yalla

I've been reading with interest the thread concerning the hypothesis that Eusebius may have invented Hegesippus.It reminded me that it has been mooted that Eusebius may have been the author of the Abgar/JC correspondence that he cites in Bk. 1 , 13 of his church history.E states that he "translated word for word from the Syriac.." the actual letters.Does anyone know more about the provenance of this interesting alleged correspondence?I would be interested in learning more about this.

Toto

Someone forged the correspondence. I'm not sure how you would prove that Eusebius was the forger, although he seems to be the first to quote it.

The forgery is referenced in this thread by Vork.

Bauer in Orthodoxy and Heresy has a long discussion of Christianity in Edessa and various Kings named Agbar and Eusebius's creative role in telling their tale.

yummyfur

It uses direct borrowing from the Diatessaron which is dated around 175 CE, so it could have been created anytime after this. One theory is that Agbarus the IX of Edessa(ruled 179-214 CE) might have had it created when he embrassed Christianity.