History of the formation of the New Testament canon of the Holy Scripture: on the issue of the “forgotten” research of representatives of the Russian Theological School Archpriest Alexander Gorsky and Holy Martyr Hilation (Troitsky)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51216/2687-072X_2025_2_30-45Keywords:
Holy Scripture of the New Testament, New Testament canon, the Apostolic Epistles., Church of Ephesus, Archpriest Alexander Gorsky, Holy Martyr Hilarion (Troitsky).Abstract
This article examines the research conducted by outstanding representatives of Russian theological thought of the second half of the 19 th -early 20th centuries - Archpriest Alexander Gorsky and Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky). In their research, they put forward and substantiated a hypothesis about the formation of the complete canon of the Holy Scripture of the New Testament in the Church of Ephesus in the second half of the 1st century.
The article is relevant due to the fact that in modern Russian theological publications, scientific works and textbooks devoted to the issues of the formation of the New Testament canon, the hypothesis of Archpriest Alexander and Hieromartyr Hilarion is practically not mentioned. In the Russian theological environment, the assertion, accepted by Western Catholic and Protestant biblical studies, that the canon of the Holy Scripture of the New Testament was formed in Rome no earlier than the second half of the 2nd century, still prevails.
The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that it analyzes and comments for the first time on the ideas expressed by Archpriest A. Gorsky and Saint Hilarion (Troitsky). The author identifies main arguments presented by each of them, as well as the additions proposed by Saint Hilarion.
The work uses comparative theological and dialectical methods, which made it possible to compare the opinions of the authors of the articles on the issues under consideration; intertextual analysis helped to establish the connections between the texts under study.
In conclusion, the author of the article points to the validity of the hypothesis put forward by Russian theologians, confirmed by both the facts about the circumstances in which the Ephesian Church found itself in the 1st century, and the goals of the apostolic epistles highlighted by Archpriest Alexander Gorsky. The results of the study can be included not only in textbooks on the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament, but also serve as a starting point for further research on this topic.
For citation: Shcherbakov V. Yu., priest. History of the formation of the New Testament canon of the Holy Scripture: on the issue of the “forgotten” research of representatives of the Russian Theological School Archpriest Alexander Gorsky and Holy Martyr Hilation (Troitsky) DOI: 10.51216/2687-072Х_2025_2_30-45. EDN: KISGKJ // Theological Collection of Tambov Theological Seminary. 2025, no. 2 (31). P. 30-45. (In Russian)
Downloads
References
Список источников
1. Горский А. В., прот. Образование канона Священных книг Нового Завета // Азбука веры : православный портал. URL: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Aleksandr_Gorskij/obrazovanie-kanona-svjashhennyh-knig-novogo-zaveta/ (дата обращения: 21.11.2024).
2. Иларион (Троицкий), священномученик. Творения. В 4 т. Т. 2. 2-е изд., доп. Москва : Издательство Сретенского монастыря, 2024. 424 с.
3. Прощальная речь Павла к пресвитерам Ефесским (гл. 20, 18-38) // Святоотеческая библиотека : сайт Православного Свято-Тихоновского гуманитарного университета. URL: https://lib.orthpatr.ru/node/223814 (дата обращения: 03.02.2025).
Список литературы
1. Мецгер Б. М. Канон Нового Завета : возникновение, развитие, значение. 5-е изд. Москва : Библейско-богословский институт св. апостола Андрея, 2006. 342 с.
2. Ткаченко А. А. Канон Нового Завета // Православная энциклопедия. Москва : Церковно-научный центр «Православная энциклопедия», 2012. Т. 30. С. 246-257.
3. Хажомия В. Священномученик Иларион (Троицкий) о формировании канона Нового Завета // Азбука веры : православный портал. URL: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Ilarion_Troitskij/svjashhennomuchenik-ilarion-troitskij-o-formirovanii-kanona-novogo-zaveta/ (дата обращения: 04.02.2025).
4. Аверкий (Таушев), архиеп. Четвероевангелия. Апостол : руководство к изучению Священного Писания Нового Завета. Москва : Православный Свято-Тихоновский гуманитарный университет, 2005. 840 с.
5. Иларион (Алфеев), митр. Четвероевангелие. В 3 т. Т. 1 : учебник бакалавра теологии. Москва : Общецерковная аспирантура и докторантура им. святых равноапостольных Кирилла и Мефодия : Познание, 2017. 632 с.
6. Щербаков И. Т. Миссия святого апостола Павла в Эфесе : историко-археологический контекст // Труды Белгородской православной духовной семинарии (с миссионерской направленностью). 2023. № 16. С. 124-133.
List of Sources
1. Gorsky A. V., Archpriest Obrazovanie kanona Svyashchennykh knig Novogo Zaveta [Formation of the Canon of the Sacred Books of the New Testament]. Pravoslavny portal Azbuka very [Orthodox Portal ABC of Faith]. (In Russian). Available at: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Aleksandr_Gorskij/obrazovanie-kanona-svjashhennyh-knig-novogo-zaveta/ (accessed: 21.11.2024).
2. Hilarion (Troitsky), Hieromartyr Tvoreniya [Writings]. Moscow, Sretensky Monastery Publishing House Publ., 2024, vol. 2, 424 p. (In Russian).
3. Proshchal’naya rech’ Pavla k presviteram Efesskim (gl. 20, 1838) [Paul’s farewell speech to the elders of Ephesus (Ch. 20, 18-38)]. Sait Pravoslavnogo Svyato-Tikhonovskogo gumanitarnogo universiteta “Svyatootecheskaya biblioteka” [Website of the Orthodox St. Tikhon’s Humanitarian University “Patristic Library”]. (In Russian). Available at: https://lib.orthpatr.ru/node/223814 (accessed: 03.02.2025).
References
1. Metzger B. M. Kanon Novogo Zaveta : vozniknovenie, razvitie, znachenie [The Canon of the New Testament: origin, development, and significance]. Moscow, Biblical and Theological Institute of St. Andrew the Apostle Publ., 2006, 342 p. (In Russian).
2. Tkachenko A. A. Kanon Novogo Zaveta [The Canon of the New Testament]. Pravoslavnaya entsiklopediya [Orthodox Encyclopedia]. Moscow, Church Scientific Center “Orthodox Encyclopedia” Publ., 2012, vol. 30, pp. 246-257. (In Russian).
3. Khazhomiya V. Svyashchennomuchenik Ilarion (Troitsky) o formirovanii kanona Novogo Zaveta [Holy Martyr Hilarion (Troitsky) on the formation of the canon of the New Testament]. Pravoslavny portal Azbuka Very [Orthodox Portal ABC of Faith]. (In Russian). Available at: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Ilarion_Troitskij/svjashhennomuchenik-ilarion-troitskij-o-formirovanii-kanona-novogo-zaveta/ (accessed: 04.02.2025).
4. Averky (Taushev), Archbishop Chetveroevangeliya. Apostol: rukovodstvo k izucheniyu Svyashchennogo Pisaniya Novogo Zaveta [The Four Gospels. Apostle: a guide to studying the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament]. Moscow, Orthodox St. Tikhon’s University for the Humanities Publ., 2005, 840 p. (In Russian).
5. Hilarion (Alfeyev), Metropolitan Chetveroevangelie [The Four Gospels]. Moscow, All-Church Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies named after Saints Cyril and Methodius, Equal-to-the-Apostles, Poznanie Publ., 2017, vol. 1, 632 p. (In Russian).
6. Shcherbakov I. T. Missiya svyatogo apostola Pavla v Efese: istoriko-arkheologicheskii kontekst [The mission of the holy Apostle Paul in Ephesus: historical and archaeological context]. Trudy Belgorodskoi pravoslavnoi dukhovnoi seminarii (s messionerskoi napravlennost’yu) [Works of the Belgorod Orthodox Theological Seminary (with a missionary focus)]. 2023, no. 16, pp. 124-133. (In Russian).
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Theological Collection of Tambov Theological Seminary
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
