Decretum Gelasianum
Gratian (fl. 12th century).
Decretum.
[Strasbourg]: Heinrich Eggestein, 1472. (06314)
The first papal decree to list forbidden writings was the Decretum Gelasianum, attributed to Pope Gelasius (d. 496). While this list canonized the works of St. Augustine, St. Jerome, and other “orthodox fathers,” it also enumerated which Christian writings were to be rejected as apocryphal and which were to be condemned as heretical. The apocryphal writings included the works of Tertullian and several “gospels” attributed to various apostles of Christ; the heretical writings included those of Simon Magus, Priscillian, Nestorius, and numerous “authors to be condemned forever to the inextricable shackles of anathema.” In the exhibited 1472 edition of the Decretum of Gratian, a compilation of early canon law, a Latin inscription and pointing hand in red ink indicate where the list of apocryphal works compiled by Pope Gelasius begins. This papal decree served as the point of departure for all subsequent Christian censorship.
