Do we have the same Holy Scripture as the Nikonians, Catholics, and Protestants? What are canonical and non-canonical books? #

The Holy Scripture of Christians is the Bible, a book recognized as divinely inspired by virtually all who call themselves Christians. The word “Bible” translates from Greek as “books,” indicating that it is a collection of various books. The specific composition of these books is called the canon of Holy Scripture. The canon was finalized by the 4th century and confirmed by the decisions of several local and ecumenical councils. Notably, lists of books recognized as sacred are found in the following ecclesiastical rules: the 85th Apostolic Rule, the 60th Rule of the Council of Laodicea, the 39th Festal Letter of St. Athanasius the Great, and the 33rd Rule of the Council of Carthage. These lists align entirely with the three oldest complete editions of the Bible: the Codex Sinaiticus, the Codex Vaticanus, and the Codex Alexandrinus.

The earliest translations of the Bible, for the most part, fully include all the books listed in these ecclesiastical rules and found in the Greek codices. Translations made by Protestants shortly after the Reformation also included all the specified books; however, in later editions of the King James Version, certain Old Testament books were placed separately. These were books preserved in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) but not recognized or revered as sacred by the Jews. In subsequent editions of the King James Version, these books were entirely removed from the Bible’s text.

Today, most Protestant editions of the Bible exclude the books not recognized by the Jews. In Protestant terminology, these books are referred to as “apocryphal.” In the Roman Catholic Church, these books are recognized as sacred but are often printed as a separate block following the Old Testament books accepted by Jews and Protestants. Roman Catholics refer to these books as “deuterocanonical.” Editions of the Russian Bible translation produced under the blessing or involvement of the Nikonian Church structures often include these Old Testament books, usually placed separately from the books recognized by Jews and Protestants. Typically, these editions provide an explanatory note on the history of these books, labeling them as non-canonical. The Old Believer’s so-called Ostrog Bible, acknowledged by all Old Believers, includes all these books alongside those recognized by Jews and Protestants, without making any distinctions among the Old Testament books. Moreover, during the reading of paremias (passages from the Old Testament) prescribed for various feast and fast days of the liturgical year, books not accepted by Jews and Protestants are read on equal footing with other Old Testament books.

Thus, our Holy Scripture differs from that of the Protestants and Nikonians in that, following the Holy Fathers and the ancient Christian Church, we recognize all the books included in the canon. Protestants consider these books apocryphal, the Nikonians regard them as non-canonical, and Roman Catholics classify them as deuterocanonical (while fully acknowledging their divine inspiration). According to ecclesiastical rules, canonical books are those included in the canon of Holy Scripture, while all others are considered non-canonical.

— Priest Mikhail Rodin.