A gospel harmony is an attempt to compile the canonical gospels of the Christian New Testament into a single account. This may take the form either of a single, merged narrative, or a tabular format with one column for each gospel, technically known as a synopsis, although the word harmony is often used for both.
The Four Evangelists by Jacob Jordaens, 1625–1630, Louvre
A 6th–7th-century use of the Eusebian Canons to organize the contents of the gospels in the London Canon Tables
The cover of Branteghem's 1537 visual gospel harmony, Antwerp
Gospel originally meant the Christian message, but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was reported. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words and deeds of Jesus, culminating in his trial and death and concluding with various reports of his post-resurrection appearances. Modern biblical scholars are cautious of relying on the gospels uncritically, but nevertheless, they provide a good idea of the public career of Jesus, and critical study can attempt to distinguish the original ideas of Jesus from those of the later Christian authors.
The first page of the Gospel of Mark in Armenian, by Sargis Pitsak, 14th century