Abgar correspondence

E902861

The Abgar correspondence is a legendary exchange of letters between King Abgar of Edessa and Jesus, traditionally cited as early evidence of Christian evangelization in Mesopotamia.

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Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Christian apocryphal tradition
early Christian legend
legendary correspondence
associatedWithChurch Church of the East NERFINISHED
Syriac Orthodox Church NERFINISHED
associatedWithPlace Edessa NERFINISHED
associatedWithRegion Mesopotamia NERFINISHED
citedInWork Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, Book 1 NERFINISHED
claimedOriginalDate 1st century
consideredByScholars pseudepigraphal
contentSummary Abgar writes to Jesus asking for healing and inviting him to Edessa
Jesus replies promising to send a disciple after his ascension
dateOfEarliestExtantAccount early 4th century
depicts Abgar’s conversion to Christianity
promise of apostolic mission to Edessa
earliestFullAccountIn Ecclesiastical History by Eusebius of Caesarea NERFINISHED
functionInTradition early evidence claim for Christian evangelization in Mesopotamia
origin story of Christianity in Edessa
genre apocryphal epistle
royal letter
hasPart letter from Abgar of Edessa to Jesus
reply from Jesus to Abgar of Edessa
historicity widely regarded as legendary
influenced Doctrine of Addai NERFINISHED
Syriac Christian historiography
language Syriac NERFINISHED
linkedFigure Addai the Apostle NERFINISHED
Thaddaeus of Edessa NERFINISHED
mainCharacter Abgar V of Edessa NERFINISHED
Jesus of Nazareth NERFINISHED
motif letter of Jesus
purpose to legitimize the antiquity of Edessa’s Christian community
to present Edessa as an early Christian kingdom
relatedLegend Image of Edessa NERFINISHED
Mandylion NERFINISHED
religiousContext Christianity
scholarlyDebate authenticity of the letters
date and place of composition
theme healing
mission to Edessa
royal conversion
traditionallyPreservedIn Armenian tradition
Greek tradition
Syriac tradition
transmission Greek translations
Syriac manuscripts
usedByAuthor Eusebius of Caesarea NERFINISHED

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Doctrine of Addai relatedTo Abgar correspondence