canon The word in Greek means a ‘rule’ or ‘standard’ and is applied to those books in the Bible which have been recognized as authoritative, but in both OT and NT the process of finalizing the canon was gradual and controversial.

Jews agreed that the Pentateuch in its final form after the Exile was fundamental. After that, the Prophets, which included Joshua and the historical books, as well as the major and minor prophets, became accepted but not by the Samaritans. Finally, the section called the Writings (Ketubim) (consisting of eleven other books in Hebrew), was eventually settled in the 1st cent.CE, though not always in the same order. The rabbis who taught at Jamnia are regarded as having a responsibility for finalizing the collection, and what they did above all was to exclude those books which were written in Greek and were widely read amongst Greek-speaking Jews. These came to be known as the Apocrypha. But the notion of a fixed OT canon was very loose in the 1st cent. and it is noticeable that the epistle of Jude (verses 14–16) quotes from the book of 1 Enoch as though it was scripture, although it was not accepted as canonical.

Christians, living in the Hellenistic world, naturally accepted the Greek OT, the Septuagint (LXX), as their scriptures. This contained the books excluded from the Hebrew canon such as the Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, 1 and 2 Maccabees; and when Jerome was translating into Latin he learnt from Jewish scholars that these were regarded as secondary (even by Hellenistic Jews). So he refused to include them in his Latin Bible. However, Jerome's view did not prevail, and, called ‘deuterocanonical’ (second-level), they were incorporated into the Vulgate from the Old Latin version and retained their authority, as has always continued to be the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. At the Reformation the books of the Apocrypha were excluded by Protestants from authoritative scripture; so, when Article 6 of the Anglican Thirty-Nine Articles declares that the OT (Hebrew books) and the NT contain all things necessary to salvation, it is asserting that these books contain the maximum number of scriptural writings that can be regarded as having authority for Anglican Christians. The books of the Apocrypha are, however, usually printed between the two Testaments and passages from them are included in lectionaries for optional use in public worship.

But the fact is that it took time also for the NT list to be finalized, and many occasional sayings of Jesus (known as agrapha) and several whole books are sometimes quoted by the early Fathers as authorities even though they are not within the final canon of twenty-seven. The main stages of the process of recognition were:1. Epistles addressed to various Churches were preserved by them, and in due course the letters of Paul formed a collection. Conceivably, this was the contribution of Onesimus; and the epistle to the Ephesians could have been an editorial introduction to the corpus, summarizing Paul's essential thoughts. Oral traditions about Jesus were constantly repeated and much valued as the ‘living tradition’ (Papias) but in due course this was cast into the written form of the four gospels, which are regularly quoted from the middle of the 2nd cent. CE onward. The adoption by Christians of the codex (book), in place of the roll, was probably an influence now on the composition of the canon. Four gospels conveniently contained in a single codex tended to sideline alternative rivals.

2. The heretic Marcion, about 140 CE, issued his own NT consisting of most of Luke and ten epistles of Paul, apparently in opposition to a larger collection already circulating in the Catholic Church, though his influence has been exaggerated.

3. Irenaeus, about 180 CE, quotes most of the NT books as having an authority equal to that of the OT.

4. The Muratorian Fragment, probably from about 190 CE, gives a list which includes four gospels (Matthew by inference—the beginning of the document is missing) Acts,

thirteen epistles of Paul, the Johannine epistles, Jude, and the Revelation, but not Hebrews, James, or 1 and 2 Peter. The Shepherd of Hermas is allowed for private reading, and it is conceded that the Church is divided about the Apocalypse of Peter. 5. Clement of Alexandria (d. 215 CE) admits fourteen epistles of Paul (Hebrews is included). There is no mention of James, 2 Peter, 3 John; but he accepts the Shepherd of Hermas.

6. Eusebius (d. 340 CE) has a threefold classification; he notes the accepted, the disputed, and the rejected books. His first category includes the four gospels, Acts, fourteen epistles of Paul, 1 Peter, 1 John, and (with hesitation) Rev. In the second category, James, Jude, 2 Peter, and 2 and 3 John are regarded as widely approved, but much less so are the Didache, Acts of Paul, the Apocalypse of Peter, the Shepherd of Hermas, and the epistle of Barnabas. The totally rejected books are the gospels of Peter, Thomas, and Matthias.

7. Athanasius of Alexandria wrote a letter in 367 CE giving the list of twenty-seven NT books (and some others for private reading only) and this provides the earliest evidence of the final canon for Eastern Christendom.

8. Augustine's criterion was universal acceptance and his North African Church followed Athanasius in 393. Jerome published his Vulgate in 405 and this was decisive in the West for establishing the content of the canon. But Jerome admitted the epistle to the Hebrews and Revelation reluctantly and only on the ground that they had been recognized by early Fathers.

9. The Council of Carthage (397 CE) forbade non-canonical books to be read publicly, and appended the authorized list, of twenty-seven books.

The provision of the authorized canon was a defence of orthodox Catholicism against heresies such as Gnosticism and Montanism. Among the criteria for gaining admission to it were: authorship by or recollections of an apostle; the reliability of the witness to Jesus Christ; and wide consensus of the Churches.

At the Reformation, Martin Luther translated all the books of the OT and the NT into German, but relegated the OT Apocryphal books to an appendix—and also James, Hebrews, Jude, and Revelation (not a precedent followed by modern Lutheran Churches).

canon.
1. Strictest form of contrapuntal imitation. The word means ‘rule’ and, musically, it is applied to counterpoint in which one melodic strand gives the rule to another, or to all the others, which must, at an interval of time, imitate it, note for note. Simple forms of choral canon are the catch and the round. There are varieties of canon, as follows:

canon at the octave in which the vv. (human or instr.) are at that pitch-interval from one another. canon at the fifth, or at any other interval, is similarly explained.

A canon for 2 vv. is called a canon 2 in 1 (and similarly with canon 3 in 1, etc.). A canon 4 in 2 is a double canon, i.e. one in which 2 vv. are carrying on one canon whilst 2 others are engaged on another.

canon by augmentation has the imitating vv. in longer notes than the one that they are imitating. canon by diminution is the reverse. canon cancrizans is a type in which the imitating v. gives out the melody backwards (‘cancrizans’ from Lat. cancer = crab; but crabs move sideways). Other names for it are canon per recte et retro (or rectus et inversus) and retrograde canon.

A perpetual canon or infinite canon is a canon so arranged that each v., having arrived at the end, can begin again, and so indefinitely as in Three blind mice. The converse is finite canon.

strict canon in which the intervals of the imitating v. are exactly the same as those of the v. imitated (i.e. as regards their quality of major, minor, etc.).

In free canon the intervals remain the same numerically, but not necessarily as to quality (e.g. a major 3rd may become a minor 3rd).

That v. in a canon which first enters with the melody to be imitated is called dux (leader) or antecedent, and any imitating v. is called comes (companion) or consequent.

In canon by inversion (also styled al rovescio), an upward interval in the dux becomes a downward one in the comes, and vice versa. canon per arsin et thesin has the same meaning, but also another one, i.e. canon in which notes that fall on strong beats in the dux fall on weak beats in the comes, and vice versa.

Choral canon in which there are non-canonic instrumental parts is accompanied canon.

Passages of canonic writing often occur in comps. that, as wholes, are not canons. In addition to actual canonic comp. there exists a great deal of comp. with a similar effect but which is too free to come under that designation, being mere canonic imitation.

2. Name for psaltery (or canale).

Canon.
1. Title of a member of the chapter of a cathedral or collegiate church.

2. (Gk., Kanon, ‘rule’). The determination of books which have authority in a religion, either because they are believed to be inspired or revealed, or because they have been so designated. In both Judaism (see BIBLE) and Christianity, the decision about which books were to be included or excluded was a long process—not leading to unanimity in Christianity, where Roman Catholics, relying on the Latin translation of the Greek translation of the Hebrew, included additional books not recognized by Jews or other Christians (Apocrypha). The earliest witness to the present canon of the New Testament is the Festal Letter of Athanasius for 367 CE; and the canon of both Testaments was probably finally fixed in Rome in 382.

The term ‘canon’ is then frequently applied to collections of sacred or holy texts in other religions. For Hinduism, see ŚRUTI; SMṚTI; VEDA; VEDĀNTA; and further refs. ad loc. For Buddhism (Pāli canon, etc.), see BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES; TRIPIṬAKA. The term ‘canon’ has been applied to revered and authoritative Jain texts (e.g. ‘the 45 text canon’), but the term is particularly awkward in this case: see DIGAMBARA; AṄGA. For Sikhs, see ĀDI GRANTH. For the Taoist canon, see TAO-TSANG. In Japan, the Nihongi and Kojiki were given a status which made them effectively ‘canonical’.

3. The central prayer of consecration in the Roman mass, and in all eucharistic liturgies in different forms. It assumed its present form under Gregory the Great (590–604). Unlike the practice in Eastern churches (see ANAPHORA), the RC Church maintained a single invariable prayer until recent times. Applied to other liturgies, ‘canon’ is practically synonymous with the more usual term ‘eucharistic prayer’.

4. A type of hymn sung at the E. (Byzantine) Orthodox morning office.

canon1 originally, a Church decree or law; later (from late Middle English), a general law, rule, principle, or criterion by which something is judged.

Recorded from Old English, the word comes via Latin from Greek kanōn ‘rule’; it was reinforced in Middle English by Old French canon. From Middle English, the word also designated (in the Roman Catholic Church) the part of the Mass containing the words of consecration (also known as the canon of the Mass).

From late Middle English, canon has also designated a collection or list of sacred books accepted as genuine; from the late 19th century the term was extended to cover the works of a particular author or artist that are recognized as genuine, and then a list of literary works considered to be permanently established as being of the highest quality.

In music, a canon is a piece in which the same melody is begun in different parts successively, so that the imitations overlap; in canon means with different parts successively beginning the same melody. This sense is recorded from the late 16th century.
canon law ecclesiastical law, especially (in the Roman Catholic Church) that laid down by papal pronouncements.
canonical age in the Christian Church, the age according to canon law at which a person may seek ordination or undertake a particular duty.
canonical hour each of the times of daily prayer appointed in the breviary; each of the seven offices (matins with lauds, prime, terce, sext, nones, vespers, and compline) appointed for these times. In the Church of England, it is the time (now usually between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.) during which a marriage may lawfully be celebrated.

canon (Gk., kanon, rule). Texts or books that have special authority in a religious tradition. The concept of canonicity derives mainly from Christianity, and in Buddhism identifies not divinely inspired literature but those writings that are thought to be ‘the word of the Buddha’. This requirement is understood by the Theravāda school as meaning words actually spoken by the historical Buddha. The canon of this school, known as the Pāli Canon, was closed according to tradition at the first council (see Council of Rājagṛha). It is acknowledged, however, that a number of discourses (sutta) in this collection were in fact uttered not by the Buddha but by senior disciples, and that others postdate him. None the less, they are included in the canon since it is felt they were spoken with the Buddha's authority and faithfully express his teachings. Expanding on this principle, schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism regard their canons as still open and have accepted as canonical later compositions that are thought to bear the hallmark of inspired teaching. Such texts are designated as sūtras. In many of these compositions (for example, the Lotus Sūtra), the Buddha is depicted as giving the teaching in an atemporal heavenly paradise. Commentaries and treatises which are non-canonical are known as śāstras. On the composition of the Tibetan canon see Tenjur; Kanjur. On the Chinese canon see Taishō Canon; Chinese Tripiṭaka.

can·on¹ / ˈkanən/ • n. 1. a general law, rule, principle, or criterion by which something is judged: the canons of fair play and equal opportunity. ∎  a church decree or law: a set of ecclesiastical canons. 2. a collection or list of sacred books accepted as genuine: the formation of the biblical canon. ∎  the works of a particular author or artist that are recognized as genuine: the Shakespeare canon. ∎  a list of literary or artistic works considered to be permanently established as being of the highest quality: Hopkins was established in the canon of English poetry. 3. (also canon of the Mass) (in the Roman Catholic Church) the part of the Mass containing the words of consecration. 4. Mus. a piece in which the same melody is begun in different parts successively, so that the imitations overlap. PHRASES: in canon Mus. with different parts successively beginning the same melody. can·on² • n. a member of the clergy who is on the staff of a cathedral, esp. one who is a member of the chapter. ∎  (also canon regular or regular canon) (in the Roman Catholic Church) a member of certain orders of clergy that live communally according to an ecclesiastical rule in the same way as monks.

canon in Christianity, in the Roman Catholic Church, decrees of church councils are usually called canons; since the Council of Trent the expression has been especially reserved to dogmatic pronouncements of ecumenical councils. The body of ratified conciliar canons is a large part of the legislation of canon law . The Eucharistic central, mainly invariable part of the Mass is the canon. The term is also applied in the Western Church to certain types of priests. There are canons regular, priests living in community under a rule but not cloistered like monks; the Augustinian, or Austin, canons and the Premonstratensians are the best known of these. The priests attached to a cathedral or large church are sometimes organized into a group, or college, and called canons secular; a church having such a group is a collegiate church. A canon is also an official list, as in canonization, i.e., enrollment among the saints, and of the names of books of the Bible accepted by the church (see Old Testament ; New Testament ; Apocrypha ; Pseudepigrapha ). Cathedral canons often have diocesan charges or pastoral duties apart from the cathedral. Canons of the Church of England are mostly cathedral canons.

canon in music, a type of counterpoint employing the strictest form of imitation . All the voices of a canon have the same melody, beginning at different times. Successive entrances may be at the same or at different pitches. Another form of canon is the circle canon, or round , e.g., Sumer Is Icumen In . In the 14th and 15th cent. retrograde motion was employed to form what is known as crab canon, or canon cancrizans, wherein the original melody is turned backward to become the second voice. In the 15th and 16th cent. mensuration canons were frequently written, in which the voices sing the same melodic pattern in different, but proportional, note values, i.e., to be sung at different speeds. Bach made noteworthy use of canon, particularly in the Goldberg Variations. Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Schumann, and Brahms wrote canons, and Franck used the device in the last movement of his violin sonata. It is an essential device of serial music .

canon Term used in Christian religion with several meanings. The basic meaning is a rule or standard. In this sense, a canon is something accepted or decreed as a rule or regulation, such as the official list of saints or the list of books accepted as genuine parts of the Bible. This is the meaning embraced by the term canon law. Initially a canon was also a priest in a cathedral or collegiate church, whose life was regulated by the precepts of canon law. They were distinct from secular canons, who lived outside the cathedral and, although ordained, played a largely administrative role.

canon2 originally (in the Roman Catholic Church), a member of certain orders of clergy that live communally according to an ecclesiastical rule in the same way as monks (also as canon regular or regular canon).

Later (from the mid 16th century), a member of the clergy who is on the staff of a cathedral, especially one who is a member of the chapter. The position is frequently conferred as an honorary one.

The word is recorded from Middle English and comes via Old French from Latin canonicus ‘according to rule’, ultimately from the base of canon1.

canon (ecclesiastical title). Though first applied to all clergy on the official staff of a diocese, the word came to be limited to those secular clergy belonging to a cathedral or collegiate church. ‘Residentiary canons’ form the permanent salaried staff of a cathedral and are primarily responsible for the maintenance of its services, fabric, etc. In the C of E a ‘non-residentiary canon’ is one who holds an unsalaried post, which entails certain privileges and responsibilities. See also MINOR CANON and PREBENDARY.

canon 1 rule, law (of the Church) OE.; central portion of the Mass XIII; books of the Bible accepted as authentic XIV; (mus.) XVI. OE. canon — L. canōn — Gr. kanṓn rule; reinforced or superseded by ME. cano(u)n — AN. canun, (O)F. canon.
So canonic(al) XV. f. F. canonique or L. canonicus — Gr. kanonikós. canonize place in the canon of saints, canonization XIV. — medL.

Canon

a collection of rules or laws; a set of mathematical tables; a collection or list of books of the Bible accepted as genuine and inspired; any set of sacred books; a piece of music with different parts taking up the same subject successively in strict imitation. See also code.

Examples: canon of laws; of mathematical tables; of monastic rules; of rules; of saints.

canon. The Greek word originally meant a rod or bar; it came to be used of the rules of an art or trade or to signify a list or catalogue. In Christian language it denotes the list of Books regarded by the Church as Scripture (canon of Scripture); the central part of the Mass (Canon of the Mass); and the rules concerning the life and discipline of the Church (canon law).

canon (hymnological). In the E. Church stanzas of poetry began in the 7th cent. to be inserted between the verses of the biblical canticles sung during the second part of Orthros. In most places the text of the canticles (except the Magnificat) then disappeared, leaving only the sets of odes which are known as the canon.

canon 2 clergyman living according to the ‘vita canonica’, i.e. religious life based on rule. XIII. ME. can(o)un, chan(o)un — OF. canonie, chanoine (with ending assim. to cano(u)n CANON 1) — ecclL. canonicus.

canon, a body of approved works, comprising either (i) writings genuinely considered to be those of a given author; or (ii) writings considered to represent the best standards of a given literary tradition.

canon In music, form of counterpoint using strict imitation. All the voices or parts have the same melody, but each voice starts at a different time, at the same or a different pitch.

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