Each major branch of faith has its own idea of what the “official” list looks like. This is why you might hear a Catholic Bible has 73 books, while a Protestant Bible has 66. Same general structure, but with a few extra texts here and there depending on the tradition.

1. The Protestant Bible – 66 Books

The Protestant Bible has 66 books in total. This is the version most people in Protestant churches are used to, with 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. Why only 66? Protestant leaders decided that certain books, known as the "Apocrypha," didn’t make the final cut, so those weren’t included. They focused on books they believed to be the most foundational.

2. The Catholic Bible – 73 Books

The Catholic Bible takes it a step further, with 73 books. Like the Protestant Bible, it has 27 books in the New Testament, but it includes some additional books in the Old Testament. These extra ones are known as the "Deuterocanonical" books. Some of these include Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, and Sirach, among others. Catholics consider these books just as valuable for understanding the faith as any other.

3. The Eastern Orthodox Bible – Typically 76 Books

Then we’ve got the Eastern Orthodox Bible. This version usually includes around 76 books, though the number can vary a bit depending on the specific Orthodox tradition. Along with the extra books found in the Catholic Bible, some Orthodox Bibles also include even more, like 1 Esdras and 3 Maccabees. This Bible also has a unique addition: "Psalm 151." If you’re used to 150 Psalms, this one’s a surprise.

4. The Ethiopian Orthodox Bible – 81 Books

The Ethiopian Orthodox Bible is the biggest of them all, with 81 books. This version includes everything you’ll find in the Catholic and Orthodox Bibles, plus a few unique ones like the books of Enoch and Jubilees. It even has books called "1–3 Meqabyan" that don’t show up in any other Christian Bible. In Ethiopian Orthodox tradition, these extra books are seen as sacred.

5. The Jewish Tanakh – 24 Books

The Jewish Bible, called the Tanakh, is a bit different. It has 24 books, all of which are part of the Old Testament in Christian Bibles. Even though it has fewer books, the content is similar to the Protestant Old Testament. The difference is in how the books are grouped. For example, what Christians know as 1 and 2 Samuel is combined into one book in the Tanakh.

The myth of the Priory of Sion and its role as guardians of the Merovingian bloodline is a modern fabrication, but its narrative is compelling and has been widely popularized. The myth's central claims were developed in the mid-20th century by Pierre Plantard and his associates, later gaining global attention through the 1982 book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail and its fictional adaptation in Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code.

Here are the key aspects of the myth:

The Secret Marriage

The central premise of the myth is that Jesus Christ did not die on the cross. Instead, he survived the crucifixion, married Mary Magdalene, and they had children together. Following this, Mary Magdalene and her children fled persecution in the Holy Land and sailed to Gaul (modern-day France).

The Merovingian Bloodline

Once in France, the myth claims that this sacred bloodline, known as the Sang Real (meaning "royal blood" or "holy blood"), eventually intermarried with the Frankish people. Their descendants would go on to found the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled the Franks from the 5th to the 8th century. In this version of history, the Merovingian kings were not merely secular rulers but the rightful, divinely ordained descendants of Jesus Christ.

Guardians of the Secret

The Priory of Sion was allegedly founded in 1099 to act as the hereditary guardians of this secret. Their primary mission was to protect the Merovingian bloodline from those who would seek to destroy it and to preserve the evidence of Jesus' marriage and progeny. The myth posits that the Catholic Church, in particular, was the chief antagonist, having covered up the true story of Jesus to maintain its own power and authority. The Priory, therefore, existed as a secret society, with a long list of famous figures—including Leonardo da Vinci and Isaac Newton—claimed to have been its grandmasters.

Pope Peter-Benedict summons John Storm to the Vatican.