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The Epistle to the Laodiceans is a letter of
Paul the Apostle Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
, the original existence of which is inferred from an instruction to the congregation in Colossae to send their letter to the believing community in Laodicea, and likewise obtain a copy of the letter "from Laodicea" ( gr, ἐκ Λαοδικείας, ''ek Laodikeas''). This letter is generally regarded as being
lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography * Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland *Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
. However, some ancient sources, such as Hippolytus, and some modern scholars consider that the epistle "from Laodicea" was never a lost epistle, but simply Paul re-using one of his other letters (the most common candidate is the
canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical examp ...
Epistle to the Ephesians The Epistle to the Ephesians is the tenth book of the New Testament. Its authorship has traditionally been attributed to Paul the Apostle but starting in 1792, this has been challenged as Deutero-Pauline, that is, pseudepigrapha written in Pa ...
), just as he asks for the copying and forwarding of the Letter to Colossians to Laodicea. Several ancient texts purporting to be the missing "Epistle to the Laodiceans" have been known to have existed, most of which are now lost. These were generally considered, both in antiquity and by modern scholarship, to be attempts to supply a forged copy of a lost document. The sole version that survived is a
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
''Epistola ad Laodicenses'' ("Epistle to the Laodiceans"), first witnessed in Codex Fuldensis. The Latin epistle is actually a short compilation of verses from other Pauline epistles, principally
Philippians The Epistle to the Philippians is a Pauline epistle of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and Timothy is named with him as co-author or co-sender. The letter is addressed to the Christian ...
. It too is generally considered a "clumsy forgery" and an attempt to seek to fill the "gap" suggested by Colossians 4:16.


Mention in Colossians 4:16

Paul, the earliest known Christian author, wrote several letters (or epistles) in
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
to various churches. Paul apparently dictated all his epistles through a secretary (or
amanuensis An amanuensis () is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another, and also refers to a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In one example Eric Fenby ...
), but wrote the final few paragraphs of each letter by his own hand. Many survived and are included in the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...
, but others are known to have been lost. The Epistle to the Colossians states "After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea." The last words can be interpreted as "letter written to the Laodiceans", but also "letter written from Laodicea". The
New American Standard Bible The New American Standard Bible (NASB) is an English translation of the Bible. Published by the Lockman Foundation, the complete NASB was released in 1971. The NASB relies on recently published critical editions of the original Hebrew and Gre ...
(NASB) translates this verse in the latter manner, and translations in other languages such as the Dutch
Statenvertaling The ''Statenvertaling'' (, ''States Translation'') or ''Statenbijbel'' (''States Bible'') was the first translation of the Bible from the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek languages into Dutch, ordered by the Synod of Dordrecht 1618 and financ ...
translate it likewise: "When this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part read my letter (that is coming) from Laodicea." Those who read here "letter written to the Laodiceans" presume that, at the time that the Epistle to the Colossians was written, Paul also had written an epistle to the community of believers in Laodicea. Another possibility exists: that no such epistle to the Laodiceans was ever created, despite the verse in Colossians. Colossians is considered a deutero-Pauline work by many scholars: a number of differences in writing style and assumed situation distinguish it from Paul's earlier letters. While this is explained by some as due to increasing use of a secretary (amanuensis) later in Paul's life, a more skeptical approach is to suggest that Colossians was not written by Paul at all. If Colossians was forged in Paul's name, then the reference to the other letter to the Laodiceans could merely be a verisimilitude – a small detail to make the letter seem real. The letter would never have been sent to Colossae in this scenario, but rather used as an example of Paul's doctrine to win a theological dispute far from Colossae, and there would be nobody to recognize that the claimed letter to the Laodiceans was non-existent.


Identification with canonical epistles


Epistle to the Ephesians

Some scholars have suggested that it refers to the canonical
Epistle to the Ephesians The Epistle to the Ephesians is the tenth book of the New Testament. Its authorship has traditionally been attributed to Paul the Apostle but starting in 1792, this has been challenged as Deutero-Pauline, that is, pseudepigrapha written in Pa ...
, contending that it was a circular letter (an ''encyclical'') to be read to many churches in the Laodicean area. Others dispute this view.


Epistle to Philemon

Others have suggested that it refers to the canonical Epistle to Philemon.


Works purporting to be the lost text


Marcionite Epistle to the Laodiceans

According to the
Muratorian fragment The Muratorian fragment, also known as the Muratorian Canon (Latin: ), is a copy of perhaps the oldest known list of most of the books of the New Testament. The fragment, consisting of 85 lines, is a 7th-century Latin manuscript bound in a 7th- ...
,
Marcion Marcion of Sinope (; grc, Μαρκίων ; ) was an early Christian theologian in early Christianity. Marcion preached that God had sent Jesus Christ who was an entirely new, alien god, distinct from the vengeful God of Israel who had created ...
's canon contained an epistle called the Epistle to the Laodiceans which is commonly thought to be a forgery written to conform to his own point of view. This is not at all clear, however, since none of the text survives. It is not known what this letter might have contained. Most scholars believe it was explicitly Marcionist in its outlook, hence its condemnation. Others believe it to be the Epistle to the Ephesians; the proto-Orthodox author
Tertullian Tertullian (; la, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 AD – 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of L ...
accuses Marcion's group of using an edited version of Ephesians which was referred to as the Epistle to the Laodiceans.


Latin Vulgate Epistle to the Laodiceans

A claimed Epistle to the Laodiceans from Paul exists in Latin. It is quite short at only 20 verses. It is mentioned by various writers from the fourth century onwards, notably by Pope
Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregoria ...
; the oldest known copy of this epistle is in the
Fulda manuscript The Abbey of Fulda (German ''Kloster Fulda'', Latin ''Abbatia Fuldensis''), from 1221 the Princely Abbey of Fulda (''Fürstabtei Fulda'') and from 1752 the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda (''Fürstbistum Fulda''), was a Benedictine abbey and ecclesiasti ...
written for Victor of Capua in 546. Possibly due to Gregory's endorsement of it, many Western Latin Bibles contained this epistle for centuries afterward. It also featured in early English Bibles:
John Wycliffe John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, Catholic priest, and a seminary professor at the University of ...
included Paul's letter to the Laodiceans in his Bible translation from the Latin to English. Medieval German Bibles included it as well, until it was excluded from the Luther Bible in the 1500s. However, the epistle is essentially unknown in Eastern Christianity, where it was never used or published; the
Second Council of Nicea The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by the Old Catholics, the Anglican Communion, an ...
of 787 rejected it. There is no evidence of a Greek text, the language Paul wrote in. The text was almost unanimously considered
pseudepigrapha Pseudepigrapha (also anglicized as "pseudepigraph" or "pseudepigraphs") are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past.Bauckham, Richard; "Pse ...
l when the
Christian Biblical canon A biblical canon is a set of texts (also called "books") which a particular Jewish or Christian religious community regards as part of the Bible. The English word ''canon'' comes from the Greek , meaning " rule" or " measuring stick". The u ...
was decided upon, and does not appear in any Greek copies of the Bible at all, nor is it known in Syriac or other versions.
Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...
, who wrote the Latin Vulgate translation, wrote in the 4th century, "it is rejected by everyone". Scholars are unanimous in concurring with Jerome and believing this epistle forged long after Paul's death. Additionally, the epistle is derided for having no theological content. It includes Pauline greetings and farewells, but does not appear to have any substantive content: it does not address any problem or advocate for any position. Professors Rudolf Knopf (1874-1920) and Gustav Kruger (1862-1940) wrote that the epistle is "nothing other than a worthless patching together of anonicalPauline passages and phrases, mainly from the Epistle to the Philippians." A 2003 edition can be foun
here on Google Books
albeit on page 42.
M. R. James wrote that "It is not easy to imagine a more feebly constructed cento of Pauline phrases." Wilhelm Schneemelcher was "amazed that it ever found a place in Bible manuscripts." However, it evidently gained a certain degree of respect, having appeared in over 100 surviving early Latin copies of the Bible. According to ''Biblia Sacra iuxta vulgatam versionem'', there are Latin Vulgate manuscripts containing this epistle dating between the 6th and 12th century, including Latin manuscripts F ( Codex Fuldensis), M, Q, B, D ( Ardmachanus), C, and Lambda. The apocryphal epistle is generally considered a transparent attempt to supply this supposed lost sacred document. Some scholars, such as
Wolfgang Speyer Wolfgang Speyer (born June 1, 1933) is a German classical philologist and historian of religion. He is a professor at the University of Salzburg. Biography Speyer was born in 1933 in Cologne, Germany. He graduated from a Catholic boarding s ...
, suggest that it was created to offset the popularity of the Marcionite epistle; it would be easier to reject the Marcionite version if the "real" Epistle to the Laodiceans could be provided to counter it. Speyer, Wolfgang. ''Die literarische Fälschung im heidnischen und christlichen Altertum''. p. 229. Cited in Ehrman 2012. An obvious question is if the Latin epistle and the Marcionite epistle are actually the same document: is it possible that the Muratorian fragment was referring to an early version of the Latin epistle? While the occasional scholar advocates for this (
Adolf von Harnack Carl Gustav Adolf von Harnack (born Harnack; 7 May 1851 – 10 June 1930) was a Baltic German Lutheran theologian and prominent Church historian. He produced many religious publications from 1873 to 1912 (in which he is sometimes credite ...
for one), most scholars consider this unlikely, because the Latin epistle does not include any Marcionite theology or character.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Epistle To The Laodiceans 1st-century Christian texts
Laodiceans The Epistle to the Laodiceans is a letter of Paul the Apostle, the original existence of which is inferred from an instruction to the congregation in Colossae to send their letter to the believing community in Laodicea, and likewise obtain a copy ...
Pauline epistles Christian terminology Marcionism