Early Citations of the Four Gospels and Other “Gospels”

Early Citations of the Four Gospels and Other “Gospels”

The following chart is adapted from one created by Glenn Davis, which may be found at http://www.ntcanon.org. It shows the citations (or lack thereof) for our four Gospels in seventeen early authorities, and, for comparison, the same information for eight non-canonical “Gospels.” The seventeen early authorities are, in order, Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Polycarp, Marcion (early heretic), Valentinus and his followers (early heretic), Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, the Muratorian Canon, Tertullian, Origin, Eusebius, Codex Sinaiticus, Athenasius of Alexandria, Didymus the Blind, the Peshitta (a Syriac translation of the scriptures), and the Vulgate (a Latin translation).

Symbol	Opinion of Authority
	accepted; true; scriptural; or quoted from very approvingly
	acceptable, but only with changes
	dubious; disputed; or useful for inspiration
	spurious (in the classification of Eusebius)
	false; heretical; heterodox; quoted from very disapprovingly
·	not mentioned or quoted from in any surviving work

Gospel of the Egyptians

Gospel of the Hebrews

Gospel of Matthias