Apocrypha: "things that are hidden"
The additional or "hidden," books of the Old Testament which are not in the
Hebrew canon and some versions of the complete
Bible. Some
apocryphal writings contain important information about
angels, which continues to influence
modern thought.
The Greek version of the
Old Testament,
The Septuagint includes the Apocrypha, thus most of the early fathers of
Christianity accepted the Apocrypha as
Scripture.
In 1546 the Apocrypha were officially declared as part of the
Christian canon by the
Council of Trent, however the books were given lesser status than the rest of the
Scriptures. In the beginning many had trouble distinguishing the
Apocrypha from the
Old Testament, but many of the modern
Bibles make the difference clear.
The Apocrypha also wielded great influence upon the arts, including
poetry,
drama,
music,
literature,
sculpture and
painting. In
angelology the most important work is found in the apocryphal: The
Book of Tobit, which tells the story of the blind man
Tobit and his son
Tobias, and the
archangel Raphael. It is considered to be historically based, the purpose to impart lessons on
righteousness and
morality and to teach
occult lore concerning
healing and
exorcism.