LAODICESI, EPISTOLA to the Laodiceans. — An apocryphal writing that was placed under the name of St. Paolo by virtue of Col. 4:16. As a foundation for attributing to the Apostle a letter to the community of Laodicea, this passage is not probative, since the words ἐκ Λαοδικείας may be understood in various ways, for example, as referring to a letter that comes from Laodicea. In the Epistle to the Laodiceans, the hand of the forger is manifest. The beginning has a solemn and polemical tone, indeed the phrasing of Gal. 1:1, 3, whereas the style
of the body is considerably more subdued. It is a fabric of reminiscences from various Pauline letters, especially those written during the imprisonment and the Pastorals, with particular attention to Phil. The writer, having nothing of his own to say, borrows generic phrases that are poorly connected with one another.
After the initial greeting and good wishes (v. 1 sqq), the pseudo-Paolo expresses his joy at the community’s faithful perseverance, while nevertheless warning it against false doctrines that are not more precisely identified (v. 3 sqq). A reference to his own imprisonment and to the sufferings endured for the advancement of the Gospel precedes the exhortation to unity among the faithful, fidelity to the received doctrine, fear of God, joy in Christ, and the practice of every virtue (vv. 9-17). Along with the greetings, by analogy with Col. 4:16, there could be no omission of the recommendation that letters be exchanged between the Colossians and the Laodiceans (v. 18 sqq).
The original language is uncertain; but it is probable that the apocryphal work was composed in Latin; and one may perhaps not be far from the truth in thinking of an African author, given certain affinities with the Latin of Tertullian and other writers from Africa. It should not be confused with the problematic Marcionite writing mentioned by the Muratorian Fragment, since this contains nothing in support of the heresy and does not seem to be earlier than 300 or 250 A.D. It is contained in several manuscripts of the Vulgate, including the Fuldensis (6th century), and in the versions dependent on the Vulgate.
Teodorico da Castel San Pietro