However, what that catholic challenge ignores is the testimony of the Church fathers against the inclusion of the Apocrypha in the canon.
Consider first Melito, the Bishop of Sardis (died 180AD). His friend Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus, had asked his opinion of the Apocrypha, so Melito investigated their standing. In his Letter to Onesimus, he wrote, "Having come to the East and arrived at a place where these things were preached and done, and having accurately learned the books of the Old Testament, I have subjoined a list of them and sent it to thee. The names are as follows: of Moses, five books, namely Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy; Joshua, son of Nun, judges, Ruth; four books of Kings, two of Chronicles, the Psalms of David, the Proverbs of Solomon, which is also called Wisdom, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Job; of Prophets, the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah, writings of the Twelve Prophets in one book. Daniel, Ezekiel, Ezra, from which I have made selections." Nehemiah and the Hebrew text of Esther appear to be included under the title of Ezra. No Apocrypha.
Origen testified, "Let it not be unknown that the canonical books, as the Hebrews transmit them, are twenty-two, for such is the number of letters among them... These are the twenty-two books of the Hebrews: the book called Genesis..., Exodus..., Leviticus..., Numbers..., Deuteronomy... These are the Words: ...Joshua ben Nun, Judges, Ruth...; Kings, first and second... in one called Samuel; the third and fourth of Kings in one book...; the first and second of Chronicles, in one book...; the first and second of Esdras, in one book called Ezra...; the Book of Psalms...; the Proverbs of Solomon; Ecclesiastes; the Song of Songs...; Isaiah; Jeremiah, with the Lamentations and his epistle, in one volume, Jeremiah; Daniel; Ezekiel; Job; Esther. Beside these there are also the Maccabees." The Epistle of Jeremiah refers to chapter 29 of that book. The Twelve Prophets were left out by a transcriber. Some manuscripts of Origen's work return them. Notice that the books of Maccabees are described as beside the canon of twenty-two books of the Hebrew Bible. the other apocryphal works don't even rate a mention.
Athanasius, in his Festal Epistle, wrote, "All the books of the Old Testament are two and twenty in number, for, as I have heard, this is the order and number of the Hebrew letters. To name them, they are as follows: the first, Genesis, the next, Exodus, then Leviticus, after that the Numbers, and then Deuteronomy; next to them is Jesus the son of Nave [sic, Greek for Joshua son of Nun], and Judges; after that, Ruth; and again the next in order are the four books of the Kingdoms [I and II Samuel, I and II Kings]...; after them the first and second of the Remains, or Chronicles...; then the first and second of Esdras...; after them the Book of Psalms; then the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs; besides these there is Job, and, at length, the Prophets; the twelve are reckoned one book; then Isaiah and Jeremiah, and with him Baruch, the Lamentations, the Epistle; and after them Ezekiel and Daniel. Thus far the books of the Old Testament." Like Melito, Athanasius seems to include the Hebrew version of Esther with Ezra. He also refers to Baruch and the Epistle of Jeremiah, not as the names of the apocryphal books, but as portions of Jeremiah. What he adds after this is also important: "For the sake of greater accuracy I will add - and the addition is necessary - that there are also other books beside these, not, indeed, admitted into the canon, but ordained by the Fathers to be read by such as have recently come over to us, and who wish to receive instruction in the doctrine of piety - the Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of Sirach, and Esther, and Judith, and Tobit, the Doctrine of the Apostles, as it is called, and the Shepherd." Thus this father cannot be accused of overlooking or being ignorant of the Apocrypha. rather, he mentions them as being read, but then excludes them from the canon.
This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but rather just some explicit examples. While Rome makes much of her so-called sacred tradition, they contradict that tradition here. The Council of Trent made into Scriptures books which Christians had traditionally rejected as such. In contrast, the statement of the Westminster Confession of faith (I:3) is consistent with the true tradition: "The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the Canon of Scripture; and therefore are of no authority in the Church of God, nor to be any otherwise approved, or made use of, than other human writings."
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