This article is about the undiscovered Manichaean scripture. For the known text, see Fundamental Epistle.
The Epistles is one of the Seven Treatises of Manichaeism. It is derived from the Middle Ancient Persian dēwān, which means "Letter Collection".[1] They have been long known among Manichaean scriptures[2] They were originally written during the years of Mani’s public mission in the Sasanian Empire (ca. 240-276 C.E.). They were collected together by his followers and became one of the canonical books of the Manichaean community[3] It served a purpose of explaining the doctrine[4] and arguing for the correctness of Manichaeism[5]
^G. Haloun &. W. B. Henning, "The Compendium of the Doctrines and styles of the Teaching of Mani, the Buddha of Light", p, 205-207.