Ammonian Sections (latin: ammonius quidam), also called Eusebian canons, are a system of dividing the four Gospels, indicated in the margin of nearly all Greek and Latin manuscripts of the Bible. There are about 1165 in number; 355 for Matthew, 235 for Mark, 343 for Luke, and 232 for John; the numbers, however, vary slightly in different manuscripts. Until recently it was commonly believed that these divisions were devised by Ammonius of Alexandria, at the beginning of the third century (c. 220), in connection with a Harmony of the Gospels, now lost, which he composed. It is traditionally believed that he divided the four Gospels into small numbered sections, which were similar in content where the narratives are parallel. He then wrote the sections of the three last Gospels, or simply the section numbers with the name of the respective evangelist, in parallel columns opposite the corresponding sections of the Gospel of Matthew, which he had chosen as the basis of his Harmony. Of late, however, the view has obtained among scholars that the work of Ammonius was restricted to what Eusebius of Caesarea states concerning it in his letter to Carpianus, namely, that he placed the parallel passages of the last three Gospels alongside the text of Matthew, and the sections traditionally credited to Ammonius are now ascribed to Eusebius (265-340). At any rate the Harmony of Ammonius suggested to Eusebius, as he himself tells us, the idea of drawing up ten tables (kanones) in which the sections in question were so classified as to show at a glance where each Gospel agreed with or differed from the others. In the first nine tables he placed in parallel columns the numbers of the sections common to the four, or three, or two, evangelists; namely: (1) Matt., Mark, Luke, John; (2) Matt., Mark, Luke; (3) Matt., Luke, John; (4) Matt., Mark, John; (5) Matt., Luke; (6) Matt., Mark; (7) Matt., John; (8) Luke, Mark; (9) Luke, John. In the tenth he noted successively the sections special to each evangelist. The usefulness of these tables for the purpose of reference and comparison soon brought them into common use, and from the fifth century the Ammonian sections, with references to the Eusebian tables, were indicated in the margin of the manuscrpits. (The chapters and verses systems used in Bibles today were not then in existence; the first date from the thirteenth, the latter from the sixteenth century.) Opposite each section was written its number, and underneath this the number of the Eusebian table to be consulted in order to find the parallel texts or text; a reference to the tenth table would of course show that this section was proper to that evangelist. These marginal notes are reproduced in several editions of Tischendorf's New Testament. For the genre of Christian-themed music, see gospel music. ... A manuscript (Latin manu scriptus written by hand), strictly speaking, is any written document that is put down by hand, in contrast to being printed or reproduced some other way. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library of Congress. ... The Gospel of Matthew (literally, according to Matthew; Greek, Κατά Μαθθαίον or Κατά Ματθαίον) is one of the four Gospel accounts of the New Testament. ... The Gospel of Mark, ascribed to Mark the Evangelist, is traditionally the second Gospel of the New Testament. ... The Gospel of Luke is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. ... The Gospel of John is the fourth gospel in the canon of the New Testament, traditionally ascribed to John the Evangelist. ... The symbols of the four Evangelists are here depicted in the Book of Kells The Four Evangelists are the four followers of Jesus to whom are ascribed the writings forming the four Gospels of the New Testament: the Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. ... Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (c. ... Lobegott Friedrich Constantin (von) Tischendorf (Langenfeld, Saxony January 18, 1815 – December 7, 1874 in Leipzig) was a noted German Biblical scholar who recovered the Codex Sinaiticus, a Greek manuscript of the New Testament, in 1859. ...

See also

• Chronicon (Eusebius)

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.