Why weren't the books of the Bible canonized at Nicaea?

By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-10

The Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.) did not issue a formal, definitive list of the Books of the Bible because the primary purpose of the council was to defend the divinity of the Son against the Arian heresy and to settle the date of Easter. The "canonization" of the Bible was a process that occurred organically through the liturgical life of the Church rather than a single legislative event.

Here is why a formal canon was not the focus at Nicaea:

1. The Focus on Christology

The 318 Fathers gathered at Nicaea primarily to address the heresy of Arius, who claimed that the Son was a creature and not "of one essence" with the Father. The council produced the Nicene Creed and 20 disciplinary canons (which dealt with issues like the Meletian schism and clerical conduct, as mentioned in the history of the council), but it did not seek to resolve the Biblical canon, which was not yet a point of major dispute between the Orthodox and the heretics.

2. Universal Acceptance of the Septuagint

In the early 4th century, the Church—especially in Alexandria—was already using the Septuagint (LXX) as its Old Testament. The Septuagint included the Deuterocanonical books. Because the Apostles themselves quoted from the Septuagint, the Church saw no urgent need to "canonize" what was already being read in the Church for centuries. The dispute over these books only became a major issue much later, particularly when Protestants sought to align their Bibles with the Jewish Masoretic text that had rejected these books long after the birth of Christ.

3. St. Jerome’s Later Influence

It is a common historical misconception that Nicaea defined the Bible. The debate regarding the status of the Deuterocanonical books became more prominent in the late 4th century in the West, largely due to St. Jerome, who preferred the Hebrew canon. However, the Coptic Church and other Eastern Sees remained faithful to the Alexandrian Septuagint tradition.

4. Later Local Councils

The formal listing of books generally happened at local or regional councils later in the 4th century, such as:

• The Council of Laodicea (363 A.D.): Which listed the books but omitted Revelation and some Deuterocanonical books.
• The Festal Letter of St. Athanasius (367 A.D.): Which provided a clear list for the Egyptian Church.
• The Council of Carthage (397 A.D.): In the West, which included the Deuterocanonical books.

Summary

The Council of Nicaea was called to preserve the the Faith regarding the nature of. The Fathers of Nicaea, including the young deacon Athanasius, already treated the Deuterocanonical books as inspired. For example, the Council of Nicaea and its participants frequently quoted from the Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach to defend the divinity of the Word. They were not "canonized" at Nicaea simply because their authority was already a lived reality in the Church’s prayer and teaching.