Letters of Paul | The Pauline Epistles

The Epistles of Paul or Pauline Epistles or Letters of Paul are a set of 13 letters attributed to the apostle Paul of Tarsus and addressed to different Christian communities of the 1st century. A fourteenth letter, the Epistle to the Hebrews, the work of an anonymous author, is sometimes added to them. They quickly became part of the canon of Scripture. From the end of the first century, most Christian communities used these texts in their liturgy.

The Pauline epistles, also called Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest extant Christian documents. They provide an insight into the beliefs and controversies of early Christianity. As part of the canon of the New Testament, they are foundational texts for both Christian theology and ethics. The Epistle to the Hebrews, although it does not bear his name, was traditionally considered Pauline (although Origen, Tertullian and Hippolytus amongst others, questioned its authorship), but from the 16th century onwards opinion steadily moved against Pauline authorship and few scholars now ascribe it to Paul, mostly because it does not read like any of his other epistles in style and content.

Letters of Paul have a characteristic personal relationship between the writer and recipient of the letter. Paul greeted many people by name and was often affixed with information on the value of their friendship and gratitude for the kindness they gave him.

Most scholars agree that Paul actually wrote seven of the Pauline epistles (Galatians, 1 Corinthians, 2  Corinthians, Romans, Philemon, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians), but that four of the epistles in Paul’s name are pseudepigraphic (Ephesians, First Timothy, Second Timothy, and Titus) and that two other epistles are of questionable authorship (Second Thessalonians and Colossians). According to some scholars, Paul wrote these letters with the help of a secretary, or amanuensis, who would have influenced their style, if not their theological content.

Read also: The Complete Holy Bible

The Pauline epistles are usually placed between the Acts of the Apostles and the Catholic epistles in modern editions. Most Greek manuscripts, however, place the General epistles first,[4] and a few minuscules (175, 325, 336, and 1424) place the Pauline epistles at the end of the New Testament.

In the order they appear in the New Testament, the Letters of Paul are:

Name	Addressees	Greek	Latin	Abbreviations
				Full	Min.
Romans	Church at Rome	Πρὸς Ῥωμαίους	Epistola ad Romanos	Rom	Ro
1 Corinthians	Church at Corinth	Πρὸς Κορινθίους Αʹ	Epistola I ad Corinthios	1 Cor	1C
2 Corinthians	Church at Corinth	Πρὸς Κορινθίους Βʹ	Epistola II ad Corinthios	2 Cor	2C
Galatians	Church at Galatia	Πρὸς Γαλάτας	Epistola ad Galatas	Gal	G
Ephesians	Church at Ephesus	Πρὸς Ἐφεσίους	Epistola ad Ephesios	Eph	E
Philippians	Church at Philippi	Πρὸς Φιλιππησίους	Epistola ad Philippenses	Phil	Phi
Colossians	Church at Colossae	Πρὸς Κολοσσαεῖς	Epistola ad Colossenses	Col	C
1 Thessalonians	Church at Thessalonica	Πρὸς Θεσσαλονικεῖς Αʹ	Epistola I ad Thessalonicenses	1 Thess	1Th
2  Thessalonians	Church at Thessalonica	Πρὸς Θεσσαλονικεῖς Βʹ	Epistola II ad Thessalonicenses	2 Thess	2Th
1 Timothy	Saint Timothy	Πρὸς Τιμόθεον Αʹ	Epistola I ad Timotheum	1 Tim	1T
2 Timothy	Saint Timothy	Πρὸς Τιμόθεον Βʹ	Epistola II ad Timotheum	2 Tim	2T
Titus	Saint Titus	Πρὸς Τίτον	Epistola ad Titum	Tit	T
Philemon	Saint Philemon	Πρὸς Φιλήμονα	Epistola ad Philemonem	Philem	P

Sources: Biblica, Bible Study Tools, Wikipedia

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Photo explanations: Saint Paul writing his epistles by Valentin de Boulogne (1618-1620), Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.