Epistle (Quaker)

In the 17th century, the Quaker movement adopted the use of the word epistle following the example of its use in the New Testament. A Quaker epistle is an advisory or admonitory letter sent to a group of people; such a letter is sometimes termed a "general epistle".{{efn|For examples of the titles of these 17th-century Quaker epistles, search on "epistle" in the [http://quaker.adlibsoft.com/(tw2tdy455ey11bzka1cir345)/Default.aspx catalogue] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090512165706/http://quaker.adlibsoft.com/(jsvn1z45tt1yz3bcmf5t4kru)/Default.aspx |date=2009-05-12 }} of the Religious Society of Friends Library, London. Examples may also be found on Wikisource, including the text of a short epistle written by Isaac Penington in 1667 which is available on Wikisource.}} Epistles continue to be sent by Yearly Meetings in session to all other Yearly Meetings.{{Cite web |url=http://www.quaker.org.uk/sites/default/files/2012-BYM-Epistle-final.pdf |title=links to Britain Yearly Meeting Epistle sent in 2012 (.pdf) |access-date=2012-08-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304050529/http://www.quaker.org.uk/sites/default/files/2012-BYM-Epistle-final.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-04 |url-status=dead }}[http://www.quaker.org.uk/files/ymg-2009-epistles-and-testimonies.pdf Epistles received by Britain Yearly Meeting from other Yearly Meetings, printed as part of Documents in Advance of Yearly Meeting 2009] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726194444/http://www.quaker.org.uk/files/ymg-2009-epistles-and-testimonies.pdf |date=2011-07-26 }} - pdf file.[http://quakerepistles.wordpress.com/about/ Blog of Epistles] received by The Friend (Quaker magazine).