PHILOCHRISTUS THE ELDER
TO
THE SAINTS OF THE CHURCH IN LONDINIUM,
Grace, Mercy, and Peace from the Lord Jesus Christ:
Forasmuch as almost all those disciples who with me saw the Lord Jesus in the flesh, are now fallen asleep, and I myself am well stricken in years and daily expect the summons of the Lord; it hath therefore seemed good to me to bequeath unto you some memorial of Christ in writing; which, instead of my voice, shall testify to you of him forever.
All the more need seemeth thereof because the Lord delayeth his coming. For now these ten years Jerusalem hath been trodden down of the Gentiles, and the words of the Lord concerning the destruction of the Holy City have been fulfilled; and yet he cometh not. Yea, and sometimes my mind presageth that his coming may be yet longer delayed, even till all they that knew him in the flesh have fallen asleep.
For this cause I was long ago moved, even from the second or third year after the destruction of the Holy
