Eastern Orthodox Biblical Canon: Full List of 76 Books, Septuagint Heritage, and Councils

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The formation of the biblical canon in the Christian East represents one of the most organic and spiritually stable developments in Church history. While the Western Latin Church witnessed sharp theological fractures during the sixteenth-century Reformation—resulting in divergent Catholic and Protestant canons—the Eastern Orthodox Church maintained its steady, unbroken witness to the scriptural codices compiled during the golden patristic era. Exploring the Eastern Orthodox biblical canon reveals how early Christian communities read, copied, and liturgically prayed the Word of God from the earliest centuries to the modern era.

Historical Formation: The Great Fourth-Century Codices

To understand the Eastern Orthodox biblical canon, one must examine the physical manuscript evidence preserved in the great fourth- and fifth-century Christian parchment codices. The three oldest complete or near-complete Greek Christian Bibles in existence—Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Vaticanus, and Codex Alexandrinus—all originated in the Eastern Mediterranean Greek-speaking Church.

These majestic manuscripts demonstrate that the early Church did not distinguish between a “Hebrew-only” canon and an “apocryphal” supplement. They bound the books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, 1–4 Maccabees, and the Psalms of Solomon directly alongside Genesis, Isaiah, and the Gospels, presenting them as a single, unified volume of divine revelation for public liturgical reading.

The Witness of the Holy Fathers

Throughout the fourth and eighth centuries, prominent Eastern Fathers provided canonical lists (canons) that helped guide regional churches in discerning inspired scripture from spurious Gnostic forgeries:

1. Saint Athanasius the Great (367 AD)

In his famous 39th Festal Letter, Saint Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria, provided the earliest extant list specifying exactly the 27 books of the New Testament that all Christians recognize today. While focusing his core Old Testament list on 22 primary books (matching the letters of the Hebrew alphabet), he explicitly recommended books like Wisdom, Sirach, Tobit, and Judith as essential reading for catechumens seeking entrance into the faith.

2. Saint Gregory the Theologian and Saint Amphilochius of Iconium

Writing in poetic meter in Cappadocia, Saints Gregory and Amphilochius composed verse catalogues of scripture, reflecting the pastoral care taken by bishops to preserve authentic apostolic preaching across Asia Minor.

3. Saint John of Damascus (8th Century)

In his monumental masterwork An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Saint John of Damascus summarized the patristic consensus of the Christian East, defending the authority of the ancient canons and affirming the liturgical integration of the Septuagint books.

Conciliar Rulings and the Synod of Jerusalem (1672)

Unlike Western councils that issued top-down legislative decrees, the Orthodox Church affirmed its biblical canon through a process of conciliar consensus and liturgical practice. The most authoritative pan-Orthodox council addressing the biblical canon in modern history was the Synod of Jerusalem (1672), presided over by Patriarch Dositheos II of Jerusalem.

Convened to respond to the Confession of Faith attributed to Patriarch Cyril Lucaris (which had adopted Protestant views rejecting the deuterocanonical books), the Synod issued Decree III of the Confession of Dositheos, dogmatically affirming:

“Following the rule of the Catholic Church, we call Holy Scripture all those which Cyril gathered from the Synod of Laodicea, and besides, those which he foolishly, ignorant, or rather maliciously called Apocrypha: to wit, The Wisdom of Solomon, Judith, Tobit, The History of the Dragon, The History of Susanna, The Maccabees, and The Wisdom of Sirach. For we judge these also to be with the other genuine books of Divine Scripture genuine parts of Scripture.”

Structural Breakdown of the Eastern Orthodox Biblical Books

The Liturgical Hermeneutic: How the Orthodox Read Scripture

In the Eastern Orthodox worldview, scripture is never interpreted through individualistic private judgment. The proper hermeneutical key to the Bible is the liturgical life of the Church. During Vespers, Matins, and the Divine Liturgy, scriptural texts are chanted within a rich tapestry of hymnography composed by great hymnographers like Saint Romanos the Melodist and Saint John of Damascus.

The hymns interpret the Old Testament typologically: Moses striking the rock is seen as a type of Christ’s pierced side pouring forth living water; the Burning Bush unconsumed by fire prefigures the Virgin Mary bearing the divine fire of God without corruption. Through this liturgical immersion, Orthodox Christians experience the entire Bible as a living, cohesive revelation pointing directly to Jesus Christ.

To deepen your understanding of the biblical and liturgical life of the Church, compare this study with our overview of the complete Orthodox scripture guide, the philosophical perspectives of traditionalist philosophy on Orthodoxy, and our guide to liturgical rites across Christendom.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the Eastern Orthodox Old Testament follow the Septuagint?

The Eastern Orthodox Church follows the Septuagint because it was the Greek translation used by the Apostles and early Church Fathers, contains accurate messianic prophecies cited in the New Testament, and preserves the authentic textual tradition of the early Greek-speaking Christian world.

What council confirmed the Eastern Orthodox Bible?

The canon was shaped across early councils—including the Synod of Laodicea (363 AD), Carthage (419 AD), and the Quinisext Council (692 AD)—and formally reaffirmed pan-Orthodoxly at the Synod of Jerusalem in 1672 under Patriarch Dositheos.

Are the Anagignoskomena equal to the rest of the Old Testament?

Yes. In Eastern Orthodox theology, the Anagignoskomena are venerated as inspired parts of holy scripture, authoritative for doctrine and spiritual edification, read in the Church’s liturgical cycle.

Does the Orthodox Church have a different New Testament?

No. The Eastern Orthodox New Testament contains the exact same 27 books recognized by Roman Catholics and Protestants.