Catholic Letters

A traditional name for seven New Testament letters is the Catholic Letters. These letters are:

James;

1 and 2 Peter;

1, 2, and 3 John; and

Jude.

The word “catholic” means “general” or “universal.” Scholars have understood this name in several ways:

These letters express the views of all the apostles.

They are canonical or genuine.

Thus they were distinguished from works containing false beliefs written around the same time.

The most common meaning is that these letters were written for a wide group of believers. They were not written mainly to one local church, as some of the apostle Paul’s letters were. However, 2 John and 3 John are exceptions. Second John is written to a woman or to a local church. Third John is written to one person.

See also James, Letter of; John, Letters of; Jude, Letter of; Peter, First Letter of; Peter, Second Letter of.