The name given to the Epistle of St. James, to that of St. Jude, to two Epistles of St. Peter and the first three of St. John, because, unlike the Epistles of St. Paul, they were addressed not to any particular person or church, but to the faithful generally after the manner of an Encyclical letter. Though addressed to particular persons the other two Epistles of St. John are also styled Catholic, because they have always been grouped with the epistles bearing that name.
Catholic Epistle
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Source notes
APA citation. Catholic Epistle. (1908). In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03453a.htm
MLA citation. "Catholic Epistle." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. <https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03453a.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Joseph P. Thomas.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. November 1, 1908. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
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Source Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) · Letter C