Institute for Colossians Studies

Empowering Breakthroughs in the Study of Paul’s Epistle to the Church at Colossae

Despite the wide availability of sources online, students of Colossians seeking to gain historical perspective or to engage in theological retrieval have worked with incredible limitations in terms of available sources. Several indices exist, but these are not comprehensive. Most older commentaries are stored in hard-to-read PDFs, and very few are translated out of the original language.

The Institute for Colossians Studies seeks to change this reality. In this phase of development, the Institute is working to make nearly 200 commentaries available, most of which are dated prior to 1900.

Patristic Era (100–500)

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  Ephraem the Syrian
  Ephraem the Syrian (c. 306–373), deacon of Edessa and the most celebrated of the Syriac fathers, is credited with a commentary on the Pauline epistles whose Syriac original is lost. It survives only in an Armenian version, rendered into Latin by the Mekhitarist fathers of San Lazzaro and published at Venice in 1893.
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  Severian of Gabala
  Severian of Gabala (355 – 408/425) provided a simple and concise commentary on most of the text of Colossians.
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  Theodoret of Cyrus
  Theodoret (c. AD 393 – c. 458/466) wrote his commentaries on the Pauline Epistles prior to 448. What follows is a translation from the Greek from Patrologiae Cursus Completus, published in 1857.
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  Pelagius
  Pelagius (c. 354–418) likely wrote his commentaries on the Pauline epistles shortly before his departure from Rome in 410.
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  Origen
  Origen (c. 185 – c. 253) composed a significant number of commentaries. This translation is of a fragment of Origen’s commentary on Colossians.

Early Middle Ages and Pre-Scholastic Era (500–1050)

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  Isho’dad of Merv
  Isho’dad of Merv, bishop of Ḥadatha, compiled his Syriac commentaries around 850, and his brief treatment of Colossians is a compact repository of East-Syriac exegesis, deeply indebted to Theodore of Mopsuestia.
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  Oecumenius of Trikka
  Oecumenius is a writer whose Pauline commentaries may date between the 6th to 10th centuries. He may be the same Oecumenius, the 6th century Monophysite Patriarch, who ministered in the city of Trikka, in modern Greece.
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  Photius of Constantinople
  Photius I of Constantinople (c. 815 – 893) provides a number of brief comments on Colossians.

Scholastic Era (1050–1500)

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  Anselm of Laon
  The Glossa Ordinaria on Colossians has its roots in the work of Walafrid Strabo but belongs to Anselm of Laon (d. 1117).

16th and 17th Centuries

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  Huldrych Zwingli
  Zwingli’s commentary on Colossians is a concise, humanist-Reformation exposition that emphasizes Christ’s supremacy and sufficiency, justification apart from human works and ceremonies, and the practical transformation of Christian life that flows from union with Christ.