Jesus of Nazareth
The Letters of Christ and Abgar
Traditional attribution
The Letters of Christ and Abgar
Ἐπιστολὴ Ἰησοῦ πρὸς Αὔγαρον
A brief exchange of letters: King Abgar of Edessa, ill, asks Jesus to come and heal him; Jesus replies in writing that he must fulfil his mission but will afterwards send one of his disciples. The legend underpinned the apostolic foundation of the Church of Edessa and the letter was used for centuries as an amulet.
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Authorship note
The only letter attributed directly to Jesus. Eusebius of Caesarea (Ecclesiastical History 1.13) claims to translate it from the Syriac of the archives of Edessa; scholarship regards it as a legendary composition with no historical value as a writing of Jesus. The Gelasian Decree listed it among the apocrypha.
Editions and translations
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English
Jesus of Nazareth
The Apocryphal New Testament
The Conscious LibraryThe Apocryphal New Testament
Clarendon Press, 1924
Translation: M. R. James
Transcripción en Wikisource (en).
Other works by Jesus of Nazareth
- The Gospel according to Mark · 70
- The Gospel according to Matthew · 85
- The Gospel according to Luke · 85
- The Gospel according to John · 100
- The Q Source (Sayings Gospel Q) · 60
- The Gospel of Thomas · 125
- The Gospel of Peter · 150
- The Gospel of Mary (Magdalene) · 150
- The Gospel of Philip · 250
- The Gospel of Judas · 150
- The Infancy Gospel of Thomas · 150
- The Protevangelium of James · 150
- The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew · 625
- The Arabic Infancy Gospel · 550
- The History of Joseph the Carpenter · 600
- The Gospel of Nicodemus (Acts of Pilate) · 350
- The Epistle of the Apostles · 150
- Agrapha (Sayings of Jesus outside the Gospels)
- The Gospel according to the Hebrews · 125
- The Gospel of the Ebionites · 150
- The Gospel of the Nazareans · 150
- The Gospel of the Egyptians · 130
- The Egerton Gospel (Papyrus Egerton 2) · 150
- The Secret Book of James · 150
- The Dialogue of the Savior · 150
- The Book of Thomas the Contender · 200
- The Wisdom of Jesus Christ · 175
- The Secret Book of John · 180
- Pistis Sophia · 275
- The Secret Gospel of Mark · 200
Sources
- Eusebio de Cesarea. Historia eclesiástica 3.39 (testimonio de Papías sobre Marcos y Mateo) y 6.12 (Serapión de Antioquía sobre el Evangelio de Pedro), c. 325. Trad. esp. Argimiro Velasco Delgado, BAC, Madrid.
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