Cyril of Jerusalem
“Of these read the two and twenty books, but have nothing to do with the apocryphal writings. Study earnestly these only which we read openly in the Church. Far wiser and more pious than yourself were the Apostles, and the bishops of old time, the presidents of the Church who handed down these books. Being therefore a child of the Church, trench thou not upon its statutes. And of the Old Testament, as we have said, study the two and twenty books, which, if you are desirous of learning, strive to remember by name, as I recite them. For of the Law the books of Moses are the first five, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. And next, Joshua the son of Nave , and the book of Judges, including Ruth, counted as seventh. And of the other historical books, the first and second books of the Kings are among the Hebrews one book; also the third and fourth one book. And in like manner, the first and second of Chronicles are with them one book; and the first and second of Esdras are counted one. Esther is the twelfth book; and these are the Historical writings. But those which are written in verses are five, Job, and the book of Psalms, and Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs, which is the seventeenth book. And after these come the five Prophetic books: of the Twelve Prophets one book, of Isaiah one, of Jeremiah one, including Baruch and Lamentations and the Epistle ; then Ezekiel, and the Book of Daniel, the twenty-second of the Old Testament. Then of the New Testament there are the four Gospels only, for the rest have false titles and are mischievous. The Manichæans also wrote a Gospel according to Thomas, which being tinctured with the fragrance of the evangelic title corrupts the souls of the simple sort. Receive also the Acts of the Twelve Apostles; and in addition to these the seven Catholic Epistles of James, Peter, John, and Jude; and as a seal upon them all, and the last work of the disciples, the fourteen Epistles of Paul. But let all the rest be put aside in a secondary rank. And whatever books are not read in Churches, these read not even by yourself, as you have heard me say. Thus much of these subjects.” (Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, 4.35-36)
Cyril’s list of books is quite similar to the Jewish/Protestant canon (certainly it is closer to our canon than that of the Romanists), but he does include Baruch as being a part of the book of Jeremiah (we will examine Baruch later on in this controversy).
The meaning of the phrase “let all the rest be put aside in a secondary rank” has been much disputed. Gary Michuta (The Case for the Deuterocanon: Evidence and Arguments, pg. 327) interprets this in the sense that Cyril only wanted the catechumens to whom he was giving lectures to, to only read the protocanonical for their time as catechumens, but that after that, the deuterocanonicals (apocrypha) were permissible to read.
It is possible that Michuta is right here, but Cyril would be in the minority in this particular distinction he makes amongst biblical literature (or its candidates):
“Cyril’s canon list was written for catechumens, and so he may have intended his prohibition to apply to them alone, as those who are unable to properly separate the wheat from the chaff. This would then be equivalent to Origen’s attitude regarding the ‘apocrypha’ (i.e., pseudepigrapha; cf. Comm. ser. Matt. 28; and see the comments by J. Ruwet, “Les apocryphes dans les œuvres d’Origène, II,” Bib 25 (1944): 311–334 (311–312)). In that case, Cyril’s view would represent a novel theory regarding the proper position of the ecclesiastical books in the Church, since Athanasius and Rufinus both assigned the deuterocanonicals the role of elementary pedagogy, while Origen seems to do the same in his Hom. Num. 27.1 (preserved only in Rufinus’ Latin translation). Junod thinks that Cyril’s position developed in conscious opposition to that of Origen and Athanasius (“Formation,” 129–130).” (Edmon L. Gallagher, Hebrew Scripture in Patristic Biblical Theory [Leiden, Brill, 2012], pg. 29n62)
Athanasius
“It seemed good to me also, having been urged thereto by true brethren, and having learned from the beginning, to set before you the books included in the Canon, and handed down, and accredited as Divine; to the end that any one who has fallen into error may condemn those who have led him astray; and that he who has continued steadfast in purity may again rejoice, having these things brought to his remembrance. 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; 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 being reckoned as one book, and so likewise the third and fourth as one book. And again, the first and second of the Chronicles are reckoned as one book. Again Ezra, the first and second are similarly one book. After these there is the book of Psalms, then the Proverbs, next Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. Job follows, then the Prophets, the twelve being reckoned as one book. Then Isaiah, one book, then Jeremiah with Baruch, Lamentations, and the epistle, one book; afterwards, Ezekiel and Daniel, each one book. Thus far constitutes the Old Testament. 5. Again it is not tedious to speak of the [books] of the New Testament. These are, the four Gospels, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Afterwards, the Acts of the Apostles and Epistles (called Catholic), seven, viz. of James, one; of Peter, two; of John, three; after these, one of Jude. In addition, there are fourteen Epistles of Paul, written in this order. The first, to the Romans; then two to the Corinthians; after these, to the Galatians; next, to the Ephesians; then to the Philippians; then to the Colossians; after these, two to the Thessalonians, and that to the Hebrews; and again, two to Timothy; one to Titus; and lastly, that to Philemon. And besides, the Revelation of John. These are fountains of salvation, that they who thirst may be satisfied with the living words they contain. In these alone is proclaimed the doctrine of godliness. Let no man add to these, neither let him take ought from these. For concerning these the Lord put to shame the Sadducees, and said, 'You err, not knowing the Scriptures.' And He reproved the Jews, saying, 'Search the Scriptures, for these are they that testify of Me (Matthew 22:29); John 5:39.' But for greater exactness I add this also, writing of necessity; 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 who wish for instruction in the word of godliness. The Wisdom of Solomon, and the Wisdom of Sirach, and Esther, and Judith, and Tobit, and that which is called the Teaching of the Apostles, and the Shepherd. But the former, my brethren, are included in the Canon, the latter being [merely] read; nor is there in any place a mention of apocryphal writings. But they are an invention of heretics, who write them when they choose, bestowing upon them their approbation, and assigning to them a date, that so, using them as ancient writings, they may find occasion to lead astray the simple.” (Athanasius, Festal Letter 39, 4-7)
Athanasius gives the following reason for why he is prescribing a list of canonical books: “...that any one who has fallen into error may condemn those who have led him astray; and that he who has continued steadfast in purity may again rejoice, having these things brought to his remembrance.”
In this festal letter, there appears to be a three-fold categorization of religious literature set forth. Athanasius speaks of books which are properly canonical (what Athanasius calls “the fountains of salvation”); not inspired but useful for edification and instruction of catechumens (“other books…which are not placed in the canon, but which the Fathers decreed should be read to those who have lately come into the fold, and seek to be catechized, and who study to learn the Christian doctrine”); properly apocrypha (“...no mention of the Apocrypha, which are the figment of heretics arbitrarily who write books…”)
In the second category of books (non-canonical but useful for edification) are the Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Esther, Judith, and Tobit. This is why Athanasius cites the apocryphal books significantly less than he does the books which he designated as canonical. James D. Ernest documents this in his complete list of Athanasius’ biblical citations (The Bible in Athanasius of Alexandria [The Bible in Ancient Christianity 2. Leiden, Brill: 2004], pgs. 380-418)
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