The Authorship and Nature of the Gospels
An apostle writes in one epistle: Luke the beloved physician greets you, and the same evangelist composed the deeds of the holy apostles. It is not possible for these to be more or less in number.
For the Gospel according to John narrates the generation from the Father, its leading, practical, and glorious nature; in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and all things came through him; because of this, it is compared to the likeness of an eagle But that according to Luke, being of a priestly character, began from Zacharias the priest, saying: It happened in the days of Herod, the king of the Jews, a certain priest named Zacharias of the division of Abia, since according to the tradition of the old law the priests served in turns; because of this, his appearance as calf-like is also related. But Matthew explains his generation according to man, the book...
Greek
ἀπόστολος ἔν τινι ἐπιστολῇ γράφει· ἀσπάζεται ὑμᾶς Λουκᾶς ὁ ἀγαπητὸς ἰατρός, καὶ τὰς πράξεις δὲ τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων ὁ αὐτὸς εὐαγγελιστὴς συνεγράψατο. Οὔτε πλείονα τῶν ἀριθμῶν, οὔτε ἐλάττονα ἐνδέχεται αὐτὰ γενέσθαι. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ κατὰ Ἰωάννην εὐαγγέλιον τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡγεμωνικὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ πρακτικὴν καὶ ἔνδοξον γενεὰν 130 διηγεῖται· ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος, πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο· διὰ τοῦτο εἰς ὁμοίωμα ἀετοῦ. Τὸ δὲ κατὰ Λουκᾶν ἅτε ἀπὸ ἱερατικοῦ χαρακτῆρος ὑπάρχων ἀπὸ Ζαχαρίου ἤρξατο τοῦ ἱερέως λέγων· ἐγένετο ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Ἡρώδου, τοῦ βασιλέως τῆς Ἰουδαίας, ἱερεύς τις ὀνόματι Ζαχαρίας ἐξ ἐφημερίας Ἀβία, ἐπειδὴ κατὰ τὴν παλαιὰν τοῦ νόμου παράδοσιν οἱ ἱερεῖς ταύρους ἐκόμιζον· διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸ εἶδος αὐτοῦ ὡς μοσχόμορφον ἀνιστορίζεται. Ματθαῖος δὲ τὴν κατὰ ἄνθρωπον αὐτοῦ γένεσιν ἐξηγεῖται, βίβλος
About this text
Discover the early church's leaders and gospel origins in this ancient account of apostolic successors and their stories.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 41–43 (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.