Epistle to Diognetus

Greek, probably 2nd century AD, by an unknown author. The text survived in a single manuscript, found in Constantinople in a fishmonger's shop, used as wrapping paper; that copy was destroyed in a fire in Strasbourg in 1870, and what we read today comes from transcriptions made beforehand.

Never canonical, and it could not have been: it is an apology addressed to a non-Christian, not a community text.

• The passage about Christians inhabiting their own homeland as strangers, and every foreign land being their homeland.
• The description of God sending the Son not in power but in gentleness, "as one who invites, not one who compels".
• The criticism of idols and of Jewish sacrifice is made without insult, which was rare in the genre.

Who wrote the Epistle to Diognetus?

Nobody knows. It is anonymous, and attempts to assign it to known authors have never convinced. Diognetus, the addressee, has not been securely identified either.