The Apocrypha is a collection of Jewish books that are not part of the Hebrew canon of the Old Testament. The Roman Catholic Church refers to these texts as "Deuterocanonicals;" the Eastern Orthodox Churches call them "Anaginoskomena." "Deuterocanonical" means "of the second canon" and comes from the Roman Catholic response to Protestant churches rejecting the authority of these books. "Anaginoskomena" means "that which is to be read." The implication seems to be that it is okay to read these books. In recent ecumenical dialogue, there has been general agreement that these books do not quite have the same significance as the 22 Hebrew Books (39 when translated into Greek--some of the 'big' books were divided into more than one, like "The Book of the Twelve" became twelve separate books: Hosea through Malachi). For instance, in "The Moscow Agreed Statement of 1976," we read, "Both the Orthodox and the Anglican Churches make a distinction between the canonical books of the Old Testament and the deutero-canonical books (otherwise called the Anaginoskomena)..."

What has come to be called "the Apocrypha" (depending on the collection) can contain typically from 12-14 books. The Greek Orthodox Church has a larger Apocrypha than the Roman Catholics, and the Russian Orthodox have a larger Apocrypha than the Greek Church. Further, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church includes two books not used by any other--"Enoch" and "Jubilees." Anglicans identify the following Books as among the Apocrypha:

3rd & 4th Esdras [now called 1st & 2nd Esdras--because the original "1st & 2nd Esdras" are now called "Ezra & Nehemiah"--confusing, right?] Tobit, Judith, the Additions to Esther, Wisdom, Sirach [also called Ecclesiasticus], Baruch, the Song of the Three Young Men, Susanna, Bel & the Dragon, the Prayer of Manasseh, and the Books of Maccabees.

These books were written, starting in the third century B.C., as tools used by Jewish missionaries to share their faith with Gentiles (cf. "Introduction to the Apocrypha," Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Old Testament XV: Apocrypha, p. xix). They were bound together with the popular Greek version of the Old Testament (called the Septuagint--abbreviated frequently as LXX). The original King James Version of the Bible included the Apocrypha between the Old and New Testaments.

The Anglican "Articles of Religion" (Article 6), following St. Jerome (d. Ad 420), declare that these books are to be “read for example of life and instruction of manners” but that we should “not apply them to establish any doctrine.” This is consistent with the Festal Letter of St. Athanasius (AD 367), which is the oldest Christian list of the biblical books. In this letter, Athanasius writes:

There are, then, of the Old Testament, twenty-two books in number; for, as I have heard, it is handed down that this is the number of the letters among the Hebrews [in their alphabet]; their respective order and names being as follows. The first is Genesis, then Exodus, next Leviticus, after that Numbers, and then Deuteronomy. Following these there is Joshua, the son of Nun, then Judges, then Ruth. And again, after these four books of Kings, the first and second [what we call 1 & 2 Samuel] being reckoned as one book, and so likewise the third and fourth [what we call 1 & 2 Kings] as one book. And again, the first and second of the Chronicles are reckoned as one book. Again Ezra, the first and second [what we call Ezra and Nehemiah] are similarly one book. After these there is the book of Psalms, then the Proverbs, next Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs [sometimes called Song of Solomon]. Job follows, then the Prophets, the twelve [Hosea-Malachi] being reckoned as one book. Then Isaiah, one book, then Jeremiah with Baruch [these were together in the Greek version, but discovered not to be in the Hebrew version--so that Baruch is now counted as among the Apocrypha], Lamentations, and the epistle [actually not in the Hebrew], one book; afterwards, Ezekiel and Daniel, each one book. Thus far constitutes the Old Testament.

Athanasius goes on to list the twenty-seven books of the New Testament accepted today by all Christian churches. He then states "that there are other books besides these not indeed included in the Canon, but appointed by the Fathers to be read by those who newly join us, and we who wish for instruction in the word of godliness. The Wisdom of Solomon, and the Wisdom of Sirach [also called Ecclesiasticus], and Esther [the Hebrew version--shorter than the Greek text familiar to Athanasius--is counted today as canonical], and Judith, and Tobit" and here Athanasius includes early Christian writings, "the Teaching of the Apostles [what we call The Didache] and the Shepherd [of Hermas]."

It was St. Jerome, a contemporary of Athanasius, who emphasized the authority of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, thus tweeking just a bit Athanasius's list, so that now we include the Hebrew text of Esther and relegate Baruch and the Letter of Jeremiah to the Apocrypha.

Therefore, following ancient Christian perspectives on these texts, we will use them occasionally in our liturgy. However, when a passage from the Apocrypha is read in our services, instead of the customary response: “The Word of the Lord/Thanks be to God,” the reader will simply conclude with: “Here ends the reading"--as we do not use them to establish official church doctrines.