La struttura retorica della Lettera ai Colossesi

On the assumption that, to establish the rhetoric structure or dispositio of the Letter to the Colossians, it needs to insist “on the gnoseological dimension of faith in Christ”, the article seeks first of all to solve some preliminary problems: to delimit the extent of the exordium: Col 1,1-2 + 1,3-8 and to establish with rigour the propositio: Col 1,9b and its partitio: Col 1,10-11. With the help also of the literary structure of the various parts, it delimits the probationes (Col 1,12-20; 1,21-2,5; 2,6-15; 2,16-23) with which the propositio is demonstrated, it establishes if exists also a sub-propositio in Col 3,1-4 and its probationes (Col 3,5-17; 3,18-4,1); finally, it concludes with the delimitation end treatment of the peroratio (Col 4,2-6 + 4,7-18).