The Pauline epistles are the fourteen New Testament books which have been traditionally ascribed to the Apostle Paul. Among them are some of the earliest extant Christian documents. They provide an insight into the beliefs and controversies of formative Christianity and, as part of the canon of the New Testament, they have also been, and continue to be, hugely influential in Christian theology and ethics.
In the order they appear in the New Testament, the Pauline epistles are:
- Romans
- First Corinthians
- Second Corinthians
- Galatians
- Ephesians
- Philippians
- Colossians
- First Thessalonians
- Second Thessalonians
- First Timothy
- Second Timothy
- Titus
- Philemon
- Hebrews
All of the epistles except that to the Hebrews present Paul as the author. The epistle to the Hebrews is something of a special case, being anonymous. Authorship of Hebrews was disputed from the earliest, and few modern scholars would attribute it to Paul. Thus some classifications do not include Hebrews as a Pauline epistle, listing it instead with the general epistles.
