Irenaeus insists there are exactly four gospels, 'neither more nor fewer' (AH 3.11.8), and quotes Acts, the Pauline letters, 1 Peter, 1-2 John and Revelation as scripture. He also calls the Shepherd of Hermas 'scripture' (AH 4.20.2). This reconstruction reflects usage, not a declared list.
Dating
Against Heresies was written c. 175-189, during Eleutherus' episcopate in Rome. Not a list: statuses are reconstructed from which books he quotes as scripture.Read the list(opens in a new tab)Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses 3.11.8 and passim; Eusebius, HE 5.8
The 27 books
21 accepted · 6 not mentionedActs
Paul
Hebrews
General letters
Revelation
- Accepted
- Disputed
- Rejected
- Not mentioned
Notes on the books
- Philemon (not mentioned): Not quoted, probably only because of its brevity.
- Hebrews (not mentioned): Not quoted as scripture in Against Heresies; Eusebius (HE 5.26) says Irenaeus quoted it in a lost work.
- James (not mentioned): Possible allusion (AH 4.16.2, Abraham 'friend of God'), not a clear citation.
- 2 Peter (not mentioned): Possible allusion (AH 5.23.2, 'a day of the Lord is as a thousand years'), not a clear citation.
- 2 John (accepted): Quoted and attributed to John (AH 1.16.3; 3.16.8).
- 3 John (not mentioned): Not cited.
- Jude (not mentioned): Not cited.