On church councils pt.2

A number of books rely on church councils to prove the Roman Catholic canon. What follows are a couple of articles regarding some of these canons that I discovered while following a post on a Baptist internet notice-board concerning the same subject. The argument proposed is that the church used and accepted the deuterocanonical books from the early days of the church, as demonstrated in certain councils. The articles on this page were used to dipsute this. (The original thread can be found here : http://www.baptistboard.com/showthread.php?t=28368 - the later pages have the most pertinent arguments and information).

It would appear that around the year 360 there was a church gathering in Laodicea which prescribed that only the 'canonical books of the Old and New Testaments' should be read in the church. This is found in what is called 'canon 59' and then followed by 'canon 60' where a list of these books is given. (The term 'canon 59' and 'canon 60' should not be understood as canon of scripture, they are more akin to article 59 and article 60.) Here are the two articles taken from the New Advent online Roman Catholic Encylopedia which are significant in the exclusion of the majority of Apocryphal books :

Canon 59:
No psalms composed by private individuals nor any uncanonical books may be read in the church, but only the Canonical Books of the Old and New Testaments.

Canon 60:
These are all the books of Old Testament appointed to be read: 1, Genesis of the world; 2, The Exodus from Egypt; 3, Leviticus; 4, Numbers; 5, Deuteronomy; 6, Joshua, the son of Nun; 7, Judges, Ruth; 8, Esther; 9, Of the Kings, First and Second; 10, Of the Kings, Third and Fourth; 11, Chronicles, First and Second; 12, Esdras, First and Second; 13, The Book of Psalms; 14, The Proverbs of Solomon; 15, Ecclesiastes; 16, The Song of Songs; 17, Job; 18, The Twelve Prophets; 19, Isaiah; 20, Jeremiah, and Baruch, the Lamentations, and the Epistle; 21, Ezekiel; 22, Daniel.

And these are the books of the New Testament: Four Gospels, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; The Acts of the Apostles; Seven Catholic Epistles, to wit, one of James, two of Peter, three of John, one of Jude; Fourteen Epistles of Paul, one to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, one to the Galatians, one to the Ephesians, one to the Philippians, one to the Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, one to the Hebrews, two to Timothy, one to Titus, and one to Philemon.
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3806.htm

Concerning the importance of of church councils, according to the Roman Catholic Church :

Although it is in the nature of councils to represent either the whole or part of the Church organism yet we find many councils simply consisting of a number of bishops brought together from different countries for some special purpose, regardless of any territorial or hierarchical connection. They were most frequent in the fourth century, when the metropolitan and patriarchal circumscriptions were still imperfect, and questions of faith and discipline manifold. Not a few of them, summoned by emperors or bishops in opposition to the lawful authorities (such as that of Antioch in 341), were positively irregular, and acted for evil rather than good. Councils of this kind may be compared to the meetings of bishops of our own times; decrees passed in them had no binding power on any but the subjects of the bishops present, they were important manifestations of the sensus ecclesiae (mind of the Church) rather than judicial or legislative bodies. But precisely as expressing the mind of the Church they often acquired a far-reaching influence due, either to their internal soundness, or to the authority of their framers, or to both.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04423f.htm

And particulary as pertaining to the council of Hippo and Carthage :

At the Synod of Hippo (393), and again at the Synod of 397 at Carthage, a list of the books of Holy Scripture was drawn up. It is the Catholic canon (i.e. including the books classed by Protestants as "Apocrypha"). The latter synod, at the end of the enumeration, added, "But let Church beyond sea (Rome) be consulted about confirming this canon".
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01199a.htm

A similar quote in French concerning the council of Laodicea (le concile de Laodicée) :

Ce concile prescrit (canon 59) que ne doivent être lus dans l'Eglise que "seuls les livres canonique du Nouveau et de l'Ancien Testament". Il énumère ensuite (canon 60, dont l'authenticité est suspectée) la liste des livres canoniques, ce qui a pour but de couper court à toute discussion. Pour le nombre de ses livres au moins, l'Ancien Testament reflète le recueil palestinien : il y manque Judith, Tobie, Ecclésiastique et Macchabées. Par contre, Baruch est cité avec Jérémie et, à la suite des Lamentations, on signale des "lettres", qui correspondent certainement à la Lettre de Jérémie. Et l'ordre : Jérémie, Baruch, Lamentations et Letrres est celui de la Septante. Dans le Nouveau Testament, il manque l'Apocalypse.

Bien que d'authenticité douteuse en son dernier canon, ce texte de Laodicée est d'une grande importance pour l'histoire du canon biblique. Il s'accorde avec d'autres témoins contemporains et des mêmes régions d'Asie, pour l'exclusion des Deutérocanoniques.
(Cahiers Evangile : L'inspiration et le canon des ecritures, Histoire et théologie, Editions du Cerf, p52)

What is particularly convenient in this French article is that although canon 59 is recognised as authentic, canon 60 which excludes the Apocrpyhal books is cited as suspect, which is found in other Roman Catholic literature. For me this is a little too convenient. Particularly as there are records of earlier Christians excluding the Apocryphal books.