NOTE A. (Page 39.)

FIRST DECREE OF THE FOURTH SESSION OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT, A. D. 1546.

“The holy œcumenical and general Council of Trent, legitimately convened in the Holy Spirit, under the presidency of three legates of the Apostolic see, constantly proposing this before all things, that all errors being taken away, the gospel in its purity may be preserved in the Church, which was promised before by the prophets in the holy Scriptures, but which was promulgated by our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, with his own mouth; moreover, he commanded it to be preached to every creature by his apostles, as the fountain of all saving truth and moral discipline: which truth and discipline he provided should be contained in the books of Scripture, and in unwritten traditions, received from the mouth of Christ by the apostles, or from the apostles speaking by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and handed down to us; therefore this Synod, following the example of the orthodox Fathers, receives and venerates with equal pious affection and reverence, all the books both of the Old and New Testament (for one God is the author of both:) likewise those traditions relating to faith and manners, which were received from the mouth of Christ himself, or from his inspired apostles, and which have been preserved in an uninterrupted succession in the Catholic Church. Moreover, this Synod judges it proper to give a catalogue of the sacred books, lest any doubt should arise in the minds of any respecting the books received by them, the names of which are here inserted in this decree: viz. the five books of Moses—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Next, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, four books of Kings, two of Chronicles, two of Ezra, viz. the first and the second, which is called Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther, Job, CL Psalms of David, Proverbs of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel, Twelve Minor Prophets, viz. Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, two of Maccabees, first and second. Of the New Testament, the four gospels, viz. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John; the 344Acts of the Apostles, written by Luke the Evangelist; fourteen epistles of the blessed apostle Paul, viz. to the Romans; to the Corinthians, two; to the Galatians; to the Ephesians; to the Philippians; to the Colossians; to the Thessalonians, two; to Timothy, two; to Titus; to Philemon; to the Hebrews. Of the apostle Peter, two; of the apostle John, three; of James, one; of the apostle Jude, one; the Apocalypse of John the apostle.

“But if any one shall not receive as canonical and sacred all these books, with all their parts, as they are used to be read in the Catholic Church, and are contained in the old Vulgate Latin edition; or shall knowingly and intentionally contemn any of the aforesaid traditions, let him be anathema.

“Hence all may understand in what order and way the Synod, after laying the foundation of the Confession of their Faith, will proceed; and what testimonies and proofs they will especially use in confirming doctrines, and in the reformation of manners in the church.”