The final and definitive list of canonical books was promulgated in 1546 at which council?

The final and definitive list of canonical books was promulgated in 1546 at which council?

• A. Vatican I
• B. First Council of Nicaea
• C. Council of Trent
• D. Council of Jerusalem

Answer: (C)

The key idea here is that an official list of Scripture is defined by an authoritative church council. The Council of Trent, convened during the mid-1500s as a response to the Reformation, issued the Decree on the Canon of Holy Scripture in 1546. This decree officially recognized which books belonged to the Old and New Testaments (including the deuterocanonical books) and affirmed their authority in Catholic faith and practice. That act gave the church a definitive, accepted canon that different traditions would later align with in various ways. The other councils listed addressed different issues—Nicaea dealt with Christology, Vatican I with papal authority, and Jerusalem is an early, not canonical-listing council—so Trent is the one that established the canonical list.

The key idea here is that an official list of Scripture is defined by an authoritative church council. The Council of Trent, convened during the mid-1500s as a response to the Reformation, issued the Decree on the Canon of Holy Scripture in 1546. This decree officially recognized which books belonged to the Old and New Testaments (including the deuterocanonical books) and affirmed their authority in Catholic faith and practice. That act gave the church a definitive, accepted canon that different traditions would later align with in various ways. The other councils listed addressed different issues—Nicaea dealt with Christology, Vatican I with papal authority, and Jerusalem is an early, not canonical-listing council—so Trent is the one that established the canonical list.