What happened at the Council of Carthage?

Answer

There were multiple meetings concerning Christian doctrine in the city of Carthage in northern Africa. Before the Council of Nicea, the councils primarily addressed topics such as the treatment of apostates and the acceptance of unorthodox baptisms. None of the seven major councils, also known as “general councils,” took place in Carthage, leading to ongoing debates about the authority of the decrees from Carthage.

In AD 397, the most significant of the Carthage meetings occurred. This gathering is commonly known as the “Council of Carthage.” Our knowledge of this council is limited, as the only existing records are indirect descriptions found in other sources. The main outcome of this assembly was the compilation of the biblical canon, which included the 27 books of the New Testament and the 39 books of the Old Testament. Additionally, it featured several books not typically included in the canon, such as Maccabees and Esdras. These books are part of the Apocrypha and are not considered inspired texts.

It is important to note that both before and after the Council of Carthage, most Christian and Jewish scholars regarded the Apocrypha as non-canonical. This perspective is evident in the absence of the Apocrypha in the works of Philo and its explicit rejection by church leaders like Origen, Melito of Sardis, Cyril of Jerusalem, Jerome, and Athanasius. The Council of Laodicea, which occurred less than forty years before Carthage, also excluded the apocryphal books.