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.

All labels observed (3)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Christian apocryphal tradition ⓘ
early Christian legend ⓘ
legendary correspondence ⓘ
associatedWithChurch Church of the East ⓘ
Syriac Orthodox Church ⓘ
associatedWithPlace Edessa ⓘ
associatedWithRegion Mesopotamia ⓘ
citedInWork Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, Book 1 ⓘ
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 ⓘ
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 ⓘ
Syriac Christian historiography ⓘ
language Syriac ⓘ
linkedFigure Addai the Apostle ⓘ
Thaddaeus of Edessa ⓘ
linked to: Thaddeus of Edessa
mainCharacter Abgar V of Edessa ⓘ
Jesus of Nazareth ⓘ
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 ⓘ
linked to: Edessa

Mandylion ⓘ
linked to: Veil of Veronica
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 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (5)

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

Doctrine of Addai → relatedTo → Abgar correspondence ⓘ
Letter of Jesus to Abgar → relatedWork → Abgar correspondence ⓘ
Abgarid dynasty → hasLegend → Legend of King Abgar’s letter to Jesus ⓘ
linked to: Abgar correspondence
Acts of Thaddeus → recounts → healing of King Abgar ⓘ
linked to: Abgar correspondence
Acts of Thaddeus → relatedWork → Abgar correspondence ⓘ