The Orthodox Bible vs. Everyone Else's – Here's the Difference

Overview

The video argues that the “missing books” found in Orthodox Bibles (but not in most Protestant Bibles) were not removed by the Orthodox Church. Instead, it claims the difference comes from the Protestant Reformation changing the Old Testament canon.

Core Claims and Reasoning

1) No single, unchanging Bible canon early on

The narrator says different Christian traditions used different lists of biblical books (“canon”). Orthodox Christianity is presented as continuing the earliest, longer canon.

2) Jesus and the apostles used the Septuagint

The video claims early Christians primarily used the Greek Septuagint (translated in Alexandria around 250 BC), not the shorter Hebrew canon later associated with many Protestant Bibles.

3) The Septuagint included books later labeled “Apocrypha”

Examples given include:

• Tobit
• Judith
• Wisdom of Solomon
• Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)
• 1–2 Maccabees
• Baruch

4) New Testament authors are said to reference these books

The video cites examples such as:

• Paul referencing Wisdom
• Hebrews drawing on 2 Maccabees

This is used to argue that these texts were treated as scriptural by early Christians.

5) Church fathers accepted these books

The narrator claims authors such as Irenaeus, Clement, and Augustine quoted and built theology from these books.

6) The Protestant Reformation is framed as the turning point

The video presents the 16th century as the key change: Martin Luther adopted the shorter Hebrew canon, placed the additional books into a separate “Apocrypha” category, and removed them from equal status with scripture.

7) Orthodox (and Catholic) continuity

The Orthodox Church is portrayed as having retained the Septuagint-based canon continuously “from the times of the apostles” through today.

Why These Books Matter (Practical/Theological Examples)

• 2 Maccabees: presented as providing an explicit basis for prayer for the dead, connected to Orthodox liturgical practice.
• Sirach: described as rich wisdom teaching about humility, fear of God, prayer, and practical Christian living.
• Wisdom of Solomon: said to offer reflection on the soul, the afterlife, and God’s justice, presented as influential in Orthodox theology.

Support Cited from Church Sources and Councils

The video points to:

• St. Athanasius (in a festal letter): listing canonical books while distinguishing categories, yet still treating deuterocanonical books as part of liturgical life.
• St. John of Damascus: listing scripture consistent with Orthodox tradition (including these texts).
• Council of Carthage (397 AD): described as confirming a canon including these books used by the “undivided church” for over a thousand years.

Call to Action

• For Orthodox readers: the narrator recommends reading Sirach.
• For Protestants: they are urged not to fear these books and to ask why they were treated as scriptural for centuries but not later.

Overall Conclusion

The video concludes that the “removed books” were not removed by Orthodoxy. Instead, Protestantism adopted a shorter Hebrew canon during the Reformation, while Orthodoxy retained the earlier Christian canon associated with the Septuagint.

Presenters / Contributors

• The unnamed video speaker (host/narrator)
• St. Paul
• St. Irenaeus
• St. Clement
• St. Augustine
• St. Athanasius of Alexandria
• St. John of Damascus
• Martin Luther
• Council of Carthage (397 AD)
• Jesus’ apostles (referred to collectively)