Letters of Paul and Seneca
Home > Apocrypha > Letters of Paul and Seneca Letters of Paul and Seneca At a Glance Treatise Genre: (5/5) ***** Reliability of Dating: (5/5) ***** Length of Text: Greek Original Language: Ancient Translations: Modern Translations: English Estimated Range of Dating: 300-390 A.D. Chronological List of Early Christian Writings Discuss this text on the Early Writings forum. Text The Correspondence of Paul and Seneca Resources St Paul and Seneca Letters between Seneca and Paul Books David Mitchell, Legacy: The Apocryphal Correspondence between Seneca and Paul:The Apocryphal Correspondence between Seneca and Paul Claudio Moreschini and Enrico Norelli, Early Christian Greek and Latin Literature, Vol.
1, p. 405 U. Hamm, Dictionary of Early Christian Literature, pp. 479-480 Recommended Books for the Study of Early Christian Writings Information on the Letters of Paul and Seneca Cornelia Rmer writes, "the letters were of great importance for the legend which brought Seneca into connection with Christianity. Down to the beginning of the Renaissance they were regarded as genuine. Today the 4th century A.D. is generally assumed to be the period of their origin. In favour of this are not only linguistic and stylistic considerations (on which see E. Linhard in Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire 11, 1932, 5-32), but above all the mention of the correspondence by Jerome in 392 (de Vir.
Ill. 12, see below), whereas it is clear from the Divinae institutiones of Lactantius (VI 24.13-14) of the year 324 that these letters did not yet lie before him." (New Testament Apocrypha, vol. 2, pp. 46-47) Claudio Moreschini writes, "Seneca's renown among Christians appeared quite early. Tertullian speaks of him as a writer who is 'often one of ours.' Lactantius opines that 'Seneca could have been a true devotee of God if someone had shown God to him' (Inst. 6.24). It is not surprising, then, that during the Constantinian period one product of the typical religious syncretism of that age was this apocryphal correspondence. The letters were known as early as Jerome (Vir.
ill. 12), who was thereby confirmed in his persuasion that there had been a real affinity between Seneca and Christianity, so much so that he included Seneca among the 'famous men' of the Christian religion. This correspondence, consistent of eight letters from Seneca and six from Paul, is not especially interesting and contains nothing more than an exchange of polite greetings. Even though it makes rather disappointing reading, it enjoyed a certain fame subsequently." (Early Christian Greek and Latin Literature, vol. 1, p. 405) G. Rwekamp writes, "A supposed secret correspondence between Paul and Seneca is first attested by Jerome (vir. ill. 12; see also Augustine, ep. 153.14) and was considered authentic down into the 15th c.
The content of the fourteen letters is philosophical and of little theological importance; they contain primarily manifestations of friendship. Seneca finds fault with the style of Paul's letters. The eleventh letter is especially notable, concerning as it does the burning of Rome and the persecution of Christians, with the author drawing on an unknown source. This letter is possibly later than the other letters, which were written in the 4th c. The collection may possibly be an exercise in the schools of rhetoric; there is perhaps a connection with the attempt to link Seneca to Judaism by means of a fictive letter of high priest Anna against idolatry (Pseudo-Seneca)." (Dictionary of Early Christian Literature, p.