By John Santosuosso

      What is this mysterious thing we call the Apocrypha? The word actually means "spurious" or "hidden." However, as we use it in discussing Biblical literature there is nothing hidden about it at all. The Apocrypha is simply a collection of religious writings most of whom were composed in the time period between the Old and New Testaments. They were written in Greek rather than in the Hebrew and Aramaic used for the Old Testament books.

      These books became popular in Jewish religious circles and as a result were included in the Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint. By the end of the first century the Septuagint was the Bible used by most Jews. It is also the Old Testament version most quoted by the New Testament writers.

      The term "canon" refers to those Scriptures that were considered to be divinely inspired or authoratative. Even though it had made it into the Septuagint, ultimately the Apocrypha was excluded from the Hebrew canon because Jews considered the age of prophecy to have ended with Malachi, the last book in our Old Testament canon. The Apocryphal books were not authored until after this time, and thus were not considered to be divinely inspired.

      The fact that they were already widely circulated during the early centuries of the Christian church resulted in them having better success in acceptance with Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox churches. In Roman Catholicism they are often referred to as "deuterocanonical," but there seems to be no significant difference between canonical and deuterocanonical. During the time of the Protestant Reformation, Rome countered with the Council of Trent. Among its decisions was a reaffirmation that the Apocryphal books were to be considered canonical. In Catholic and Orthodox Bibles these writings are not grouped together but are placed at various spots in listings of the Old Testament books.

      Martin Luther included the Apocryphal books in his German translation of the Bible, but he had doubts about their authority. They were not in the Hebrew canon, and they were Greek manuscripts rather than Hebrew. In general Protestant churches completely rejected them and continue to do so to the present day. Some Protestant translations of the Bible leave them out entirely. Others, especially the more recent ones, include them but group them together, often between the Old and New Testaments.

      As is sometimes the case, Anglicans took a position somewhere between the Protestant churches and that of Roman Catholics. The King James Version of the Bible included translations of the Apocryphal books, and they were often printed in King James Bibles until well into the nineteenth century, when they began to fall out of favor. When the Church of England separated from Rome it drew up the "Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion," where it set forth its official position on various issues, including those where it differed with Roman Catholicism. Article Six declared that while the Apocryphal books were not to be used to establish doctrine, they can be read for education and instruction. With some modifications, the Episcopal Church in the United States adopted the Thirty-Nine Articles when it separated from the Church of England, and this remains the current position of the Episcopal Church.

      The Thirty-Nine Articles names fifteen Apocryphal writings. You can find these listed with the complete document in the Book of Common Prayer. Roman Catholics accept twelve as canonical along with I and II Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh as Apocryphal. Fourteen are accepted as canonical in the Greek Orthodox Church along with Psalm 151 and III Maccabees, which are not in the Western canon or Apocrypha. Greek Orthodoxy considers the Prayer of Manasseh and IV Maccabees (not in the Western Apocrypha) to be Apocryphal.

      The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible includes all the usual Apocryphal books plus those considered either canonical or Apocryphal in Greek Orthodoxy. This translation is popular with scholars and is approved for use in Episcopal services. It might be said to have "expanded" the Apocrypha, even if not officially.

      The Common Lectionary, used by the Episcopal Church and various other denominations, includes readings from the Apocrypha along with aternate Old Testament ones for several Sundays throughout the year. Several of the Canticles in the BCP are based on the Apocrypha, and a reading from Tobit is provided for the marriage liturgy.

      A wide variety of writings on many different religious subjects began to appear early in the history of the Christian church, and in fact occasional new ones are still produced. Various localities considered some of these canonical. Many are useful to scholars. Others, even if interesting, are somewhat outrageous. For example in the Infancy Gospels, Jesus and his childhood friends make toy pigeons out of clay. The difference is those crafted by Jesus can fly. A very few of these works have gained canonical status in various regional churches such as that of Ethiopia. Most have not. They are often referred to as "pseuedepigrapha," or spurious writings. If you care to see the text of any of these you can download free apps from the Google Play Store. There are numerous others, but among those available are The Gospel of Thomas, The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden, The Book of Jasher, The Book of Jubilees, The Book of Enoch, and The Unknown History of the Life of Jesus Christ. I plan to do an article on the Gospel of Thomas at some future time.