Shepherd of Hermas — "Early Christian Text"

The Catholic Church denies canonical status to the Shepherd of Hermas, a second-century Christian moral exhortation sometimes quoted by the Fathers and included in some ancient biblical manuscripts (such as Codex Sinaiticus). While the work is valued as a patristic source offering insight into early Christian thought on penance, repentance, and virtue, it is not recognized as Scripture and possesses no doctrinal authority equal to the canon. The Council of Trent's definition of the biblical canon excluded the Shepherd of Hermas, establishing a clear boundary between Scripture and patristic literature.

Catholic tradition recognizes the Shepherd as an important witness to the early Church's understanding of Christian moral life, but distinguishes it from Scripture through textual and historical criteria. The work lacks apostolic authorship and was written in the second century, after the apostolic era. Modern Catholic biblical scholarship treats it as patristic literature valuable for historical understanding of the early Church, not as a source of revealed doctrine.