James Corke-Webster
A Man for the Times: Jesus and the Abgar Correspondence in Eusebius of Caesarea’s Ecclesiastical History
Corke-Webster, James
Authors
Abstract
Perhaps the most extraordinary story about Jesus to survive from antiquity is one of the least often told. It runs as follows: Towards the end of his life, Jesus's reputation has spread out from Palestine and reached the terminally ill Abgar V (also known as Abgar the Black), toparch of Edessa, the capital city of the kingdom of Osroëne. Abgar writes to Jesus requesting that he visit Edessa and heal him. In return he offers sanctuary from the Jews and shared rule of his city. The story preserves the text of both this letter and Jesus's reply, in which he declines to visit (citing his upcoming engagements in Jerusalem), but promises to send a disciple in his stead. After Jesus's death, the apostle Thomas, moved by divine impulse, sends Thaddaeus, one of the seventy (Luke 10:1–24), to Edessa. Escorted to Abgar's court, Thaddaeus cures him along with one Abdu son of Abdu. The newly converted Abgar gathers his citizens to hear Thaddaeus preach, and the story ends with the Christianization of Abgar's kingdom.
Citation
Corke-Webster, J. (2017). A Man for the Times: Jesus and the Abgar Correspondence in Eusebius of Caesarea’s Ecclesiastical History. Harvard Theological Review, 110(4), 563-587. https://doi.org/10.1017/s001781601700027x
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Sep 18, 2015 |
Online Publication Date | Sep 22, 2017 |
Publication Date | Oct 1, 2017 |
Deposit Date | Nov 30, 2015 |
Publicly Available Date | Dec 1, 2015 |
Journal | Harvard Theological Review |
Print ISSN | 0017-8160 |
Electronic ISSN | 1475-4517 |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 110 |
Issue | 4 |
Pages | 563-587 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1017/s001781601700027x |
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Copyright Statement
This article has been published in a revised form in Harvard Theological Review https://doi.org/10.1017/S001781601700027X. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works. © President and Fellows of Harvard College 2017
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