A New Look at the Epistolary Framework of the Secret Gospel of Mark

This article offers the first epistolary analysis of Clement's letter to Theodore and demonstrates that it comports in form, content, and function with other ancient letters that addressed similar circumstances. In these letters authors issue accounts of the composition and transmission of their works in order to diminish confusions that arose when premature, stolen, and conflicting copies reached the public. The analogy provided by these letters helps establish the remarkable generic coherence of the letter to Theodore, which is difficult to explain by the supposition that the letter is a modern forgery.