The Epistles of the Holy Apostle Paul are the most important part of the New Testament, providing information about early Christianity. These texts form the foundation of Christian theology and morality. In fourteen epistles (or letters), the Apostle Paul explained the teaching of Jesus Christ, confirmed the necessity of performing the Sacrament of the Eucharist (1 Cor. 11:28), and refuted Judaizing Christianity.
Authorship of the Epistles
All epistles, except the Epistle to the Hebrews, begin with the name of Paul (Παῦλος).
Supporters of the critical school believe that not all epistles signed with the name of Paul in the New Testament belong to him. The ones indisputably belonging to the Apostle Paul and called by them proto-Pauline (proto = first-Pauline) are seven of them:
- to the Romans,
- 1st to the Corinthians,
- 2nd to the Corinthians,
- to the Galatians,
- to the Philippians,
- 1st to the Thessalonians,
- to Philemon.
Regarding the authorship of six epistles — to the Colossians, to the Ephesians, the second to the Thessalonians, the first and second to Timothy, and to Titus — there is no consensus among biblical scholars. Scholars who deny that these epistles were written by the Apostle Paul believe that they were written in Paul’s name after his death, up to the 2nd century AD. These texts are conventionally called deutero-Pauline (deutero = second-Pauline).
Approximately equal numbers of supporters and opponents of Pauline authorship exist for two epistles:
- to the Colossians,
- 2nd to the Thessalonians.
About 80% of critical school scholars consider four epistles to be pseudonymous:
- to the Ephesians (presumed to have been written as a continuation or postscript to the Epistle to the Colossians),
- 1st to Timothy,
- 2nd to Timothy,
- to Titus.
At the same time, an increasing number of modern scholars, holding various theological positions, on the basis of stylometric analysis of the epistles, provide arguments in favor of Pauline authorship of all 14 epistles, except the Epistle to the Hebrews. The authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews by the Apostle Paul is rejected by modern Western biblical criticism.
Apocryphal Epistles
- Third Epistle to the Corinthians
- Epistle to the Laodiceans
- Epistle to the Alexandrians
- Gospel of Paul