One of the most enduring mysteries of the New Testament is the possibility of a “lost” letter of St. Paul the Apostle. In the closing sentences of Colossians, we find the following phrase:
Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea (Col. 4:14-16).
Here St. Paul is admonishing the Church at Colossae to pass their letter on to Laodicea when they are finished with it, and likewise, to obtain a letter from Laodicea which Paul apparently wrote to them. What does this “letter from Laodicea” refer to?
The majority of biblical scholars across all branches of Christianity believe this to actually be the circular letter to the Ephesians, but it could also be a reference to I Timothy, which in certain Greek manuscripts begins with the phrase “Written at Laodicea, metropolis of Phrygia Pacatiana.” Nevertheless, there have been those over the centuries who have hypothesized that this “letter from Laodicea” is actually a lost letter of St. Paul. Could there really be a lost letter of Paul the Apostle?
If so, no trace of it has ever been found, though there have been other ancient documents by that name. There was once a heretical Epistle to Laodicea attributed to Marcion that circulated in Asia Minor in the 3rd century, although nobody took this text seriously as the missing epistle, either in the early Church nor today.
By far a stronger contender is the apocryphal Epistola ad Laodicenses, a short compiled in the early fourth century. This epistle consists of twenty short lines, principally of citations taken from Philippians and other Pauline letters cobbled together without sequence or thematic purpose. In the patristic age it had no authority whatsoever; it appeared in no codices, either Greek, Syriac, Latin or other. St. Jerome said that “it is rejected by all.” (1)
Interest in this apocryphal Epistola ad Laodicenses grew steadily, however, beginning in the early Middle Ages. Priscillian (c. 385) thought it was a genuine work of St. Paul, but was nevertheless not Scripture. Philastrius of Brescia, around 390, also thought it was genuine but thought it should not be read in Church, which implies that some were reading it as the epistle in Mass, otherwise its liturgical use would not be condemned. (2) . It appears in over one hundred different manuscripts of the Latin Vulgate, beginning around the sixth century, the oldest being the Codex Fuldensis from 546. Pope St. Gregory the Great also believed the work was authentic, saying, “though the Apostle Paul wrote fifteen Epistles, yet Holy Church does not retain more than fourteen.” (3) A Greek manuscript from the ninth century actually includes it in the New Testament immediately after Philemon
In Britain, Alfric, Abbot of Cerne (c. 989) accepted it fully as a fifteenth letter of St. Paul, as did John of Salisbury (c. 1165) (4). In the High Middle Ages it was translated into German and was actually included in German Bibles after Galatians for a brief period from 1466 until the time of Luther—despite the fact that the Council of Florence (1439-43) notably omitted it from its list of canonical works. This apocryphal epistle also was translated into Arabic and was debated at Tubingen as late as 1600. The French scholar Faber Stapulensis (c. 1526) included it among St. Paul’s legitimate works. (5)
Following the renewal of the study of ancient languages in the 15th and 16th centuries, coupled by the turmoil of the Protestant Revolt, this apocryphal Epistola ad Laodicenseswas finally and definitively rejected by everybody and was subsequently left out of the biblical canon as defined at Trent. The consensus today seems to be that this text was a fourth century forgery patched together from other Pauline works to expain the reference in Col. 4:16. The text of this forged epistle reads as follows:
1. Paul, an apostle not of men and not through man, but through Jesus Christ, to the brethren who are in Laodicea: 2. Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3. I thank Christ in all my prayer that you are steadfast in him and persevering in his works, in expectation of the promise for the day of judgment. 4. And may you not be deceived by the vain talk of some people who tell (you) tales that they may lead you away from the truth of the gospel which is proclaimed by me. 5. And now may God grant that those who come from me for the furtherance of the truth of the gospel (…) may be able to serve and to do good works for the well-being of eternal life. 6. And now my bonds are manifest, which I suffer in Christ, on account of which I am glad and rejoice. 7. This ministers to me unto eternal salvation, which (itself) is effected through your prayers and by the help of the Holy Spirit, whether it be through life or through death. 8. For my life is in Christ and to die is joy (to me). 9. An this will his mercy work in you, that you may have the same love and be of one mind. 10. Therefore, beloved, as you have heard my presence, so hold fast and do in the fear of God, and eternal life will be your portion. 11. For it is God who works in you. 12. And do without hesitation what you do. 13. And for the rest, beloved, rejoice in Christ and beware of those who are out for sordid gain. 14. May all your requests be manifest before God, and be yea steadfast in the mind of Christ. 15. And what is pure, true, proper, just and lovely, do. 16. And what you have heard and received, hold in your heart and peace will be with you. [17. Salute all the brethren with the holy kiss.] 18. The Saints salute you. 19. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. 20. And see that this epistle is read to the Colossians and that of the Colossians among you. (6)
(1) Jerome, De Viribus Illustribus, Cap. V
(2) Philastrius, Diversarum Hereseon Liber, LXXXIX
(3) Moralia 35.20.48
(4) For Alfric, see B. F. Westcott, The Bible In The Church: A Popular Account Of The Collection And Reception Of The Holy Scriptures In The Christian Churches, 1879, Macmillan & Co.: London, pp. 208-209; John of Salisbury, Epistle 209.
(5) Sister M. Cecily Boulding, “The Ecclesiology of Faber Stapuliensis” (University of Durham: Durham, U.K., 1982), 100
(6) As translated by Wilhelm Schneemelcher, New Testament Apocrypha, 6th edition. Vol 2 (Westminster/John Knox Press. Louisville, 1989), 43-44
Phillip Campbell, “Paul’s Letter to the Laodiceans,” Unam Sanctam Catholicam, Nov. 21, 2011. Available online at https://unamsanctamcatholicam.com/2025/11/pauls-letter-to-the-laodiceans