Information about Third Epistle To The Corinthians

The Third Epistle to the Corinthians is believed to be a pseudepigraphical text under the name of Paul of Tarsus. It originally formed part of the Acts of Paul, from which it was later detached, and was framed as Paul's response to the Epistle of the Corinthians to Paul.

In the West it was not considered canonical in the 4th century AD, becoming part of the New Testament apocrypha. In the East, Ephraem of Syria apparently accepted it as canonical, for he wrote a commentary on it, and the Doctrine of Addai includes it, however it was not included in the Syriac Peshitta translation of the Bible (but nor were 2-3 John, 2 Peter, Jude, or Revelation, which are almost universally recognized as canonical, see also Antilegomena). Although part of the Oskan Armenian Bible of 1666, it was in an Appendix to the Zohrab Armenian Bible of 1805 which follows the Vulgate canon, and it is not currently considered part of the Armenian Orthodox New Testament [1]. It was not part of the canon list of Anania Shirakatsi in the 7th century but is part of the canon lists of Mechitar of Ayrivank` in the 13th and Gregory Tat`ew in the 14th [2]. In 2000, Fr. Vahan Hovhanessian, Pastor of the Armenian Church of Holy Martyrs in Bayside, New York, published his Fordham University Ph.D. dissertation as Third Corinthians: Reclaiming Paul for Christian Orthodoxy, ISBN 0-8204-4527-4.

The text is structured as an attempt to correct alleged misinterpretations of the earlier First and Second Epistle to the Corinthians of which the author (usually called "pseudo-Paul") has become aware due to the (similarly dubious) Epistle of the Corinthians to Paul. According to the preceding part of the Acts of Paul, when the letter was written Paul was in prison, on account of Stratonice, the wife of Apollophanes. In particular the epistle seeks to correct the interpretation of the phrase "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" by which some taught that the resurrection of the dead could not be physical.

Gnostics were known for quoting this part of 1 Corinthians, infuriating Christians such as Irenaeus who wished to claim that the dead were physically, rather than spiritually, resurrected. Irenaeus remarked "All heretics always quote this passage". It is thought that the argument of the Gnostics won so much ground that some orthodox Christians felt the need to forge 3 Corinthians to counter them.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia:
The ancient Syrian (Edessene) Church revered as canonical a Third Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, which is accompanied by a letter from the pastors of that Church, to which it is an answer. But about the beginning of the fifth century the Syrian Church fell under the influence of the Greek, and in consequence the spurious letter gradually lost its canonical status. It was taken up by the neighbouring Armenians and for centuries has formed a part of the Armenian New Testament. Latin and Greek writers are completely silent about this pseudograph, although Greek and Latin copies have been found. It was obviously suggested by the lost genuine Pauline letter referred to in I Cor. v, 9; vii, 1. It was composed by a Catholic presbyter about l60-170, and is a disguised attack on some of the leading errors of Gnosticism. This correspondence long had an independent circulation, but recently it has been proved that the document was incorporated into the Acts of St. Paul (q.v.).

See also

A book is now available offering a comprehensive introduction to the Third Epistle to the Corinthians. See, Peter Lang Publishing - See also, Third Corinthians: Reclaiming Paul for Christian Orthodoxy [3]
Pseudepigrapha (from Ancient Greek pseudes = "false", epigraphe = "inscription"; see the related epigraphy) are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed authorship is unfounded; a work, simply, "whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past.
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St. Paul the Apostle (Hebrew: שאול התרסיŠaʾul HaTarsi, meaning "Saul of Tarsus"), the "Apostle to the Gentiles"[1]
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The Acts of Paul is one of the major works from the New Testament apocrypha, and thought to have been written at the end of the second century. The Acts were considered orthodox by Hippolytus, but were eventually regarded as heretical when the Manichaeans started using the texts.
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The Epistle of the Corinthians to Paul is a work from the New Testament apocrypha, and originally formed part of the Acts of Paul, though it was later detached and circulated separately.
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The Western Roman Empire refers to the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 286; the other half of the Roman Empire became known as the Eastern Roman Empire, today widely known as the Byzantine Empire.
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A biblical canon is a list of Biblical books which establishes the set of books which are considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular Jewish or Christian community.
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As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century (per the Julian/Gregorian calendar and Anno Domini era) was that century which lasted from 301 to 400.

Overview


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New Testament apocrypha are a number of writings of the early Christian church that claim to give accounts of the teachings of Jesus, aspects of the life of Jesus, accounts of the nature of God, or the teachings of his apostles and of their lives.
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Byzantine Empire or Byzantium is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the Middle Ages, centered on its capital of Constantinople.
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Ephrem the Syrian (Syriac: ܐܦܪܝܡ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ, Afrêm Sûryāyâ; Greek:
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The Doctrine of Addai is a controversial book about Saint Addai.

The story of how King Abgar and Jesus had corresponded was first recounted in the 4th century by the church historian Eusebius of Caesarea in his Ecclesiastical History. (i.13 and iii.
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The Peshitta is the standard version of the Bible in the Syriac language.

The name 'Peshitta'

The name 'Peshitta' is derived from the Syriac mappaqtâ pšÃ®ṭtâ
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Antilegomena (αντιλεγομενα, contradicted or disputed), an epithet used by the early Christian writers to denote those books of the Bible which, although sometimes publicly read in the churches, were not for a considerable
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The Vulgate is an early 5th century version of the Bible in Latin which is largely the result of the labors of Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin
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Armenian Apostolic Church (Armenian: Հայ Առաքելական Եկեղեցի, Hay Arakelagan Yegeghetzi), sometimes called the Armenian Orthodox Church or the
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Fordham University is a private, coeducational research university[3] in the United States, with three campuses located in and around New York City. Though now officially an independent institution "in the Jesuit tradition",[4]
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worldwide view of the subject.
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"Ph.D." redirects here, for other uses see Ph.D. (disambiguation).


Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated Ph.D.
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The First Epistle to the Corinthians is a book of the Bible in the New Testament. 1 Corinthians is a letter from Paul of Tarsus and Sosthenes to the Christians of Corinth, Greece.
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The Second Epistle to the Corinthians is a book in the New Testament, written by Paul the Apostle.

Textual issues

While there is little doubt among scholars that Paul is the author, there is discussion over whether the letter was originally one letter or a
..... Click the link for more information.
The Epistle of the Corinthians to Paul is a work from the New Testament apocrypha, and originally formed part of the Acts of Paul, though it was later detached and circulated separately.
..... Click the link for more information.
Stratonice is the name of several ancient Macedonian women:
  • Stratonice (wife of Antigonus), the wife of Antigonus Monophthalmus
  • Stratonice of Syria, the wife of Seleucus I Nicator and Antiochus I Soter
  • Stratonice of Macedonia, the wife of Demetrius II of Macedon

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Apollophanes (r. 35-25 BCE).
Obv: Helmeted bust of king. Greek legend: BASILEOS SOTIROS APOLLOPHANOU "Saviour king Apollophanes".
Rev: Pallas with aegis and thunderbolt. Kharoshthi legend: MAHARAJASA TRATARASA APALAVINASA "Saviour king Apollophanes".
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Resurrection of the Dead is one of the cardinal principles of the Jewish faith. The Pharisees believed in a literal resurrection of the body[3]. A famous Jewish halakhic-legal authority, Maimonides, set down thirteen main principles of the Jewish faith according to
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Gnosticism (from Greek gnōsis, knowledge) refers to a diverse, syncretistic religious movement consisting of various belief systems generally united in the teaching that humans are divine souls trapped in a material world created by an imperfect spirit, the demiurge,
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Irenaeus (Greek: Ειρηναίος), (b. 2nd century; d. end of 2nd/beginning of 3rd century) was bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, which is now Lyon, France.
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The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia Press.
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The Acts of Paul is one of the major works from the New Testament apocrypha, and thought to have been written at the end of the second century. The Acts were considered orthodox by Hippolytus, but were eventually regarded as heretical when the Manichaeans started using the texts.
..... Click the link for more information.
The First Epistle to the Corinthians is a book of the Bible in the New Testament. 1 Corinthians is a letter from Paul of Tarsus and Sosthenes to the Christians of Corinth, Greece.
..... Click the link for more information.
The Second Epistle to the Corinthians is a book in the New Testament, written by Paul the Apostle.

Textual issues

While there is little doubt among scholars that Paul is the author, there is discussion over whether the letter was originally one letter or a
..... Click the link for more information.
The Epistle of the Corinthians to Paul is a work from the New Testament apocrypha, and originally formed part of the Acts of Paul, though it was later detached and circulated separately.
..... Click the link for more information.


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