Catholic epistles

The catholic epistles (also called the general epistles) are seven epistles of the New Testament. Listed in order of their appearance in the New Testament, the catholic epistles are:

Traditional epistle name	Author according to the text (NRSV)	Traditional attribution^[1]	Modern consensus^[1]	Addressee(s) according to the text (NRSV)
Epistle of James	"James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ"	James, brother of Jesus	An unknown James	"To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion"^[2]
First Epistle of Peter	"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ"	Simon Peter	Maybe Simon Peter	"To the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia"^[3]
Second Epistle of Peter	"Sim(e)on Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ"	Simon Peter	Not Simon Peter	To all Christians^[4]
First Epistle of John	anonymous	John, son of Zebedee	Unknown	To fellow Christians^[5]
Second Epistle of John	anonymous	John, son of Zebedee	Unknown	"To the elect lady and her children"^[6]
Third Epistle of John	anonymous	John, son of Zebedee	Unknown	"To the beloved Gaius"^[7]
Epistle of Jude	"Jude" (or "Judas"), "a servant," (Gk. slave), "of Jesus Christ and brother of James"	Jude, brother of Jesus	An unknown Jude	To all Christians^[8]

^ ^a ^b Ehrman, Bart D. (2003). Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195141832.
^ James 1:1
^ 1 Peter 1:1
^ 2 Peter 1:1, "To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ"
^ The letter addresses the audience as "my dear children" (e.g. 1 John 2:1) and "dear friends" (e.g. 1 John 2:7). 1 John 3:2 states: 'Dear friends, now we are children of God...', showing that the author is addressing fellow Christians, whom he intermittently calls 'children of God' (which includes himself), as well as 'dear friends' (or 'beloved' in some translations).
^ 2 John 2
^ 3 John 1
^ Jude 1, "To those who are called, who are beloved in God the Father and kept safe for Jesus Christ"

[LC16-1] Ehrman, Bart D. (2003). Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195141832.

[2] James 1:1

[3] 1 Peter 1:1

[4] 2 Peter 1:1, "To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ"

[5] The letter addresses the audience as "my dear children" (e.g. 1 John 2:1) and "dear friends" (e.g. 1 John 2:7). 1 John 3:2 states: 'Dear friends, now we are children of God...', showing that the author is addressing fellow Christians, whom he intermittently calls 'children of God' (which includes himself), as well as 'dear friends' (or 'beloved' in some translations).

[6] 2 John 2

[7] 3 John 1

[8] Jude 1, "To those who are called, who are beloved in God the Father and kept safe for Jesus Christ"

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