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General epistles (also called Catholic Epistles) are books in the New Testament
New Testament

The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christianity Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
 in the form of letters. They are termed "general" because for the most part their intended audience seems to be Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
s in general rather than individual persons or congregations as is the case with the Pauline epistles
Pauline epistles

The Pauline epistles, Epistles of Paul, or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen New Testament books which have the name Paul as the first word, hence claiming authorship by Paul the Apostle....
. However, 2 John and 3 John are included in this group despite their addresses respectively to the "elect lady", speculated by many to be the church itself, and to "crom", about whom there has been much speculation but little in the way of conclusive proof as to his identity.

There has been considerable speculation as to the authorship of these works.






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General epistles (also called Catholic Epistles) are books in the New Testament
New Testament

The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christianity Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
 in the form of letters. They are termed "general" because for the most part their intended audience seems to be Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
s in general rather than individual persons or congregations as is the case with the Pauline epistles
Pauline epistles

The Pauline epistles, Epistles of Paul, or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen New Testament books which have the name Paul as the first word, hence claiming authorship by Paul the Apostle....
. However, 2 John and 3 John are included in this group despite their addresses respectively to the "elect lady", speculated by many to be the church itself, and to "crom", about whom there has been much speculation but little in the way of conclusive proof as to his identity.

There has been considerable speculation as to the authorship of these works. Some scholars believe 2 Peter to be a pseudepigraphal work.

The epistles of James
Epistle of James

The Epistle of James is a book in the Christianity New Testament. The author identifies himself as "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ", traditionally understood as James the Just, the brother of Jesus ....
 and Jude
Epistle of Jude

The brief Epistle of Jude is the penultimate book in the Christian New Testament Biblical canon....
 are traditionally attributed to Jesus
Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the Incarnation ....
' "brothers" James
James the Just

Saint James the Just , , also known as James of Jerusalem, James Adelphotheos, James, the Brother of the Lord, was an important figure in Early Christianity....
 and Jude
Jude, brother of Jesus

Jude is the third of the brothers of Jesus appearing in the New Testament....
 (See the article on James for a discussion of the relationship).

Listed in order of their appearance in the New Testament, the General Epistles are:

  • Epistle to the Hebrews
    Epistle to the Hebrews

    The Epistle to the Hebrews is one of the books in the New Testament. Though traditionally credited to the Apostle Paul, the letter is anonymous....
  • Epistle of James
    Epistle of James

    The Epistle of James is a book in the Christianity New Testament. The author identifies himself as "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ", traditionally understood as James the Just, the brother of Jesus ....
  • First Epistle of Peter
    First Epistle of Peter

    The First Epistle of Peter is a book of the New Testament. It has traditionally been held to have been written by Saint Peter the apostle during his time as bishop of Rome....
  • Second Epistle of Peter
    Second Epistle of Peter

    The Second Epistle of Peter is a book of the New Testament of the Bible, traditionally ascribed to Saint Peter, but in modern times widely regarded as Pseudonymity....
  • First Epistle of John
    First Epistle of John

    In the Christian New Testament, the First Epistle of John is the fourth catholic or "general" epistle. Written in Ephesus about AD 100-110, the epistle is traditionally attributed to John the Evangelist, also the traditional author of the Gospel of John and the other two epistles of John....
  • Second Epistle of John
    Second Epistle of John

    The Second Epistle of John is a book in the Christian Holy Scriptures, the Authors of the Bible of which has been traditionally attributed to John the Evangelist by the Christian Church, although this is Authorship of the Johannine works....
  • Third Epistle of John
    Third Epistle of John

    The New Testament Third Epistle of John , written in the form of an Epistle, is the 64th book of the Bible.3 John—the second-shortest book of the Christian Bible by number of verses and shortest in regard to number of words —is written by a man identified only as "the presbyteros"....
  • Epistle of Jude
    Epistle of Jude

    The brief Epistle of Jude is the penultimate book in the Christian New Testament Biblical canon....
  • Revelation of John (also an Apocalypse
    Apocalypse

    Apocalypse is a term applied to the disclosure to certain privileged persons of something hidden from the majority of humankind. Today the term is often used to refer to the Doomsday event, which may be a shortening of the phrase apokalupsis eschaton which literally means "revelation at the end of the ?on, or age"....
    )


It was traditionally thought that Paul
Paul of Tarsus

Saint Paul, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul or Paul of Tarsus , was a Hellenistic Judaism, who called himself the "Apostle to the Gentiles", and was, together with Saint Peter and James the Just, the most notable of early Christian missionaries....
 wrote Hebrews
Epistle to the Hebrews

The Epistle to the Hebrews is one of the books in the New Testament. Though traditionally credited to the Apostle Paul, the letter is anonymous....
, but its style of writing and theological emphases have led scholars to conclude that it is not Pauline.

See also

  • Epistle
    Epistle

    An epistle is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually a Letter and a very formal, often didactic and elegant one. The letters in the New Testament from Twelve apostles to Christians are usually referred to as epistles....


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