Epistles are obviously the work of the same author. The
Second Epistle which bears the name of St. Peter is connected with
peculiar difficulties, and possesses less evidence in its favour than
any of the other Catholic Epistles.

We cannot do better than quote the admirable words in {221} which Dr.
Sanday has sketched the adventures of such books. "An Epistle lodged
in the archives of a great and cultured Church like the Church of Rome
would be one thing, and an Epistle straying about among the smaller
communities of Bithynia or Pontus would be another; while an Epistle
written to an individual like the Gaius of 3 St. John would have worse
chances still. There were busy, careless, neglectful, and unmethodical
people in those days as well as now; and we can easily imagine one of
these precious rolls found with glad surprise, covered with dust in
some forgotten hiding-place, and brought out to the view of a
generation which had learnt to be more careful of its treasures. But
even then, once off the main roads, circulation was not rapid; an
obscure provincial Church might take some time in making its voice
heard, and the authorities at headquarters might receive the reported
discovery with suspicion. They might, or they might not, as it
happened." [1]

But by degrees the customs of the different Churches were levelled.
Before the end of the 4th century all the Catholic Epistles were
accepted as canonical in Europe, and in a large part of the Christian
world which lay beyond Europe. This leads us to inquire why these
Epistles bear the name of Catholic. The answer seems to be that the
name Catholic or General was given to the more important of the seven,
because they were addressed to the Church Universal, or to groups of
Churches, and not to individuals or to single Churches. The words
Catholic Epistles therefore signify Circular or Encyclical Letters.
Origen gives the name of Catholic to 1 Peter, 1 John, and Jude. By the
4th century the name was applied to all the seven. There can be little
doubt that 2 and 3 John are not Catholic in the sense of being Circular
or Encyclical. But they were numbered with the others for the sake of
convenience, being naturally associated with the first and more
important letter by St. John.

{222}

The following table gives an idea of the gradual incorporation of the
Catholic Epistles into the Canon. An * denotes a direct quotation or
the expression of almost no doubt; a ?