Bible Dictionaries
Catholic Epistles
Holman Bible Dictionary
The New Testament letters not attributed to Paul and written to a more general or unidentifiable audience: James; 1,2Peters; 1,2, and 3John; Jude. The title is from tradition and cannot be defined by modern standards. Hebrews is also not from Paul, while 2,3John are addressed to specific individuals, while James and Peter certainly have limited audiences in mind. Their doctrine is no more catholic, general, or universal than other epistles. The church continues to use the designation, “catholic,” for the seven letters without a strong definition for the term.
Copyright Statement
These dictionary topics are from the Holman Bible Dictionary, published by Broadman & Holman, 1991. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Broadman & Holman.
Bibliography Information
Butler, Trent C. Editor. Entry for 'Catholic Epistles'. Holman Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hbd/c/catholic-epistles.html. 1991.