LUX VERITAS

LUX VERITAS

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Apocrypha

Correspondence of Christ and Abgarus

Correspondence

2 chapters · read and listen

Chapters

12

Reading note

An apocryphal or pseudepigraphal text — outside the canon of the Western churches, yet widely circulated among ancient Jews and Christians. English text: The Lost Books of the Bible, The Epistles of Jesus Christ and Abgarus King of Edessa, 1926 (public domain). Portuguese and Spanish: Lux Veritas translations from this edition.

Source: The Lost Books of the Bible, The Epistles of Jesus Christ and Abgarus King of Edessa (1926) · public domain

About this book: context, authorship and themes ↓

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Authorship, Date, and Context

The Correspondence of Jesus and Abgar consists of an apocryphal epistolary exchange attributed to Abgar V Ukkama ('the Black'), toparch of Edessa in Osroene (Mesopotamia), and Jesus of Nazareth. While local Edessene lore placed the exchange within the historic timeframe of the Gospel ministry, historical-critical patrology dates its composition to the mid-third or early fourth century CE.

The narrative represents the foundation legend of the Syrian Christian Church of Edessa, retrospectively legitimizing the faith following the conversion of its historical rulers around 200 CE (notably Abgar IX). Eusebius of Caesarea cited both epistles in his Church History (Book I, ch. 13), claiming to have extracted and translated them directly from the royal archives of Edessa. Stylistic analysis reveals that the sayings ascribed to Jesus derive from Tatian's Diatessaron, composed around 170 CE.

Structure

The text is comprised strictly of two chapters, corresponding to the two legendary letters preserved in the patristic tradition and the Doctrine of Addai.

Chapter 1 contains King Abgar's petitionary letter delivered to Jerusalem by his messenger and scribe Hanan (Ananias): the monarch affirms his belief in Jesus's divinity on the evidence of bloodless miracles, describes his chronic suffering, and offers his tranquil city of Edessa as a haven from Jewish persecution. Chapter 2 records Jesus's solemn response: Christ commends Abgar's belief without sight, explains the necessity of fulfilling His earthly mission in Jerusalem prior to His Ascension, and pledges to commission the apostle Thaddaeus (Addai) to heal the king, bestow life upon his subjects, and grant Edessa permanent protection against invading conquerors.

Themes and Key Passages

Prominent motifs include the beatitude of faith unassisted by physical sight (echoing the Johannine confession), gentilic reverence toward Christ in stark contrast to Judean rejection, and the portrayal of the Savior as the Divine Physician whose sovereign word accomplishes holistic physical and spiritual healing.

Conveying the promise of divine mercy to the Syrian ruler, the text of Jesus's letter declares: "Happy art thou who hast believed in Me, not having seen me, for it is written of me that those who shall see me shall not believe in Me, and that those who shall not see Me shall believe in Me."

Summary by Parts

The Supplication of the Sick King (chapter 1): Abgar salutes Jesus as the Good Physician whose spoken word restores sight to the blind, cleansing lepers and raising the dead without herb or potion; deducing that the Healer must be God incarnate or God's Son, Abgar entreats Him to journey to Edessa to heal his disease and reside securely in his pleasant city away from his enemies.

The Divine Decree and Safeguard of Edessa (chapter 2): Jesus replies that He must finish the work for which His heavenly Father sent Him below before ascending to glory; He promises that after His Ascension an apostolic disciple will be dispatched to cure Abgar's affliction, bring eternal salvation to his house, and bless Edessa so that no foe shall ever subjugate its walls.

Reception

The legend enjoyed immense veneration across both Eastern and Western Christendom: copies of Christ's letter were inscribed on parchment, lead tablets, and city gates throughout late antiquity and the Middle Ages, functioning as apotropaic amulets. The narrative cycle also fostered the tradition of the Mandylion (the Holy Face of Edessa), considered a miraculous acheiropoietos likeness captured by the envoy Hanan.

In the Latin West, the fifth-century Decretum Gelasianum officially categorized the correspondence among apocryphal writings excluded from canonical reading. Nevertheless, the Syriac Church commemorated Abgar in its Lenten liturgy, and Celtic liturgical books such as the Liber Hymnorum preserved collects invoking the exchange. Primary texts were recovered in modern times through editions of ancient Syriac manuscripts by William Cureton and George Phillips, alongside standard translations of Eusebius.

Sources

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