Which biblical books are considered apocryphal by the Catholic Church but canonical by the Eastern Orthodox Church?
Executive summary
The core answer: several intertestamental books not included in the Roman Catholic Old Testament are nonetheless treated as canonical by various Eastern Orthodox churches — most notably 1 Esdras (Greek Esdras), the Prayer of Manasseh, 1–4 Maccabees (with 3–4 more commonly in Orthodox collections), Psalm 151 and certain Odes or additional psalms — and these are listed in Orthodox canons or common Orthodox printings even though they are outside the Catholic canon [1] [2] [3]. The distinction reflects different reception histories (Septuagint usage and regional liturgical practice) and a less rigid, partly local Orthodox approach to an “Old Testament long canon” versus the fixed Roman list affirmed at Trent [1] [4].
1. What “apocryphal” means here and why Catholics and Orthodox use different language
“Apocrypha” for Protestants and many modern readers denotes books outside the 66-book Protestant canon, but Catholics treat a core set of these as deuterocanonical (part of their Old Testament), whereas many Eastern Orthodox traditions use the Septuagint’s longer collection and do not universally label those same books “apocrypha” — the Orthodox instead refer to a “longer canon” and sometimes to those texts as anagignoskomena (readable) or simply canonical in liturgical usage [1] [5] [6].
2. The concrete titles most often canonical in Orthodox but not in the Catholic OT
Sources repeatedly identify 1 Esdras (often called Greek Esdras), the Prayer of Manasseh, and additional Maccabean books — especially 3 Maccabees and sometimes 4 Maccabees — as included in many Orthodox printed Old Testaments though they are not part of the Roman Catholic Old Testament [1] [2] [3]. Orthodox collections also commonly preserve Psalm 151, various Odes (liturgical prayers/psalms), and some extra Esther and Daniel additions in forms the Catholic tradition does not append in the same way [4] [5].
3. How authoritative is the Orthodox claim — unified canon or diversity?
Eastern Orthodoxy does not have a single, universally promulgated canon comparable to Trent for Catholics; local churches historically kept slightly different collections and the “longer canon” is a practical, liturgical reality rather than a single dogmatic list, so which extra books appear can vary [4] [3]. Orthodox sources and study Bibles therefore may include 1 Esdras, the Prayer of Manasseh, 3 & 4 Maccabees, Psalm 151 and Odes, whereas the Roman Catholic Church’s confirmed Old Testament list omits those particular items [4] [1].
4. Why the difference: Septuagint, councils and liturgy
The Eastern churches’ reliance on the Septuagint — the Greek Old Testament widely used in the early, Hellenistic Christian world — explains why certain books remained authoritative in Orthodox life; the Septuagint tradition preserved texts and chapter divisions that Catholic Latin/Western reception did not adopt or later formalized differently at councils culminating in Trent [1] [5]. The Catholic Church’s formal canon (including the deuterocanonical books it accepts) was settled in post-Reformation councils, while the Orthodox affirmation of additional books followed a more decentralized, synodal and liturgical process [1] [2].
5. Practical implication: what readers will find in printed Bibles
A modern Orthodox Bible will commonly contain the 73 books recognized by Catholics plus one or more extras such as 1 Esdras, 3 Maccabees and the Prayer of Manasseh; some editions even include Psalm 151 and Odes, while standard Catholic editions stop at the canon fixed by Rome and do not present those additional texts as canonical [3] [5] [1]. This explains why scholars and readers encounter divergences in Biblical contents across traditions: it is driven by differing historical canons, liturgical reading practices, and textual traditions rather than a single clerical whim [4].