The
Epistle to the Galatians, often shortened to
Galatians, is the ninth book of the
New Testament. It is a letter from
Paul the Apostle to a number of
Early Christian communities in Galatia. Scholars have suggested that this is either the Roman province of
Galatia in southern Anatolia, or a large region defined by an ethnic group of Celtic people in central Anatolia. Paul is principally concerned with the controversy surrounding
Gentile Christians and the
Mosaic Law during the
Apostolic Age. Paul argues that the Gentile Galatians do not need to adhere to the tenets of the
Mosaic Law, particularly
circumcision, by contextualizing the role of the law in light of the revelation of Christ. Galatians has exerted enormous influence on the history of Christianity, the development of Christian theology, and the study of the
apostle Paul.