Accepted and Disputed Writings

Of Peter, then, one letter, the one called his first, is acknowledged, and the elders of old used it freely in their own writings as beyond dispute. But the so-called second letter, we have been taught, is not one of the books of the Testament; yet since it has seemed useful to many, it has been studied with care along with the other Scriptures. [a] As for the so-called Acts of Peter, the Gospel named after him, the so-called Preaching of Peter and the so-called Apocalypse, we know that these have not been handed down at all among the writings received by the whole Church, because no church writer, either among the ancients or in our own day, has made use of testimonies drawn from them. [c] As my history proceeds, I will take care to point out, along with the successions, which church writers in each period have used which of the disputed books, and what they have said about the acknowledged books of the Testament, and everything they have said about those that are not of this kind. These, then, are the writings that bear Peter’s name, of which I know only one letter to be genuine and acknowledged by the elders of old.

The fourteen letters of Paul are plain and clear. Yet it would not be right to ignore that some have rejected the Letter to the Hebrews, saying that the church of Rome disputes it as not being Paul’s. What those before us have said about this letter too I will set out at the proper time. Nor have I received the so-called Acts of Paul among the undisputed books. [d] But since the same apostle, in the greetings at the end of the Letter to the Romans, has mentioned among others Hermas, to whom they say the book of the Shepherd belongs, it should be known that this too has been disputed by some, and because of them it could not be placed among the acknowledged books; but by others it has been judged most necessary, especially for those who need elementary instruction. That is why, as we know, it has been read publicly in churches, and I have found that some of the most ancient writers used it. [e] Let this be said to show which divine writings are undisputed and which are not acknowledged by all.