The Diatessaron of Tatian

The Diatessaron (160 - 175 A.D.) is the most well-known harmony of the gospels. It was composed by Tatian, an Assyrian, who was an early Christian apologist and ascetic. Tatian combined the textual material from the four gospels-Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John-into one coherent narrative on Jesus's life and death. In contrast to later attempts, Tatian appears to have made no effort to gloss over apparent inconsistencies between the texts.

Originally Tatian left out the genealogies in Matthew and Luke, and Luke's introduction (Luke 1:1 - 4). In addition, he did not originally include the adulteress' encounter with Jesus, which is cited by some in support of its omission.

It is not clear if Tatian intended that his Diatessaron should supplement or if it should replace the four separate gospels. In some Syriac churches, from the late 2nd to the 5th century, it did replace the gospels, but later it would only be used as a supplement.

This is a reproduction of the work "The Diatessaron of Tatian. [Translated with introduction] by Rev. H.W. Hogg," 1897, in which the footnotes are persevered along with the Bible references, which are done in subscript. This edition also includes artwork of gospel events from the 12th - 19th century.