Elect Lady

The "elect lady" is the addressee of the Second Epistle of John (2 John 1:1): "The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth." The identity has been debated since the early church. Some interpreters take "elect lady" as referring to a specific named woman — possibly Kyria (a proper name corresponding to the Greek word for "lady") — along with her literal children. Others hold that the phrase is a collective metaphor for a local church personified as a woman (consistent with the feminine personification of communities in the Old Testament), with "her children" as the church members.

The closing verse (2 John 1:13) — "the children of thy elect sister greet thee" — supports the metaphorical interpretation: a sister church sends greetings. The letter's content, which warns against receiving teachers who deny that Christ came in the flesh, addresses the community's need to exercise discernment about itinerant teachers. The title "elect lady" in either reading emphasizes the dignity and God's choosing of the community or individual addressed.