05 — The Petrine Epistles
Two catholic epistles bear Peter’s name. The first is a letter of hope to suffering Christians of Asia Minor, exiles and “sojourners” called to a royal priesthood and a living hope through the Resurrection (1 Peter); the second is a testament against false teachers and scoffers, defending the promise of the Lord’s coming (2 Peter). This section treats the theology of 1 Peter and takes up, as a structured
[Disputed]matter, the authorship question of 2 Peter — widely judged pseudonymous in modern scholarship, received as canonical and apostolic in the Church.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostle)
The two epistles attributed to Peter differ markedly in Greek style, vocabulary, and concerns, and the Church received them on different paths: 1 Peter was acknowledged early and almost universally, while 2 Peter was the most disputed book of the entire New Testament canon, doubted by Origen and Eusebius before its final reception. This section honors both the theological riches of the letters and the honest history of their authorship and canonization, per METHODOLOGY §2–3. The authorship of 2 Peter is presented as a structured [Disputed: ...] note that names the scholarly judgment of pseudonymity alongside the Church’s reception of the letter as canonical and apostolic — the two held together, not collapsed.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| First Peter | The address to the “elect exiles of the Dispersion” (1 Pet 1:1); the living hope through the Resurrection; the royal priesthood and “living stones” (1 Pet 2:4–10); the theology of innocent suffering and the example of Christ; the charge to the presbyters (1 Pet 5:1–4); Silvanus, “Babylon,” and the Roman setting (1 Pet 5:12–13). |
| Second Peter and the Authorship Question | The letter as Peter’s “testament” (2 Pet 1:12–15); the Transfiguration eyewitness claim (2 Pet 1:16–18); the polemic against false teachers and scoffers; the relation to Jude; the [Disputed] authorship question — pseudonymity in modern scholarship vs canonical-apostolic reception; the path to canonization (Origen, Eusebius, the final canon). |
See Also
- The Restoration — “shepherd the flock of God,” echoed in 1 Peter 5
- Peter at Rome — the “Babylon” of 1 Peter 5:13
- The Sources and What Can Be Known — the epistles among the Petrine sources
- Holy Scripture — the canon and its formation
References
- The Holy Bible — 1 Peter; 2 Peter.
- Eusebius of Caesarea. Ecclesiastical History 3.3, 3.25. Trans. NPNF II/1.
- Bauckham, Richard J. Jude, 2 Peter. Word Biblical Commentary 50. Waco: Word, 1983.
- Bockmuehl, Markus. Simon Peter in Scripture and Memory. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012.