Apocrypha

The Apocrypha is fourteen books not included in the Protestant or Jewish Canon but recognised by Roman Catholics and included by them as an Appendix to the Old Testament of the Bible. They were written during a period of 300 years after the Jews had returned from their captivity in Babylon up to the birth of Jesus. They are a mixture of history and fiction and are not considered equal to the sacred Scriptures. In 1644 the English Parliament in effect removed the Apocrypha from the majority of Bibles by ordaining that only books in the Hebrew collection can be read in the Church of England thus meaning only the Catholics retain the Apocrypha in their Bibles. Apocrypha means hidden or secret (writings).