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Epistle to the Laodiceans

The Epistle to the Laodiceans is a short work found in some editions of the Vulgate, known only in Latin, purporting to be the epistle of Paul to the Laodiceans mentioned in the Epistle to the Colossians. It is almost unanimously believed to be a forgery, being a mere pastiche of phrases taken from the genuine Pauline epistles. Adolf von Harnack suggested that it was written by either Marcion or one of his followers, but despite scholarly examination his suggestion cannot be substantiated or denied. In any case, this work contains almost no doctrine, teachings or narrative, and its exclusion from the canon has little effect.