Catholic Epistles
Preserved but no longer current.
Those Epistles in the New Testament not addressed to any particular church or individual; the general epistles, viz. those of James, Peter, and Jude, and the first of John; 2 John is addressed to a "lady," and 3 John to Gaius, and these are usually included.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Catholic Epistles” mean?
Those Epistles in the New Testament not addressed to any particular church or individual; the general epistles, viz. those of James, Peter, and Jude, and the first of John; 2 John is addressed to a "lady," and 3 John to Gaius, and these are usually included.
Is “Catholic Epistles” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.