a good idea of [...] his public career." . Critical study on the Historical Jesus has largely failed to distinguish the original ideas of Jesus from those of the later Christian authors , and the focus of research has shifted to Jesus as remembered by his followers, and understanding
4144-759: The single year of the synoptics, placing the cleansing of the Temple at the beginning rather than at the end, and the Last Supper on the day before Passover instead of being a Passover meal. According to Delbert Burkett, the Gospel of John is the only gospel to call Jesus God, though other scholars like Larry Hurtado and Michael Barber view a possible divine Christology in the Synoptics. In contrast to Mark, where Jesus hides his identity as messiah, in John he openly proclaims it. Like
4218-474: The stories into different languages. While multiple quests have been undertaken to reconstruct the historical Jesus, since the late 1990s concerns have been growing about the possibility to reconstruct a historical Jesus from the Gospel-texts. According to Dunn, "What we actually have in the earliest retellings of what is now the Synoptic tradition...are the memories of the first disciples-not Jesus himself, but
4292-457: The story has changed so much in the process of retelling that everyone gets a good laugh. Imagine this same activity taking place, not in a solitary living room with ten kids on one afternoon, but over the expanse of the Roman Empire (some 2,500 miles across), with thousands of participants—from different backgrounds, with different concerns, and in different contexts—some of whom have to translate
4366-457: The story, the more the entire community, in a process that is informal but very effective, will keep a close watch on the precise form and wording with which the story is told. Other scholars are less sanguine about oral tradition, and Valantasis, Bleyle, and Hough argue that the early traditions were fluid and subject to alteration, sometimes transmitted by those who had known Jesus personally, but more often by wandering prophets and teachers like
4440-505: The subsequent lives of the apostles, usually with highly supernatural events. Almost half of these, anciently called The Circuits of the Apostles and now known by the name of their purported author, " Leucius Charinus " (supposedly a companion of John the apostle), contained the Acts of Peter, John, Andrew, Thomas, and Paul. These were judged by the Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople in
4514-614: The synoptics, but did not use them in the way that Matthew and Luke used Mark. There is a near-consensus that this gospel had its origins as a "signs" source (or gospel) that circulated within the Johannine community (which produced John and the three epistles associated with the name) and later expanded with a Passion narrative as well as a series of discourses. All four also use the Jewish scriptures, by quoting or referencing passages, interpreting texts, or alluding to or echoing biblical themes. Such use can be extensive: Mark's description of
SECTION 60
#17330934911144588-448: The texts of three Jewish–Christian gospels as follows: Some scholars consider that the two last named are in fact the same source. A number of gospels are concerned specifically with the " Passion " (from the Latin verb patior, passus sum ; "to suffer, bear, endure", from which also "patience, patient", etc.) ) of Jesus: Although three texts take Bartholomew's name, it may be that either
4662-518: The various Syrian churches, originally did not include 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John, Jude and Revelation. This canon of 22 books is the one cited by John Chrysostom (~347–407) and Theodoret (393–466) from the School of Antioch . Western Syrians have added the remaining five books to their New Testament canons in modern times (such as the Lee Peshitta of 1823). Today, the official lectionaries followed by
4736-542: The victorious views had been embraced by the vast majority of Christians from the very beginning ... The practice of Christian forgery has a long and distinguished history ... the debate lasted three hundred years ... even within "orthodox" circles there was considerable debate concerning which books to include. The historical debate primarily concerned whether certain works should be read in the church service or only privately. These works were widely used but not necessarily considered Catholic or 'universal.' Such works include
4810-451: The ways that they did." According to Keith, "these two models are methodologically and epistemologically incompatible," calling into question the methods and aim of the first model. Keith argues that criticism of the criteria of authenticity does not mean scholars cannot research the Historical Jesus , but rather that scholarship should seek to understand the Gospels rather than trying to sift through them for nuggets of history. Regardless of
4884-403: The women who have followed him come to his tomb, they find it empty. Mark never calls Jesus "God" or claims that he existed prior to his earthly life, apparently believes that he had a normal human parentage and birth, and makes no attempt to trace his ancestry back to King David or Adam ; it originally ended at Mark 16:8 and had no post-resurrection appearances , although Mark 16:7, in which
4958-618: The writings of those condemning them. The earliest lists of canonical works of the New Testament were not quite the same as modern lists; for example, the Book of Revelation was regarded as disputed by some Christians (see Antilegomena ), while the Shepherd of Hermas was considered genuine by others, and appears (after the Book of Revelation) in the Codex Sinaiticus . The Syriac Peshitta , used by all
5032-613: The young man discovered in the tomb instructs the women to tell "the disciples and Peter" that Jesus will see them again in Galilee, hints that the author knew of the tradition. The authors of Matthew and Luke added infancy and resurrection narratives to the story they found in Mark, although the two differ markedly. Each also makes subtle theological changes to Mark: the Markan miracle stories, for example, confirm Jesus' status as an emissary of God (which
5106-647: Was Latinized as evangelium in the Vulgate , and translated into Latin as bona annuntiatio . In Old English, it was translated as gōdspel ( gōd "good" + spel "news"). The Old English term was retained as gospel in Middle English Bible translations and hence remains in use also in Modern English . The four canonical gospels share the same basic outline of the life of Jesus: he begins his public ministry in conjunction with that of John
5180-422: Was Mark's understanding of the Messiah), but in Matthew they demonstrate his divinity, and the "young man" who appears at Jesus' tomb in Mark becomes a radiant angel in Matthew. Luke, while following Mark's plot more faithfully than Matthew, has expanded on the source, corrected Mark's grammar and syntax, and eliminated some passages entirely, notably most of chapters 6 and 7. John, the most overtly theological,
5254-419: Was an increasing demand and need for written versions of the founder's life and teachings. The stages of this process can be summarized as follows: Mark is generally agreed to be the first gospel; it uses a variety of sources, including conflict stories (Mark 2:1–3:6), apocalyptic discourse (4:1–35), and collections of sayings, although not the sayings gospel known as the Gospel of Thomas , and probably not
5328-536: Was closely linked to the early Christian Eucharist , with the office of deacon being started for this purpose. Over time this became a part of the bishop's responsibilities and then from the fourth century onwards was decentralised to parishes and monastic orders. After the Reformation, the Church lost a large amount of property in both Catholic and Protestant countries, and after a period of sharply increased poverty, poor relief had to become more tax based. Within
5402-504: Was considered heretical by Proto-orthodox Christianity of the early centuries), others were not considered particularly heretical in content, but in fact were well accepted as significant spiritual works. Those marked with a lozenge (♦) are also included in the collection known as the Apostolic Fathers . While some of the following works appear in complete Bibles from the fourth century, such as 1 Clement and The Shepherd of Hermas, showing their general popularity, they were not included when
5476-495: Was probably a response to the career of the heretic Marcion ( c. 85 –160), who established a canon of his own with just one gospel, the Gospel of Marcion , similar to the Gospel of Luke. The Muratorian canon , the earliest surviving list of books considered (by its own author at least) to form Christian scripture, included Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Irenaeus of Lyons went further, stating that there must be four gospels and only four because there were four corners of
#113886