homologumena

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. The books of the New Testament the authenticity and authority of which were generally acknowledged in the primitive church. The term is adopted from the church historian Eusebius (about a. d. 270-340), who classifies the books claiming authority as Christian Scriptures under three heads, according as they were received throughout the church, were disputed by some, or had never been recognized, calling these three classes homologumena, antilegomena, and spurious, respectively. He enumerates as homologumena the four Gospels, the Acts, the Epistles of Paul, the First Epistle of John, and the First Epistle of Peter; classes the Epistle of James, that of Jude, the Second of Peter, the Second and Third of John as antilegomena; and says that some reject the Apocalypse and the Gospel according to the Hebrews, while others regard them as homologumena. He mentions as spurious the Acts of Paul, the Pastor (of Hennas), the Apocalypse of Peter, the Epistle of Barnabas, and the book called the Teachings of the Apostles, as well as other writings purporting to be apostolic. Also written homologoumena.