New Testament

As Jews, the first Christians revered “the Law and the Prophets” (the Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament) as God’s inspired word. The Christian Gospel was first transmitted orally. Then, gradually, the events of Jesus’ life and his saving words and deeds were written down. Some of these writings, such as the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and the letters of St. Paul, received the same reverence as the Hebrew Scriptures and became part of Christianworship.

Nearly all New Testament writings were composed between AD 50 and 100, when the memory of Christ was recent and fresh. Over time, the bishops of the early Church, following the tradition of the whole community, identified 27 books as “canonical,” that is, as belonging in the list of books considered to be inspired by the Holy Spirit and God’s own word. By AD 200, this New Testament “canon” was fixed in what was nearly its final form. A letter of St. Athanasius written in AD 367 is the first known publication of this canon as we have it to this day.

The development of the New Testament canon was a Spirit-guided process, as shown by the fact that that not every ancient document was accepted as inspired. For example, the “Protoevangelium of James” is the source of the names of Mary’s parents, Joachim and Anne, and of the feast of the Presentation of Our Lady in the Temple. Yet it was not accepted as God’s inspired word.