CATHOLIC EPISTLES — Title given to seven apostolic writings which, in current editions of the New Testament, follow the fourteen letters of St. Paul and are arranged in this order: one by *James*, two by *Peter*, three by *John*, and one by *Judas*. In the ancient Greek codices of the 4th century (Vatican and Sinaitic) these letters are transcribed before the Pauline ones. In the canons of the Councils of Florence and Trent *Peter* takes precedence, yet in the Clementine Vulgate *James* is placed first. This arrangement, used by Eastern writers and brought to the West by St. Jerome, is probably due to the fact that in the Epistle to the *Galatians* (2:9) the names of the Apostles are listed in this order: “James, Cephas, John.” It may also derive from the chronological priority of the writing of James.
The meaning of the title “Catholic Epistles” is debated. Most commentators hold that it means “universal.” Indeed, these letters, taken as a whole, have a broader destination than the Pauline writings. The Second and Third of *John* are addressed respectively to a Church (called “the chosen Lady”) and to an individual (Gaius), but these brief writings may be considered appendices to the First of *John*, which, from the context, appears to be directed to the milieu for which the Fourth Gospel was written (Asia Minor). According to others, the title “c.” would be synonymous with “canonical,” indicating that these writings are received by the Catholic Church. In this sense one might interpret a disputed passage in the *Muratorian Fragment*: “The epistle of Jude indeed, and the two of John that are under his name, are counted (or: are reckoned) in the Catholic [Church]” (lines 68–69). Cassiodorus calls our seven letters “c.” (PL 70, 1126), and St. Bede refers to them indifferently as canonical or “c.” (PL 93, 9).
The canonicity of five of these letters was questioned in the first three centuries. Eusebius lists only two (*1 Peter* and *1 John*) among the *homologoumenoi* (universally acknowledged), classifying the others among the *antilegomenoi* (disputed), though recognized by the majority (*Hist. eccl.*, III, 25; PG 20, 269). By the 4th century there is virtually unanimous consent in favor of the canonicity of all. For particular questions, V. James; Peter; John; Jude.