Mathetes to Diognetus

Brief description:

Mathetes to Diognetus is an anonymous letter written by someone who calls himself mathetes (Greek for disciple) to someone named Diognetus. The purpose of the letter is to explain and defend Christianity. Diognetus seems to be someone who had expressed interest learning more about Christianity. This letter is not mentioned by any early Christian writers. It is only known from a single manuscript which may have been from the middle ages and has since been destroyed in a fire in the 1800s. This manuscript had some defects which have left this work incomplete. There is also some speculation that the last two chapters may come from an entirely different work, perhaps due to some missing pages in the manuscript it was copied from which had originally contained the end of this letter and the beginning of another. The date this letter was written is entirely unknown, although usually thought to be some time in the second or early third centuries.

Suggested first translation(s):

An easy-to-read, modern English translation that is freely available is the one by Eugene R. Fairweather from 1953 listed below.

English translations:

• Alexander Roberts/James Donaldson (translated ~1867)
  • Ante-Nicene Fathers volume 1 (published 1885)
    • read online
• Basil L. Gildersleeve (translated ~1877)
  • The Apologies of Justin Martyr to Which is Appended The Epistle To Diognetus, Harper & Brothers (published 1877) — facsimile
• George A. Jackson (translated ~1879)
  • The Apostolic Fathers and The Apologists of the Second Century (published 1879) — facsimile
• Joseph Barber Lightfoot/J.R. Harmer (translated ~1891)
  • The Apostolic Fathers (published 1912) — facsimile
  • The Apostolic Fathers (published 1891) — text/HTML
• Lewis Bostock Radford (translated ~1908)
  • The Epistle to Diognetus, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (published 1908) — facsimile
• W. S. Walford (published 1908)
  • The Epistle to Diognetus, James Nisbet & Co. (published 1908)
• Kirsopp Lake (translated ~1917)
  • The Apostolic Fathers, Volume II (published 1917) — facsimile
• Edward Henry Blakeney (translated ~1943)
  • The Epistle to Diognetus, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (published 1943)
• Gerald G. Walsh (translated ~1947)
  • The Apostolic Fathers, Volume 1 of The Fathers of the Church: A New Translation, The Catholic University of America Press (published 1947)
• James A. Kleist (translated ~1948)
  • The Didache, The Epistle of Barnabas, The Epistles and the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp, The Fragments of Papias, The Epistle to Diognetus, Volume 6 of Ancient Christian Writers (published 1948)
• Henry George Meecham (translated ~1949)
  • The Epistle to Diognetus: The Greek Text with Introduction, Translation, and Notes, Manchester University Press (published 1949)
• Edgar J. Goodspeed (translated ~1950)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: An American Translation, Harper & Brothers (published 1950)
• Eugene R. Fairweather (translated ~1953)
  • Early Christian Fathers (published 1953)
    • read online
• Maxwell Staniforth/A. Louth (translated 1968/revised 1987)
  • Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic Fathers, Penguin (published 1987)
• Michael W. Holmes (translated 1989-2007)
  • The Apostolic Fathers in English, Baker Academic (various editions, published 1989-2006)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations of Their Writings, Baker Academic (various editions, published 1992-2007)
• Bart D. Ehrman (translated ~2003)
  • The Apostolic Fathers, Volume II, Harvard University Press (published 2003)
• Clayton N. Jefford (translated ~2013)
  • The Epistle to Diognetus (with the Fragment of Quadratus): Introduction, Text, and Commentary, Oxford University Press (published 2013) — facsimile/preview
• Rick Brannan (translated ~2017)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: A New Translation, Lexham Press (published 2017)