Из 39 послания о праздниках архиепископа Афанасия Александрийского Правило 2 Афанасия Великого

But since I mentioned heretics as dead, about ourselves, as having the divine scriptures for salvation, and I am afraid, lest, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians (2 Cor. 11:3), some of the simple-minded were diverted from simplicity and purity by the cunning of men, and then began to listen to other books, the so-called apocryphal ones, being deceived their identity with the true books: then be patient, I pray, if I also remember what is known to you, for the sake of the need and benefit of the church. Wanting to remember this, I will use, to justify my boldness, the image of the words of the Evangelist Luke, and the river and I: some people began to compile for themselves the so-called apocryphal books, and mix them with the inspired scripture, about which we are attested, as we handed over to the fathers from the beginning the witnesses and servants of the former words: I also deigned, prompted by the true brethren, and having learned first, to set forth in a series which books are accepted into the canon, are devoted and are believed to be divine, so that everyone who is deceived would reject those who deceive, and everyone who remains pure will rejoice at the new warning. And so all the books of the Old Testament number twenty-two; for, as I have heard, there are just as many letters in use among the Jews. In order and by name they are as follows: firstly, Genesis; then Exodus, then Leviticus, then Numbers, and finally Deuteronomy; after these comes Joshua, Judges, and then Ruth; then, in order, there are four books of Kings, of which both the first and second are considered one book, and equally the third and fourth are considered one; after these Chronicles the first and second, also considered one book; further Ezra the first and second also for one; after these the Book of Psalms, and then Proverbs, then Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. To this day Job; finally the twelve prophets, counted as one book, then Isaiah, Jeremiah, and with him Baruch, Lamentations and the Epistle; and after them Ezekiel and Daniel; these constitute the old testament. But we must also speak without prejudice about the books of the New Testament. They are as follows: the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; according to these Acts of the Apostles, and the seven so-called conciliar epistles of the apostles, such as: James is one, Peter is two, then John is three, and Jude is one; to them are fourteen letters of the Apostle Paul, which are written in the following order: first to the Romans, then to the Corinthians two, then to the Galatians, then to the Ephesians, then to Philippisia, to Colossae, to Thessalonians two, to the Hebrews, to Timothy two, and to Titus one, and the last to Philemon; and finally the Apocalypse of John. These are the sources of salvation, so that the thirsty one may quench his thirst with the words in them; in these only the teaching of piety is preached. Let no one add anything to this, or take anything away from them. About these the Lord, putting the Sadducees to shame, said: You are deceived, not knowing the scriptures or their power (Matthew 22:29). He exhorted the Jews: try the scriptures, for they are the ones who testify about Me (John 5:39). For the sake of greater accuracy, since I am writing out of necessity, I add this: for there are, besides these, other books, not included in the canon, but appointed by the fathers for reading by newcomers, and those who wish to be proclaimed by the word of piety: the Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of Sirach, Esther, Judith, and Tobias, and the so-called Teaching apostles, and Shepherd. However, beloved, in addition to these readable and canonical ones, there is no mention of apocryphal ones anywhere: but this is the intention of heretics, who write them whenever they want, assign them and add time to them, so that by presenting them, as if they were ancient, they have ways to seduce the simple-minded with them. (Ap. 60, 85; Laod. 60; Carth. 24; Gregory the Theologian on the books of Holy Scripture; Amphilochius on the books of Holy Scripture). This rule is entitled: εκ της λθ' έορταστικής επιστολής, - written by Athanasius in 367. This message is of great importance, as it treats the foundation and primary source of the Orthodox Christian belief; On this epistle, as well as on what Cyril of Jerusalem 133, Gregory the Theologian, Amphilochius and the 60th canon of the Council of Laodicea say about this subject, the current teaching of the Orthodox Church about the Holy Scripture and about the books of which it consists 134 is based. As in this epistle, the number of books of the Holy Scripture is also spoken of in Συνοψις επίτομος της θείας γραφής, which has been preserved under the name of Athanasius, as well as in Έκδοσις ακριβής της ορθοδόξου πίστεως John of Damascus (Book IV, Chapter 17). In this letter, Athanasius speaks about the books of Holy Scripture, first canonical, then non-canonical, and finally apocryphal. Regarding canonical books, i.e. books included in the canon (κανονιζόμενα), Saint Athanasius notes that these books, by tradition, were preserved in the church until his time, that they are divinely inspired Scripture (θεοπνεύστος γραφή), recognized by all as divine (θεΐά βιβλία) that they are sources of salvation (πηγαί του σωτηρίου), for only (μόνοις) the science of piety is preached in them, and therefore no one has the right to add or subtract anything from them. Emphasizing the importance of the canonical books of the Holy Scripture, Saint Athanasius lists these books in order, first of the Old Testament, about which he says that there are twenty-two of them (according to the number of letters of the Hebrew alphabet, as the Jews also counted, counting as one or two or more books), and then - the books of the New Testament, as they are still recognized and accepted by the Orthodox Church. From the Old Testament books, Saint Athanasius cites separately the book of “Judges”, and separately – “Ruth”, and this is because the book of “Esther” is not mentioned 135, so this again comes out to a total of 22 books, which is also listed in the 60th canon of the Council of Laodicea 136. Of the New Testament books, Saint Athanasius mentions twenty-seven, the same number listed in Amphilochius, John of Damascus, and in our catechism. Having listed the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments, Saint Athanasius then cites non-canonical books (ού κανονιζόμενα βιβλία), which, therefore, were not included in the canon, but which he considers also good and useful for reading and especially for those wishing to become Christians and become familiar with the science of piety (τοις άρτι προσερχομένοις και βουλομενοις κατηχεϊσθαι τον της ευσέβειας λόγον). Of these non-canonical books, Saint Athanasius mentions 5 Old Testament and 2 New Testament books, namely: Σοφία Σολομώντος (Wisdom of Solomon), Σοφία Σειράχ (Wisdom of Sirach), Έσθήρ (Esther), Ίουδήθ (Judith), Τωβίας (Tobias), Διδαχή καλούμενη των ποστόλων (the so-called Teaching of the Apostles) and Ποιμήν (Shepherd). The Book of Esther is placed between the non-canonical books probably because at that time the Jews of Alexandria did not yet agree on the canonicity of this book with the Palestinians, who considered it as such, as Cyril of Jerusalem recognized it as such for the Eastern Orthodox Church 137 . The other four books: the Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach (ecclesiasticus), Judith and Tobias were always recognized in the Eastern Orthodox Church as non-canonical, but still good, instructive and holy 138. And finally, the last two books - “The Teaching of the Apostles” and “The Shepherd” were recognized by the church as good books and useful books for the catechumens. Regarding the first book (“The Teaching of the Apostles”), Zonara notes that some say (τινές λέγουσιν) that these are the Apostolic decrees collected by Clement; The Council of Trullo (right 2) prohibited their reading 139 . The Teaching of the Apostles (Διδαχή των αποστόλων) in former times was identified with the Apostolic Decrees (Διαταγαι των αγίων αποστόλων) 140, which is why they could to think that Saint Athanasius also considered Διδαχή Apostolic decrees. Scientific discoveries of recent times have shown that this is not so. By Διδαχή, Saint Athanasius did not mean the Apostolic decrees, but a completely different book, which was edited in the first half of the 2nd century in Egypt (according to others, in Syria or Palestine). The contents of this book are known 141 . It is an independent work that has in common with the Apostolic Constitutions the fact that it served as a source for the first section (chap. 1-32) of the VII book of the Apostolic Constitutions. that Saint Athanasius in his present epistle had in mind precisely Διδαχή, and not the Apostolic decrees, the proof is that, as is now known, Athanasius himself used this Work, and in particular Σύνταγμα διδασκαλίας προς μονάζοντας, which has come to us under the name of Athanasius, is, in its first part, nothing more than a revised edition of Διδαχή. The book Ποιμήν (The Shepherd), compiled by Hermas at the beginning of the 2nd century, stands in its content in some parts in close connection with Διδαχή and was greatly valued in the ancient church; Origen even considered it divinitus inspirata. In view of this meaning of “Shepherd,” Saint Athanasius could recommend it, together with Διδαχή, for use by catechumens 142 . Having listed in his message the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments, then books that were not included in the canon, but useful for the catechumens, Saint Athanasius also mentions απόκρυφους βίβλους (libros reconditos), which were composed by heretics with the aim of leading the simpleton astray from the path of truth, passing them off as ancient books, and meanwhile in they contain perverted Christian teaching. To protect the faithful from these false, heretical books, Saint Athanasius wrote precisely, as he himself says, this epistle. As much as is necessary is said about these books in the interpretation of the 60th Apostolic Canon. Catechetical teaching IV, 35 [Migne, s. g., t. 33, col. 497–500]. See “Hrisht. Orthodox Catechism source of the Church", ch. On the Holy Scriptures in Particular (ed. Belgrade, 1877, pp. 10–15) [cf. in the Russian text “Space. Christ Catechism", ed. 1889, ch. "On the Holy Scriptures in Particular," pp. 9-15]. In Cyril of Jerusalem (mentioned place), the book of “Ruth” is added to the book of “Judges,” and the book of “Esther” is listed separately among the canonical books. The book of “Esther” is not listed in Athanasius the Great, nor in Gregory the Theologian or Melito of Sardis (Euseb. Hist. eccl., IV, 26), since it was not yet established everywhere in the Christian Church whether all Jews (Palestinian and Alexandrian) considered it a canonical book, for many church fathers considered this the main sign of canonicity or non-canonicality subject book. In Amphilochius, as well as in the Exposition of the Faith (mentioned place) of John of Damascus, this book is included in the list of canonical books, just as in Cyril of Jerusalem. Also in our catechism (mentioned place). See Rev. Macarius Introduction to Orthodox Theology (§ 129), where many evidences about this are given. In the Roman Catholic Church, some other books of the Old Testament are also considered canonical, for which see the interpretation of 24 Carth. rules. In addition to the mentioned 4 non-canonical books of the Old Testament, the following are also considered non-canonical, according to the teachings of the Orthodox Church: the 2nd and 3rd books of Ezra (and by the above-mentioned, as canonical, 2nd book of Ezra we must mean the book of Nehemiah), all three books of the Maccabees, as well as some places in the canonical books of the Old Testament. See Rev. Macarius Introduction to Orthodox Theology, § 127. Interpretation of this message in Af. Synth., IV, 81. Also in Alf. Syntagme Vlastar (Af. Synt., VI, 146), equal to archim. John, mentioned cit., II, 10. For this collection, see this edition, vol. I, 440 et seq. The Greek text with a parallel Serbian translation was published by Prof. I. Vuckovic, Apostolic Teaching. Zadar, 1885. second. The author indicated the literature on this subject in his op. “Right. tsrkveno right" (2nd Serbian ed.), § 37, note. 3, which lists the most important works in various Western European languages, also in Russian, Romanian and Serbian. In Russian about this monument, see, for example, in “Proceedings of the Kyiv spirit. Academy" 1884, "The Wanderer" 1884, "Readings in the Society of Spirit Lovers. enlightenment." 1884, “Right. Review" 1887. Separate editions of translations of the monument to prof. K. D. Popov (from “Proceedings of the Kyiv Spiritual Academy”), M. Solovyov with a foreword by Vl. S. Solovyov (from "Prav. Review") and St. I. S. (from “Readings”, etc.). Ed. Critical edition of "The Shepherd" y Hefele, Patrum apost. opera (Tϋbing. 1847), pp. 326–442; a cit. from Origen, see Prolegomena, p. LXXX-I of the same edition. You might be interested in: