In 364 AD, a group of bishops gathered in Laodicea — modern-day Turkey — and made a decision that would quietly reshape Christianity for the next 1,700 years. The Council of Laodicea produced a list of books considered acceptable for public reading in churches — and just as importantly, a list of books that weren't.
Among the texts effectively removed from Western Christian canon: the Book of Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Sirach, Baruch — and most significantly for students of ancient scripture, the Book of Enoch.
What's remarkable is that none of these texts were removed because they were considered false. The debate was largely about authority, tradition, and politics — which communities had been reading which books, and which bishops held influence. Politics, in other words, shaped your Bible.
What Was Actually in Those Removed Books?
The Book of Enoch is perhaps the most consequential of the excluded texts. It was widely read in early Christian communities. The Apostle Jude quotes it word for word in the New Testament (Jude 1:14–15), attributing a prophecy to "Enoch, the seventh from Adam." Early church fathers like Tertullian, Origen, and Irenaeus cited it extensively. Fragments of it were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls — making it one of the most preserved ancient texts ever discovered.
And yet, after 364 AD, it was gone from the Western canon.
The Canon Was Never as Settled as You Were Taught
Most Christians assume the Bible always had 66 books (Protestant) or 73 (Catholic). But the biblical canon was debated, revised, and voted on across multiple councils spanning hundreds of years. The Council of Laodicea in 364 AD, the Council of Hippo in 393 AD, the Council of Carthage in 397 AD — each shaped what you read today.
Meanwhile, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church never accepted these restrictions. Their Bible contains 81 books — including Enoch, Jubilees, and the Books of Meqabyan — texts that have been read and revered continuously for over 2,000 years.
The books were always there. They were never lost. They were just quietly moved off the shelf.
Ready to read what was removed? Our Book of Enoch — Collector's Edition includes a full scholarly introduction to the history of the canon and why this text matters for any serious student of scripture.