Is the Epistle to Diognetus in the Bible?
No. It is an anonymous early Christian apology from the second century and has never been part of any biblical canon.
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The Epistle to Diognetus — Free PDF Study Guide
A clear introduction to the Epistle to Diognetus — an anonymous letter from perhaps AD 130–200 that answers a curious pagan's questions about who Christians are, why they reject both idols and temple sacrifice, and why this 'new race' appeared so late in history. Its fifth and sixth chapters are among the most beautiful pages written in the early church. This free guide gives the background, the argument, and the strange story of the manuscript's destruction.
An original Bible Sundays study companion. The Epistle to Diognetus is an early Christian apology, not Scripture, and is in no Bible. Read it alongside the King James Version.
What you get
The three questions Diognetus asked and how the writer answers them
Chapter 5: 'They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners'
Chapter 6: the soul in the body as the image of the church in the world
Chapter 9: the 'sweet exchange' — the righteousness of One for the iniquity of many
The Strasbourg manuscript and its destruction by fire in 1870
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What is the Epistle to Diognetus?
It is a short apology — a defence of the faith — addressed to a certain Diognetus, an educated pagan who had asked three questions: what God Christians trust in, why they despise both idols and Jewish sacrifice, why they love one another so intensely, and why this way of life appeared only recently. The author calls himself simply Mathetes, 'a disciple'. He is unknown, and estimates of the date range from around AD 130 to the end of the second century. The last two chapters are stylistically different and are usually regarded as a fragment of another work attached to the letter.
The famous chapters
Chapter five describes Christians as indistinguishable from their neighbours in dress, food, and custom, yet living a manifestly strange citizenship: they dwell in their own countries as sojourners, share their table but not their bed, are in the flesh but do not live after the flesh, are poor yet make many rich, are dishonoured yet in their dishonour glorified. Chapter six carries the image further — what the soul is in the body, Christians are in the world; the soul is spread through all the members, and Christians through all the cities of the world. It is the clearest early expression of John 17:15–16.
The sweet exchange
Chapter nine contains one of the earliest and most striking statements of substitutionary atonement outside the New Testament. God bore with human sin, the writer says, until it was proved beyond doubt that we could not enter the kingdom of God by ourselves, and then gave his own Son as a ransom: the holy One for the lawless, the guileless for the wicked, the just for the unjust, the incorruptible for the corruptible. He calls it the sweet exchange — that the iniquity of many should be hidden in a single righteous One, and that the righteousness of One should justify many transgressors. Read it next to 2 Corinthians 5:21 and Titus 3:4–5.
The lost manuscript
The letter survived in a single thirteenth- or fourteenth-century manuscript, discovered in Constantinople in the fifteenth century wrapping fish in a shop, and eventually housed in the municipal library at Strasbourg. The library was shelled and burned during the Franco-Prussian siege of 1870 and the manuscript was destroyed. Every modern edition therefore depends on transcriptions and collations made by scholars before the fire — a sobering reminder of how thin the thread of transmission can be for texts outside the biblical canon, which by contrast survives in thousands of witnesses.
Frequently asked questions
Who wrote the Epistle to Diognetus?
The author calls himself only Mathetes, meaning 'a disciple'. His identity is unknown; suggestions have included Quadratus and Pantaenus, but none can be proved.
When was the Epistle to Diognetus written?
Estimates range from about AD 130 to the late second century. There is no firm external evidence, since no ancient writer quotes it by name.
What is the most famous passage in the Epistle to Diognetus?
Chapters five and six, describing Christians as resident aliens in every land — 'what the soul is in the body, that Christians are in the world.'
What is the 'sweet exchange'?
A phrase from chapter nine describing the atonement: the sins of many hidden in one righteous One, and the righteousness of that One justifying many sinners.
What happened to the manuscript?
The single surviving manuscript, kept at Strasbourg, was destroyed when the library burned during the siege of 1870. Modern texts rest on earlier transcriptions.
Should Christians read the Epistle to Diognetus?
Yes, as edifying early Christian literature. It is not Scripture, but it expresses the New Testament's teaching on grace and on living as pilgrims with unusual clarity.
Can I share this study guide?
Yes. This Bible Sundays study guide is free to share for any personal, ministry, or educational purpose.
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