Template:Authorship Catholic epistles
| Traditional epistle name | Author according to the text (NRSV) | Traditional attribution[1] | Modern consensus[1] | Addressee(s) according to the text (NRSV) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epistle of James | "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" | James, brother of Jesus | An unknown James | "To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion"[2] |
| First Epistle of Peter | "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ" | Simon Peter | Maybe Simon Peter | "To the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia"[3] |
| Second Epistle of Peter | "Sim(e)on Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ" | Simon Peter | Not Simon Peter | To all Christians[4] |
| First Epistle of John | anonymous | John, son of Zebedee | Unknown | To fellow Christians[5] |
| Second Epistle of John | anonymous | John, son of Zebedee | Unknown | "To the elect lady and her children"[6] |
| Third Epistle of John | anonymous | John, son of Zebedee | Unknown | "To the beloved Gaius"[7] |
| Epistle of Jude | "Jude" (or "Judas"), "a servant," (Gk. slave), "of Jesus Christ and brother of James" | Jude, brother of Jesus | An unknown Jude | To all Christians[8] |
- ^ a b Ehrman, Bart D. (2003). Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195141832.
- ^ James 1:1
- ^ 1 Peter 1:1
- ^ 2 Peter 1:1, "To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ"
- ^ The letter addresses the audience as "my dear children" (e.g. 1 John 2:1) and "dear friends" (e.g. 1 John 2:7). 1 John 3:2 states: 'Dear friends, now we are children of God...', showing that the author is addressing fellow Christians, whom he intermittently calls 'children of God' (which includes himself), as well as 'dear friends' (or 'beloved' in some translations).
- ^ 2 John 2
- ^ 3 John 1
- ^ Jude 1, "To those who are called, who are beloved in God the Father and kept safe for Jesus Christ"