Vulgate

The apocryphal books are religious writings excluded from the official biblical canon. A distinction is made between the Old Testament apocrypha (Tobit, Judith, Maccabees, Sirach…), recognized as deuterocanonical by Catholics and Orthodox, and those of the New Testament (the Gospels of Thomas, Philip, Mary Magdalene…), often with a Gnostic coloring. Their study sheds light on the religious history and debates of the first Christian centuries, without placing them on the level of the canonical Scriptures.

Level: Intermediate Level: Intermediate

The Vulgate is a Latin translation of the Bible made by Saint Jerome at the end of the 4th century at the request of Pope Damasus I. Translated mainly from the Hebrew for the Old Testament and revised from the Greek for the New Testament, it became the standard version of the Roman Catholic Church for more than a thousand years. The Council of Trent officially made it the authentic edition in the 16th century. Its influence on Western culture, theology and liturgy is considerable.

Level: Intermediate Level: Intermediate