Early Christian Writings by Date

The numbers to the left show an estimated range of dating.
30-60 Passion Narrative
40-80 Lost Sayings Gospel Q
50-60 1 Thessalonians
50-60 Philippians
50-60 Galatians
50-60 1 Corinthians
50-60 2 Corinthians
50-60 Romans
50-60 Philemon
50-80 Colossians
50-90 Signs Gospel
50-95 Book of Hebrews
50-120 Didache
50-140 Gospel of Thomas
50-140 Oxyrhynchus 1224 Gospel
50-150 Apocalypse of Adam
50-150 Eugnostos the Blessed
50-200 Sophia of Jesus Christ
65-80 Gospel of Mark
70-100 Epistle of James
70-120 Egerton Gospel
70-160 Gospel of Peter
70-160 Secret Mark
70-200 Fayyum Fragment
70-200 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs
73-200 Mara Bar Serapion
80-100 2 Thessalonians
80-100 Ephesians
80-100 Gospel of Matthew
80-110 1 Peter
80-120 Epistle of Barnabas
80-130 Gospel of Luke
80-130 Acts of the Apostles
80-140 1 Clement
80-150 Gospel of the Egyptians
80-150 Gospel of the Hebrews
80-250 Christian Sibyllines
90-95 Apocalypse of John
90-120 Gospel of John
90-120 1 John
90-120 2 John
90-120 3 John
90-120 Epistle of Jude
93 Flavius Josephus
100-150 1 Timothy
100-150 2 Timothy
100-150 Titus
100-150 Apocalypse of Peter
100-150 Secret Book of James
100-150 Preaching of Peter
100-160 Gospel of the Ebionites
100-160 Gospel of the Nazoreans
100-160 Shepherd of Hermas
100-160 2 Peter
100-200 Odes of Solomon
100-200 Gospel of Eve
100-230 Thunder, Perfect Mind
101-220 Book of Elchasai
105-115 Ignatius of Antioch
110-140 Polycarp to the Philippians
110-140 Papias
110-160 Oxyrhynchus 840 Gospel
110-160 Traditions of Matthias
111-112 Pliny the Younger
115 Suetonius
115 Tacitus
120-130 Quadratus of Athens
120-130 Apology of Aristides
120-140 Basilides
120-140 Naassene Fragment
120-160 Valentinus
120-180 Apocryphon of John
120-180 Gospel of Mary
120-180 Dialogue of the Savior
120-180 Gospel of the Savior
120-180 2nd Apocalypse of James
120-180 Trimorphic Protennoia
120-180 Gospel of Perfection
120-200 Genna Marias
130-140 Marcion
130-150 Aristo of Pella
130-160 Epiphanes On Righteousness
130-160 Ophite Diagrams
130-160 2 Clement
130-170 Gospel of Judas
130-200 Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus
140-150 Epistula Apostolorum
140-160 Ptolemy
140-160 Isidore
140-170 Fronto
140-170 Infancy Gospel of James
140-170 Infancy Gospel of Thomas
140-180 Gospel of Truth
150-160 Martyrdom of Polycarp
150-160 Justin Martyr
150-180 Excerpts of Theodotus
150-180 Heracleon
150-200 Ascension of Isaiah
150-200 Interpretation of Knowledge
150-200 Testimony of Truth
150-200 Acts of Peter
150-200 Acts of John
150-200 Acts of Paul
150-200 Acts of Andrew
150-225 Acts of Peter and the Twelve
150-225 Book of Thomas the Contender
150-250 Paraphrase of Shem
150-250 Fifth and Sixth Books of Esra
150-300 Authoritative Teaching
150-300 Coptic Apocalypse of Paul
150-300 Prayer of the Apostle Paul
150-300 Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth
150-300 Melchizedek
150-350 Preaching of Paul
150-350 Epistle to the Laodiceans
150-350 Questions of Mary
150-350 Allogenes, the Stranger
150-350 Hypsiphrone
150-350 Valentinian Exposition
150-350 Act of Peter
150-360 Concept of Our Great Power
150-400 Acts of Pilate
150-400 Anti-Marcionite Prologues
150-400 Dialogue Between John and Jesus
160-170 Tatian’s Address to the Greeks
160-180 Claudius Apollinaris
160-180 Apelles
160-180 Julius Cassianus
160-250 Octavius of Minucius Felix
161-180 Acts of Carpus
165-175 Melito of Sardis
165-175 Hegesippus
165-175 Dionysius of Corinth
165-175 Lucian of Samosata
167 Marcus Aurelius
170-175 Diatessaron
170-200 Dura-Europos Gospel Harmony
170-200 Muratorian Canon
170-200 Treatise on the Resurrection
170-220 Letter of Peter to Philip
170-230 Thought of Norea
175-180 Athenagoras of Athens
175-185 Irenaeus of Lyons
175-185 Rhodon
175-185 Theophilus of Caesarea
175-190 Galen
178 Celsus
178 Letter from Vienna and Lyons
180 Passion of the Scillitan Martyrs
180-185 Theophilus of Antioch
180-185 Acts of Apollonius
180-220 Bardesanes
180-220 Kerygmata Petrou
180-230 Hippolytus of Rome
180-230 Sentences of Sextus
180-250 1st Apocalypse of James
180-250 Gospel of Philip
182-202 Clement of Alexandria
185-195 Maximus of Jerusalem
185-195 Polycrates of Ephesus
188-217 Talmud
189-199 Victor I
190-210 Pantaenus
190-230 Second Discourse of Great Seth
193 Anonymous Anti-Montanist
193-216 Inscription of Abercius
197-220 Tertullian
200-210 Serapion of Antioch
200-210 Apollonius
200-220 Caius
200-220 Philostratus
200-225 Acts of Thomas
200-230 Ammonius of Alexandria
200-230 Zostrianos
200-230 Three Steles of Seth
200-230 Exegesis on the Soul
200-250 Didascalia
200-250 Books of Jeu
200-300 Pistis Sophia
200-300 Tripartite Tractate
200-300 Hypostasis of the Archons
200-300 Prayer of Thanksgiving
200-300 Coptic Apocalypse of Peter
200-330 Apostolic Church Order
200-350 Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit
200-450 Monarchian Prologues
203 Acts of Perpetua and Felicitas
203-250 Origen
210-245 Lucian of Antioch
217-222 Callistus
230-265 Dionysius of Alexandria
230-268 Firmilian of Caesarea
240-260 Commodian
246-258 Cyprian
250-274 Gospel of Mani
250-300 Teachings of Silvanus
250-300 Excerpt from the Perfect Discourse
250-350 Coptic Apocalypse of Elijah
250-400 Apocalypse of Paul
251-253 Pope Cornelius
251-258 Novatian
254-257 Pope Stephen
259-268 Dionysius of Rome
260-280 Theognostus
265-282 Gregory Thaumaturgus
269-274 Pope Felix
270-310 Victorinus of Pettau
270-312 Methodius
270-330 Marsanes
270-330 On the Origin of the World
270-350 De Recta in Deum Fide
280-300 Hesychius
280-310 Pierius
280-310 Pamphilus of Caesarea
297-310 Arnobius of Sicca
300-311 Peter of Alexandria
300-320 Pseudo-Clementine Homilies
300-340 Eusebius of Caesarea
300-350 Manichean Acts of Leucius Charinus
300-390 Letters of Paul and Seneca
300-400 Apocalypse of Thomas
300-400 Freer Logion
300-600 Gospel of Gamaliel
303-316 Lactantius
310-334 Reticius of Autun
320-380 Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions

Take a look at the e-Catena project for many references from the Church Fathers to particular New Testament passages.

Go to the Online Books page for many classic scholarly works.

Visit Early Jewish Writings for documents from antiquity by Jewish authors.

You may also be interested in the Theories of the Historical Jesus web page. Also, for some later Church Fathers, go to the Church Fathers Outside the ANF-NPNF Collection web page.

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Early Christian Writings is the most complete collection of Christian texts before the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. The site provides translations and commentary for these sources, including the New Testament, Apocrypha, Gnostics, Church Fathers, and some non-Christian references. The “Early Christian Writings: New Testament, Apocrypha, Gnostics, Church Fathers” site is copyright © Peter Kirby <E-Mail>. Permission is given to link to any HTML file on the Early Christian Writings site.

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