The epistles of Paul

The epistles of Paul. Thirteen canonical epistles with and one without his name. | Texts. | Excavations. | Tools. | Links. | | Offer feedback. | Report errata. | Browse booklist. | Customize page. | Pop window. | Visit index. | Attributed author(s). Paul. Text(s) available. on site: Epistle to the Romans 1-4, 5-8, 9-12, 13-16 (on site, Greek only). Epistle 1 to the Corinthians 1-4, 5-8, 9-12, 13-16 (on site, Greek only). Epistle 2 to the Corinthians 1-4, 5-8, 9-13 (on site, Greek only). Epistle to the Galatians 1-6 (on site, Greek only). Epistle to the Ephesians 1-6 (on site, Greek only). Epistle to the Philippians 1-4 (on site, Greek only). Epistle to the Colossians 1-4 (on site, Greek only). Epistle 1 to the Thessalonians 1-5 (on site, Greek only). Epistle 2 to the Thessalonians 1-3 (on site, Greek only). Epistle 1 to Timothy 1-6 (on site, Greek only). Epistle 2 to Timothy 1-4 (on site, Greek only). Epistle to Titus 1-3 (on site, Greek only). Epistle to Philemon 1 (on site, Greek only). Epistle to the Hebrews 1-4, 5-8, 9-13 (on site, Greek only). Online Greek Bible (Greek only). Bible Gateway (English only). HTML Bible: Romans 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 (Greek and English). 1 Corinthians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 (Greek and English). 2 Corinthians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 (Greek and English). Galatians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (Greek and English). Ephesians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (Greek and English). Philippians 1, 2, 3, 4 (Greek and English). Colossians 1, 2, 3, 4 (Greek and English). 1 Thessalonians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (Greek and English). 2 Thessalonians 1, 2, 3 (Greek and English). 1 Timothy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (Greek and English). 2 Timothy 1, 2, 3, 4 (Greek and English). Titus 1, 2, 3 (Greek and English). Philemon 1 (Greek and English). Hebrews 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 (Greek and English). HTML Bible: Romans 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 (Latin Vulgate only). 1 Corinthians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 (Latin Vulgate only). 2 Corinthians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 (Latin Vulgate only). Galatians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (Latin Vulgate only). Ephesians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (Latin Vulgate only). Philippians 1, 2, 3, 4 (Latin Vulgate only). Colossians 1, 2, 3, 4 (Latin Vulgate only). 1 Thessalonians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (Latin Vulgate only). 2 Thessalonians 1, 2, 3 (Latin Vulgate only). 1 Timothy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (Latin Vulgate only). 2 Timothy 1, 2, 3, 4 (Latin Vulgate only). Titus 1, 2, 3 (Latin Vulgate only). Philemon 1 (Latin Vulgate only). Hebrews 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 (Latin Vulgate only). Zhubert (Greek and English). Kata Pi: Romans 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 (Greek and English). 1 Corinthians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 (Greek and English). 2 Corinthians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 (Greek and English). Galatians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (Greek and English). Ephesians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (Greek and English). Philippians 1, 2, 3, 4 (Greek and English). Colossians 1, 2, 3, 4 (Greek and English). 1 Thessalonians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (Greek and English). 2 Thessalonians 1, 2, 3 (Greek and English). 1 Timothy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (Greek and English). 2 Timothy 1, 2, 3, 4 (Greek and English). Titus 1, 2, 3 (Greek and English). Philemon 1 (Greek and English). Hebrews 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 (Greek and English). Sacred Texts: Romans 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 (polyglot). 1 Corinthians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 (polyglot). 2 Corinthians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 (polyglot). Galatians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (polyglot). Ephesians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (polyglot). Philippians 1, 2, 3, 4 (polyglot). Colossians 1, 2, 3, 4 (polyglot). 1 Thessalonians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (polyglot). 2 Thessalonians 1, 2, 3 (polyglot). 1 Timothy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (polyglot). 2 Timothy 1, 2, 3, 4 (polyglot). Titus 1, 2, 3 (polyglot). Philemon 1 (polyglot). Hebrews 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 (polyglot). 3 Corinthians. Epistle to the Laodiceans. Correspondence with Seneca. Useful links. Pauline epistles at the NT Gateway. Early Christian Writings: 1 Thessalonians, Philippians, Galatians, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Romans, Philemon, Colossians, Hebrews, 2 Thessalonians, Ephesians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus. Catholic Encyclopedia: Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy and Titus, Philemon, Hebrews. Daniel Wallace: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews. Pauline epistles at Kata Pi (R. M. Grant). Pastoral epistles and Hebrews at Kata Pi (R. M. Grant). David C. Hindley on Paul. Overlaps between Ephesians and Colossians (David C. Hindley). ECW e-Catena: Romans 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. 1 Corinthians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. 2 Corinthians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. Galatians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Ephesians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Philippians 1, 2, 3, 4. Colossians 1, 2, 3, 4. 1 Thessalonians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 2 Thessalonians 1, 2, 3. 1 Timothy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. 2 Timothy 1, 2, 3, 4. Titus 1, 2, 3. Philemon 1. Hebrews 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. Mark Goodacre, NT Gateway Blog: The Split Between Paul and Barnabas I. The Split Between Paul and Barnabas II. Galatians Postdates 1 Corinthians I. Galatians Postdates 1 Corinthians II. Galatians Postdates 1 Corinthians III. Paul's Lack of Travel Plans in Galatians. Paul's Loss of Galatia I. Paul's Loss of Galatia II. The Galatians Already Circumcised I. The Galatians Already Circumcised II. The Galatians Already Circumcised III. The Galatians Already Circumcised IV. The Galatians Already Circumcised V. The Galatians Already Circumcised VI. The Galatians Already Circumcised VII. Getting Paul's Letters in Order (Dating Game Preliminaries). 1 Thessalonians 4.13-5.11 and the Olivet discourse. 1 Thessalonians 4.15-5.1 and Acts 1.6-11. The literary unity of 1 Thessalonians 4.13-5.11. According to the flesh (Romans 1.3). Born of a woman (Galatians 4.4). Uses of the term Lord in Paul. Uses of the term brethren in Paul. Uses of the term gospel in Paul. Dating the epistles of Paul from scratch. The household tables. Jewish tradition in Paul. Hellenistic and Roman tradition in Paul. The Bible has thirteen epistles claiming to be written by the influential apostle Paul: To the Romans, two to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, two to his coworker Timothy, to his coworker Titus, and to Philemon. The anonymous epistle to the Hebrews has also been claimed for Paul. Not many scholars, however, would defend Pauline authorship of Hebrews. The pastoral epistles (1 and 2 Timothy, Titus), likewise, scholars tend to regard as pseudepigraphical, along with Ephesians, Colossians, and 2 Thessalonians. I myself at present accept 2 Thessalonians as Pauline, but reject Hebrews, the pastorals, Ephesians, and Colossians (all of which is, of course, subject to change). Peter. Acts. Clement of Rome. Papias. Ignatius. Marcion. Polycarp. Irenaeus. Muratorian canon. Theophilus of Antioch. Gaius of Rome. Hippolytus. Victorinus. Please note that the following references are far from exhaustive. Peter. In 2 Peter 3.15-16 (pseudo-)Peter writes that the beloved brother Paul wrote in his epistles, according to the wisdom given to him, things both hard to understand (surely an exercise in understatement!) and susceptible to distortion by those who do the same to the rest of the scriptures (τας λοιπας γραφας), thus classifying the Pauline epistles (though not specifying which or how many) as scripture. Acts. It is interesting that Luke in his second volume never mentions that Paul wrote epistles. Nevertheless, the book of the Acts of the Apostles is full of parallels to the Pauline epistles. Clement of Rome. In The Evolution of the Pauline Canon, an article for the Journal of Higher Criticism, Robert M. Price writes of 1 Clement: 1 Clement (47:1) appears to have thought there was but a single Pauline letter to Corinth. 1 Clement 47.1-3 reads: Αναλαβετε την επιστολην του μακαριου Παυλου του αποστολου. τι πρωτον υμιν εν αρχη του ευαγγελιου εγραψεν; επ αληθειας πνευματικως επεστειλεν υμιν περι εαυτου τε και Κηφα τε και Απολλω, δια το και τοτε προσκλισεις υμας πεποιησθαι. Take up the epistle of the blessed Paul the apostle. What did he write to you first, in the beginning of the gospel? Of a truth he charged you spiritually concerning himself and Cephas and Apollos, on account that even then you had made parties. The allusion is to 1 Corinthians 1.12, but I suggest that Clement* may here betray knowledge that there was at least one other epistle to the Corinthians. What else would the first (πρωτον) of 47.2 mean? Possibly that this reference came toward the beginning, or first part, of 1 Corinthians, but it seems just as likely to me, if not more so, that Clement is saying that this was the first thing Paul wrote to the Corinthians because he knew this was the first epistle that Paul wrote to the Corinthians. * The attribution to Clement is traditional; the epistle itself names the church of Rome as its sender. I use the name Clement for convenience, though I do tend at the present time to accept the traditional attribution, with Clement writing as a sort of secretary for the church of Rome. The exact attribution will not matter to the present argument. Let us imagine, however, for the sake of argument, that this is not what Clement means by that adverb. Price appears to be working from the observation that Clement tells his readers to take up the epistle, in the singular, instead of one of the epistles, in the plural, or the first epistle, which would unambiguously imply at least a second. Does this sort of reference to this epistle to Corinth indeed imply that Clement knew of only one? I do not necessarily think so. Several times in his monumental heresiological work, Against Heresies, Irenaeus of Lyons refers to one of a pair of epistles without any indication that there was another extant. Granted, for all of the instances that I will point out we are dependent upon the Latin translation of the original Greek, since the only Greek available to us is in fragments. To be sure, there does exist one reference for which we have the Greek, namely in 1.8.2, in which Irenaeus quotes 1 Corinthians 15.8 as something found in that to the Corinthians (εν τη προς Κορινθιους); but in this case it seems probable that the adjective first has dropped out, most likely expressed by the numeral αʹ (an easy thing to skip while copying a text), since the Latin translation at this point reads in prima ad Corinthios epistola (in the first epistle to the Corinthians). But it is worth noting that the Latin translator has either added or (more likely) retained the numerical indicator; he has not lost it. Let us turn, then, to the relevant examples. In 3.11.9 Irenaeus tells us that Paul wrote about prophetic gifts among both men and women in the church (clearly referring to 1 Corinthians 11.4-5 and possibly also to chapters 12 and 14) in that epistle which is to the Corinthians (in ea... enim epistola quae est ad Corinthios). In 3.13.1 the same ｅxpression is used (in ea epistola quae est ad Corinthios) of a quotation from 1 Corinthians 15.11. In 4.27.3 Irenaeus says that 1 Corinthians 10.1-13 is found in the epistle which is to the Corinthians (in epistola quae est ad Corinthios); that this slightly cumbersome kind of ｅxpression is not limited in the Latin translation to epistles found in pairs is clear from 2.22.2, where Irenaeus places Romans 8.36 in the epistle which is to the Romans (in epistola quae est ad Romanos). Also, I ought to point out that Irenaeus does indeed know of at least two epistles to the Corinthians, for in 3.7.1 he writes of 2 Corinthians 4.4 as something found in the second to the Corinthians (in secunda ad Corinthios); in 5.13.4 he cites 2 Corinthians 4.10-11 and mentions that the apostle Paul says it to the Corinthians (Corinthiis ait). In 4.27.4 Irenaeus locates 2 Thessalonians 1.6-10 in that epistle which is to the Thessalonians (in ea quae est ad Thessalonicenses epistola); note that in this case it is the second epistle of the pair that goes undifferentiated, and also note that Irenaeus knows two epistles to the Thessalonians, as well as their relative order, since in 5.6.1 he tells us that 1 Thessalonians 5.23 is found in the first epistle to the Thessalonians (in prima epistola ad Thessalonicenses). While it is not entirely certain that the Latin has accurately reflected the Greek in each and every case above, I think it would amount to special pleading to demand that the Latin translation has reflected it inaccurately in all those cases; it seems probable that in at least some of those instances Irenaeus simply quoted from one epistle of a pair without telling us that it belonged to a pair. And, if Irenaeus can be a little loose in his referencing, surely Clement can, too, especially addressing the very same church that Paul addressed, a church that would know, if anybody knew, how many Pauline epistles it possessed. I freely admit the possibility of other explanations. For example, modern scholars have often suspected that our two extant epistles to the Corinthians actually represent more than two epistles; some think that 2 Corinthians 10-13, for example, belong to a different letter than the rest of 2 Corinthians. It is thought that the Corinthian correspondence was standardized artificially as two epistles sometime after the death of Paul. And we know that there was at one time more to the Corinthian correspondence than we currently have, based on passages such as 1 Corinthians 5.9. It is possible, then, that during the early period in which Clement was writing there was no sense as yet of a set number and order of Corinthian epistles. Clement may have been vague simply because the Corinthian epistles had not yet been standardized in the manner implied by ｅxpressions such as the first epistle or the second epistle.* My point, however, is that the Clementine wording itself is not a very strong factor in deciding the issue. * one might further speculate that it was Marcion (or his followers) who standardized the epistles into their current formats; the so-called Marcionite prologues place the pair of letters to the Corinthians in a definite sequence. Interestingly, while the second Corinthian prologue implies a previous letter to that church, neither Thessalonian prologue implies another letter. It might be objected that, in the context of the Thessalonian prologues and of the epistles themselves, it is obvious to the reader that there are two epistles to the Thessalonians; but, then again, in the context of Clement corresponding with the church at Corinth about an epistle originally sent to Corinth, surely it was obvious to the Corinthians how many epistles they had on hand (as well as which one to take up, as Clement instructs them). Papias. According to an Armenian text of Andrew of Caesarea, Papias referred to Paul (simply as the apostle) as follows: Yet Christ came, and the law, which was impossible for anyone else, he fulfilled in his body, according to the apostle. Confer Romans 8.3-4, as well as other Pauline passages. I harbor doubts as to the exact extent of the Papian quote in this section, however; how much is actually from Papias, and how much has Andrew himself paraphrased or added in? Ignatius. Ignatius, epistle to the Ephesians 12.2: Παροδος εστε των εις θεον αναιρουμενων, Παυλου συμμυσται, του ηγιασμενου, του μεμαρτυρημενου, αξιομακαριστου, ου γενοιτο μοι υπο τα ιχνη ευρεθηναι οταν θεου επιτυχω, ος εν παση επιστολη μνημονευει υμων εν Χριστω Ιησου. You are on the high road of those being taken unto God, fellow mystics with Paul, the holy, the martyred, most worthy to be blessed, at whose footsteps may I be whenever I shall attain to God, [Paul] who in every epistle makes mention of you in Christ Jesus. Marcion. Marcion, according to several of the church fathers, approved for use in his churches only a version of our gospel of Luke and most of the epistles of Paul. Jerome, preface to his commentary on Titus: Licet non sint digni fide qui fidem primam irritam fecerunt, Marcionem loquor et Basilidem et omnes haereticos qui vetus laniant testamentum, tamen eos aliqua ex parte ferremus si saltem in novo continerant manus suas, et non auderent Christi, ut ipsi iactitant, boni dei filii, vel evangelistas violare vel apostolos. nunc vero quum et evangelia eius dissipaverint et apostolorum epistolas non apostolorum Christi facerunt esse, sed proprias, miror, quomodo sibi Christianorum nomen audeant vindicare. Though they should be unworthy of faith who have made their first faith void, I speak of Marcion and Basilides and all the heretics who mangle the Old Testament, nevertheless let us bear with them to some extent if they at least contain their hands in the New and do not dare to violate either the evangelists of Christ, the good son of God, as they call him, or the apostles. At the moment they will have both thrown aside his gospels and made out that the epistles of the apostles are not of the apostles of Christ, but that their own [are], I am amazed [to say], just as they dare to claim the name of Christians for themselves. Ut enim de ceteris epistolis taceam, de quibus quidquid contrarium suo dogmati viderant eraserunt, nonnullas integras repudiandas crediderunt, ad Timotheum videlicet utramque, ad Hebraeos, et ad Titum. et si quidem redderent causas cur eas apostoli non putarent, tentaremus aliquid respondere et fersitan satisfacere lectori. nunc vero quum haeretica auctoritate pronuncient et dicant: Illa epistola Pauli est, haec non est; ex auctoritate refelli se pro veritate intelligant, qua ipsi non erubescunt falsa simulare. To pass over the rest of the epistles in silence, from which they erased whatever they saw that was contrary to their own dogma, they indeed believed that some were to be repudiated in the whole, clearly both of the two to Timothy, [the one] to the Hebrews, and [the one] to Titus. And, if they should seek some reasons why they should not be of the apostle, let us try to reply somehow and perhaps satisfy the reader. At the moment they pronounce and speak by heretical authority: That is an epistle of Paul, this is not. Let them understand that they are themselves refuted from authority for the truth, by which they do not blush to simulate with the false. Polycarp. Epistle to the Philippians 3.2-3: Ουτε γαρ εγω ουτε αλλος ομοιος εμοι δυναται κατακαλουθησαι τη σοφια του μακαριου και ενδοξου Παυλου, ος γενομενος εν υμιν κατα προσωπον των τοτε ανθρωπων εδιδαξεν ακριβως και βεβαιως τον περι αληθειας λογον, ος και απων υμιν εγραψεν επιστολας, εις ας, εαν εγκυπτητε, δυνηθησεσθε οικοδομεισθαι εις την δοθεισαν υμιν πιστιν. For neither I nor any other such man can come up to the wisdom1 of the blessed and glorified Paul, who, while he was among you, accurately and steadfastly taught the word concerning truth in the presence of the men at that time, [and] who, while he was away from you, wrote you epistles2 by which, if you carefully study, you can build yourselves up into that faith which has been given to you. 1 Confer 2 Peter 3.15. 2 We possess only one epistle to the Philippians; it is possible that Polycarp knew of more, or it is possible, as some scholars suspect, that our present epistle to the Philippians is a composite of two or more. It is also possible that the plural is either an error (whether by Polycarp or by some later scribe) or a generic term for letters. Ητις εστιν μητηρ παντων ημων, επακολουθουσης της ελπιδος, προαγουσης της εις θεον και Χριστον και εις τον πλησιον. εαν γαρ τις τουτων εντος η, πεπληρωκεν ετολην δικαιοσυνης· ο γαρ εχων αγαπην μακραν εστιν πασης αμαρτιας. Which is the mother of us all,1 followed by hope and preceded by love for God and Christ and our neighbor. For, if anyone be of these things inwardly, he has fulfilled the command of justice,2 since the one who has love is far from all sin. 1 Confer Galatians 4.26. 2 Confer Galatians 6.2. Epistle to the Philippians 11.2b-3: Aut nescimus quia sancti mundum indicabunt, sicut Paulus docet? Or do we {not} know that the saints shall judge the world,* just as Paul teaches? * Confer 1 Corinthians 6.2. Ego autem nihil tale sensi in vobis vel audivi, in quibus laboravit beatus Paulus, qui estis in principio epistulae eius; de vobis etenim gloriatur in omnibus ecclesiis quae solae tunc dominum cognoverant; nos autem nondum cognoveramus. I, however, have neither seen nor heard of any such thing among you, among whom the blessed Paul labored, and who are in the beginning of his epistle.1 For he glories concerning you in all those churches which alone knew the Lord at that time;2 but we3 had not yet known him. 1 Confer Philippians 1.5. 2 If Polycarp is supposing that Pauline references to Macedonia are references to the Philippian church, then he is probably referring to passages such as Romans 15.26; possibly 1 Corinthians 16.5; 2 Corinthians 8.1; 11.9; Philippians 4.15. 3 Id est, those in the church of Smyrna. Polycarp also alludes to Ephesians 2.8-9 in 1.3; to Ephesians 6.14 in 2.1; to 1 Timothy 6.1 in 4.1; to 1 Timothy 6.7 in the same; to Ephesians 6.11 in the same; to 1 Thessalonians 5.17 in 4.3; to Galatians 6.7 in 5.1; to 1 Timothy 3.8 in 5.2; to Philippians 1.27 in the same; to 2 Timothy 2.12 in the same; to 1 Corinthians 6.9-10 in 5.3; to Romans 12.17 in 6.1; to Romans 14.10-12 and 2 Corinthians 5.10 in 6.2; to Galatians 2.2 and Philippians 2.16 in 9.2; to 1 Thessalonians 5.22 in 11.1; to 2 Thessalonians 3.15 in 11.4; to 1 Corinthians 12.26 in the same; to Ephesians 4.26 in 12.1; and to 1 Timothy 2.2 in 12.3, along with other, less secure allusions. Tatian. Jerome, preface to his commentary on Titus: Sed Tatianus, qui et ipse nonnullas Pauli epistolas repudiavit, hanc vel maxime, h{oc} e{st}, ad Titum, apostoli pronuntiandam credidit; parvipendens Marcionis et aliorum, qui cum eo in hac parte consentiunt, assertionem. But Tatian, who also himself repudiated certain epistles of Paul, believed that this one in particular, that is, [the one] to Titus, was to be acknowledged as belonging to the apostle, slighting the assertion of Marcion and others, who agree with him in this matter [of rejecting Pauline epistles]. Irenaeus. Irenaeus refers by name to every one of the canonical Pauline epistles with the exceptions of Titus, Philemon, and Hebrews. But he quotes Titus 3.10 as from Paul both in Against Heresies 1.16.3 and in 3.3.4, and he may allude to Hebrews 1.3 in 2.30.9. Muratorian canon. Muratorian canon, lines 39-68: Epistulae autem Pauli, quae a quo loco vel qua ex causa directae sint volentibus intellegere ipsae declarant. primum omnium Corinthiis schisma haeresis in terdicens, deinceps Galatis circumcisionem, Romanis autem ordine scripturarum, sed et principium earum esse Xr{istu}m intimans prolixius scripsit. de quibus singulis necesse est a nobis disputari, cum ipse beatus apostolus Paulus sequens prodecessoris sui Iohannis ordinem non nisi nominatim septem ecclesiis scribat ordine tali, ad Corinthios prima, ad Ephesios secunda, ad Philippenses tertia, ad Colossenses quarta, ad Galatas quinta, ad Thessalonicenses sexta, ad Romanos septima. verum Corinthiis et Thessalonicensibus licet pro correptione iteretur, una tamen per omnem orbem terrae ecclesia diffusa esse denoscitur. et Iohannes enim in apocalypsi licet septem ecclesiis scribat, tamen omnibus dicit. verum ad Philemonem unam, et ad Titum unam, et ad Timotheum duas pro affectu et dilectione. in honore tamen ecclesiae catholicae in ordinatione ecclesiasticae disciplinae sanctificatae sunt. fertur etiam ad Laodicenses, alia ad Alexandrinos, Pauli nomine fictae ad haeresem Marcionis, et alia plura, quae in catholicam ecclesiam recipi non potest, fel enim cum melle misceri non congruit. The epistles of Paul, however, themselves declare, to those willing to understand, which ones are from what place or for what cause they were directed. First of all to the Corinthians against the schism of heresy, then to the Galatians against circumcision; to the Romans, however, he wrote rather at length, but also intimating by an order of scriptures that Christ was their beginning. Concerning these it is necessary that the single epistles be discussed by us, since the blessed apostle Paul, following the order of his predecessor John, wrote only to seven churches by name, in this order, to the Corinthians first, to the Ephesians second, to the Philippians third, to the Colossians fourth, to the Galatians fifth, to the Thessalonians sixth, to the Romans seventh. Though, granted, it was repeated to the Corinthians and to the Thessalonians for corruption, nevertheless one church is made known to be diffused throughout the whole orb of the earth. For John too, granted that he wrote to seven churches in the apocalypse, nevertheless spoke to all. Nevertheless, he wrote one to Philemon and one to Titus, and two to Timothy for his affection and love. In honor of the catholic church, however, they were sanctified by the ordination of the ecclesiastical discipline. There is also extant one to the Laodiceans, another to the Alexandrians, forged in the name of Paul for the heresy of Marcion, and many others, which cannot be received in the catholic church, for it is not fit to mix gall with honey. Theophilus of Antioch. Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus 3.14: Το δε ευαγγελιον· Αγαπατε, φησιν, τους εχθρους υμων και προσευχεσθε υπερ των επηρεαζοντων υμας. εαν γαρ αγαπατε τους αγαπωντας υμας, ποιον μισθον εχετε; τουτο και οι λησται και οι τελωναι ποιουσιν. τους δε ποιουντας το αγαθον διδασκει μη καυχασθαι, ινα μη ανθρωπαρεσκοι ωσιν. Μη γνωτω, γαρ φησιν, η χειρ σου η αριστερα τι ποιει η χειρ σου η δεξια. ετι μην και περι του υποτασσεσθαι αρχαις και εξουσιαις, και ευχεσθαι υπερ αυτων, κελευει ημας ο θειος λογος, οπως ηρεμον και ησυχιον βιον διαγωμεν. και διδασκει αποδιδοναι πασιν τα παντα, τω την τιμην την τιμην, τω τον φοβον τον φοβον, τω τον φορον τον φορον, μηδενι μηδεν οφελειν η μονον το αγαπαν παντας. And the gospel says: Love your enemies, and pray on behalf of those who revile you. For, if you love those who love you, what kind of reward do you have? Even the thieves and tax-collectors do this.1 And it teaches those who do good not to boast, lest they become pleasers of men. For it says: Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.2 Moreover, also concerning subjection to rulers and authorities, and prayer on their behalf, the divine word gives us orders, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life.3 And it teaches to render all things to all, honor to whom honor, fear to whom fear, tax to whom tax, [and] to owe nothing to anyone except only to love all.4 1 Refer to Matthew 5.44, 46 = Luke 6.28, 32. 2 Refer to Matthew 6.3. 3 Refer to 1 Timothy 2.2. 4 Refer to Romans 13.7-8. Gaius of Rome. Eusebius, History of the Church 6.20.3, writing of Gaius: Ηλθεν δε εις ημας και Γαιου, λογιωτατου ανδρος, διαλογος, επι Ρωμης κατα Ζεφυρινον, προς Προκλον της κατα Φρυγας αιρεσεως υπερμαχουντα κεκινημενος, εν ω των δι εναντιας την περι το συνταττειν καινας γραφας προπετειαν τε και τολμαν επιστομεζων, των του ιερου αποστολου δεκατριων μονων επιστολων μνημονευει, την προς Εβραιους μη συναριθμησας ταις λοιπαις, επει και εις δευρο παρα Ρωμαιων τισιν ου νομιζεται του αποστολου τυγχανειν. And there has reached us also a dialogue of Gaius, a very learned man who was at Rome in the time of Zephyrinus, with Proclus the champion of the heresy of the Phrygians, in which, while curbing the recklessness and audacity of his opponents in composing new scriptures, he mentions only thirteen epistles of the holy apostle, not numbering the epistle to the Hebrews with the rest, seeing that even to this day among the Romans there are some who do not consider it to be of the apostle. Hippolytus. Dionysius bar Salibi remarks in his commentary on the apocalypse: Hippolytus says that, in writing to seven churches, John writes just as Paul wrote thirteen letters, but wrote them to seven churches. That to the Hebrews he does not judge to be of Paul, but perhaps of Clement. Lines 47-50 of the Muratorian canon also compare the seven churches in the apocalypse of John to the seven churches addressed by Paul, and Victorinus of Pettau makes the same connection between Paul and John in his own Commentary on the Apocalypse 1.7. Victorinus. From Victorinus of Pettau, Commentary on the Apocalypse 1.7 (English translation slightly modified from that of Kevin Edgecomb): Denique, sive in Asia sive in toto orbe, septem ecclesias omnes; et septenatim nominatas unam esse catholicam Paulus docuit. Primum quidem, ut servaret et ipsum, septem ecclesiarum non excessit numerum, sed scripsit ad Romanos, ad Corinthios, ad Ephesios, ad Tessalonicenses, ad Galatas, ad Philippenses, ad Colossenses; postea singularibus personis scripsit, ne excederet numerum septem ecclesiarum. Finally, as in Asia, so in the whole world; seven churches as all; and Paul taught that the seven named are the one catholic church. Indeed, at first, so he might keep this [rule], he did not exceed the number of seven churches, but rather wrote to the Romans, to the Corinthians, to the Ephesians, to the Thessalonians, to the Galatians, to the Philippians, and to the Colossians; afterward he wrote to individual people, lest he exceed the number of seven churches. TextExcavation 2019. Ben C. Smith, author and designer. File last modified 03/05/2019 01:57:19.