Council · 397 · 28 August
Council of Carthage
Carthage matters because it shows the Latin West naming the books it received as Scripture. The council confirmed a canon in line with Augustine's usage, including the deuterocanonical books later contested in the Reformation. It did not invent the Bible in one afternoon; it recorded and disciplined the church's received practice. For readers in the Western tradition, this is one of the key moments when the canon becomes conciliar.
At a glance
- Type
- Council
- Date remembered
- 28 August, AD 397
- What kind of event is this?
- A council or settlement that changed the church's public teaching, discipline, or historical direction.
- Key line
- The Latin West names the books it receives as Scripture.
Highlights
- The canon was confirmed.
- Augustine's usage was reflected.
- Jerome's translation work became central.
- The later Reformation would revisit the same list.
How it happened
What happened
North African bishops confirmed the list of biblical books used in the Latin churches.
The argument
The issue was not creating Scripture from nothing, but naming which books the churches received for public reading and doctrine.
What changed
The canon was expressed in conciliar form in the Latin West.
Why it matters
Carthage became one of the major reference points for later Western discussions of the biblical canon.
Aftermath
Augustine defended this canon, while Jerome's translation work carried it into the Vulgate tradition.
People in the story
Recommended reading
Primary texts from figures tied to this event.
Augustine of Hippo
Confessions · 400
Spiritual autobiography in thirteen books — the founding text of introspective Christian writing.
Augustine of Hippo
City of God · 426
Twenty-two books defending Christianity after the sack of Rome and articulating the two-cities theology of history.
Jerome
Letters · 405
Voluminous correspondence covering scripture, monasticism, controversy, and spiritual direction.
Jerome
On Illustrious Men (De Viris Illustribus) · 393
Brief biographies of Christian writers — the first Christian literary history.