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CANON 715 the gospels of Mark, Luke, and John, 13 epis- tles of Paul, 3 of John, Jude, the apocalypses of John and Peter (the latter declared not to be read in the churches by some), and omits James, Hebrews, and 2 Peter. Clement of Alexandria combines the "Apostle" (or "Apostles") and the "Gospel" as "Scrip- tures of the Lord" with "the law and the prophets," ratified by the authority of one almighty power. It is admitted that a Syriac version of the New Testament existed about the close of the 2d century; and there is no reason to doubt that the Peshito-Syriac version has now the same books. This lacks 2 and 3 John, 2 Peter, Jude, and the Apocalypse, but has all the rest of the New Testament. At the beginning of the 3d century, therefore, the four gospels, Acts, 13 epistles of Paul, and 1 John were universally received by the churches ; 1 Peter was undisputed, though the meaning of the Muratorian canon is obscure; Revelation was generally received, though it was not in the Syriac version, and Dionysius of Alexandria (a disciple of Origen) with others afterward ascribed it to an unknown "John the pres- byter ; " the epistle to the Hebrews was gen- erally received in the Greek and Syrian church- es, its Pauline origin being disputed in the lat- ter ; James was received by the Syrian church- es; Jude by the western; 2 and probably 3 John by the Greek and western; 2 Peter is not clearly mentioned in any extant writing of this date. Origen calls the collected gos- pels, Acts, and apostolical epistles "the New Testament," quotes as authoritative Hebrews and Revelation, mentions 1 John as of more undoubted authority than 2 and 3 John, appears fluctuating in regard to James and Jude, and names 2 Peter as doubtful. Euse- bius, the historian, in the early part of the 4th century, prepared a catalogue of the New Testament Scriptures, based upon careful in- vestigation. In his classification the gospels, Acts, 13 (or 14) epistles of Paul, 1 John and 1 Peter, and the Apocalypse (if authentic) are ranked as genuine and universally acknowl- edged. Among disputed books he mentions the epistles of James and Jude, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, the epistle to the Hebrews (which he elsewhere quotes as authoritative), and the Apocalypse (if not by the apostle John). He reckons as " spurious " the Epistle of Barna- bas, the Shepherd of Hennas, the Revelation of Peter, the Acts of Paul, &c. He reckons as "utterly spurious" the Gospels of Peter, Thomas, and Matthias, the Acts of Andrew, Peter, and other apostles, &c. The canon of the council of Laodicea, which, though unau- thentic, belongs to this period, and the cata- logues of Cyril of Jerusalem and of Gregory Nazianzen, accept all the books of our pres- ent collection except the Apocalypse. Before this, the Apocalypse had been expressly quoted as authoritative by Justin Martyr, Irenaaus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, Hippolytus, Methodius, and others. Athana- sius and Epiphanius also include the Apoca- lypse with the catholic epistles and Hebrews as canonical. The recently discovered Sinaitic MS., which is assigned to the 4th century, con- tains all the New Testament of our present canon, with the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hernias. Small sections among the Protestants have dissented from the canon as accepted by the principal churches. The So- cinians in the 16th century, adopting methods of investigation severely critical, have thrown doubts upon several writings whose genuineness had been left unquestioned for centuries. The same process has been continued to the present day by theologians of different schools, espe- cially in Germany. The Swedenborgians, dis- carding critical methods entirely, and receiving no dogmatical writing as inspired or canonical, set summarily aside the decrees of councils and the verdicts of scholars, and hold that the four gospels and the Apocalypse are the only Scrip- tures of the New Testament written under the full influence of the Holy Spirit. They also deny inspiration to the purely narrative and dogmatic writings of the Old Testament, Chron- icles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and the books of Solomon ; finding a broad line of distinction between these and the others in their doctrine of the internal sense. CANON, an ecclesiastical dignitary who pos- sesses a prebend, or revenue allotted for the performance of divine service in a cathedral or collegiate church. Canons were originally priests who lived in community, appointed to assist the bishop in his duties, and supported by the revenues of the bishopric. Secular canons are those who, in progress of time, have left off the custom prevalent Jn monas- teries of living a community life, and have the privilege of enjoying the returns of their re- spective benefices. In the church of England, by the act of 1840, all members of cathedrals except the dean are canons, and receive their appointments by letters patent from the crown. The obligations of the canons are contained under the three following heads : 1, the duty of residing in the place where the church they belong to is situated ; 2, assisting at the canonical offices which are celebrated in the church ; and 3, attending the meeting of the chapter at the appointed times. They cannot be absent from their benefices for a longer period than three months, and the minor canons, of whom there are from two to six in a cathedral, perform the choral service. In their collective capacity they are called a chapter, and form the council of the bishop. In each chapter there are dignitaries. The name was originally applied to all the clergy, but was afterward confined to those who were connected with the cathedral church, or to specially privileged churches. CANON, in music, a species of vocal composi- tion in several parts, in the form of a perpetual fugue, in which the voices begin at intervals, one after the other, so that each voice sings