Letters Between King Abgar the Toparch and Jesus

Of the early Christian writings we have, few are as valuable to understanding early Christianity as the writings of Eusebius. Born around 260 A.D., he compiled the first comprehensive history of the early church.

Among the documents he had were two letters he retrieved from the Record Office at Edessa among the public documents. He translated them from the original Syriac (Aramaic).

First Letter:


Abgar Uchama the Toparch to Jesus, who has appeared as a gracious saviour in the the region of Jerusalem--greeting.

I have heard about you and about the cures you perform without drugs or herbs. If report is true, you make the blind see again and the lame walk about; you cleanse lepers, expel unclean spirits and demons, cure those suffering from chronic and painful diseases, and raise the dead. When I heard all this about you, I concluded that one of two things must be true--either you are God and came down from heaven to do these things, or you are God's Son doing them. Accordingly, I am writing to beg you to come to me, whatever the inconvenience, and cure the disorder from which I suffer. I may add that I understand the Jews are treating you with contempt and desire to injure you: my city is very small, but highly esteemed, adequate for both of us.


Second Letter:


Jesus's Reply to the Toparch Abgar by the Courier Ananias

Blessed are you who believed in me without having seen me! For it is written of me that those who have seen me will not believe in me, and that those who have not seen will believe and live. As to your request that I should come to you, I must complete all that I was sent to do here, and on completing it must at once be taken up to the One who sent me. When I have been taken up I will send you one of my disciples to cure your disorder and bring life to you and those with you.


Eusebius records that in fulfillment of this promise, Thomas sent to Abgar the disciple Thaddaeus, one of the seventy. When Abgar confessed that he "believed in [Jesus] and in His Father," Thaddaes replied, "For that reason I lay my hands on you in His name." Agbar was instantly cured. For the full account, see Eusebius, The History of the Church from Christ to Constantine (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1965) 66-70.