Abstract:
This article identifies four "patterns of religion" (E P Sanders) in the
pseudepigraphic letters of Peter and Jude in order to support the hypothesis of a "Petrine school"
(J H Elliott). The first pattern that connects the letters is a Geisttradition (K Aland),
guaranteeing continuity of tradition. The second is the interrelationship between faith and ethics
(fides quae and fides qua). The combination of sanctification and eschatology is a third pattern
connecting the three documents. Finally, two florilegia can be identified (one from the Old
Testament and apocrypha, and one from the chokmatic tradition), suggesting a fourth pattern: a
warning against ungodliness and infidelity. The existence of a Petrine group could represent a
preliminary stage of subsequent Early Catholicism.
