Appendix
B:
New
Testament
Apocrypha
INTRODUCTION
For
the apocrypha, we begin with a list of the more important, older apocrypha
which have articles in the appendix that follows, grouped by type of writing.
Gospels
Arabic
Gospel of the Infancy Joseph
the Carpenter, History of
Armenian
Gospel of the Infancy Marcion,
Gospel of
Assumption
of the Virgin Mary,
Gospel of the Birth of
Bartholomew,
Gospel of Matthias,
Gospel of
Barthlomew
the Apostle, Book of the Nazarenes,
Gospel of
Resurrection of Christ by Peter, Gospel of
Basilides,
Gospel of Philip,
Gospel of
Ebionites,
Gospel of the Pseudo-Matthew,
Gospel of
Egyptians,
Gospel according to the Thomas,
Gospel of
Hebrews,
Gospel according to the Truth,
Gospel of
James,
Protevangelium of
Acts
Abidias, Apostolic History of Paul, Passion of
Andrew,
Acts of Peter,
Acts of
Andrew,
Fragmentary Story of Peter,
Passion of
Andrew
and Matthias (Matthew), Acts of Peter,
Preaching of
Andrew
and Paul, Acts of Peter,
Slavonic Acts of
Barnabas,
Acts of Peter
and Andrew, Acts of
James,
Ascents of Peter
and Paul, Acts of
James
the Great, Acts of Peter
and Paul, Passion of
John,
Acts of Philip,
Acts of
John,
Acts of by Prochorus Pilate,
Acts of
Matthew
Martyrdom of Thaddaeus,
Acts of
Paul,
Acts of Thomas,
Acts of
Epistles
Abgarus,
Epistles of Christ and Lentulus,
Epistles of
Apostles,
Epistles of the Paul
and Seneca, Epistles of
Corinthians,
Third Epistle to the Titus,
Apocryphal Epistle of
Laodiceans,
Epistle to the
Apocalypses
James, Apocalypse of Stephen,
Revelation of
Paul,
Apocalypse of Thomas,
Apocalypse of
Peter,
Apocalypse of Virgin,
Apocalypse of the
Gnostic
Writings
Allogenes Supreme
Dositheus,
Apocalypse of
Eugnostos,
Letter of Saviour,
Dialogue of the
Jesus,
Wisdom of Silvanus,
Teachings of
John,
Apocryphon or Secret Book of Zostrianus,
Apocalypse of
Messos, Apocalypse of
Related Subjects
Agrapha Melkon
Apostolic
Constitutions and Canons Oxrhynchus
Sayings of Jesus
Cerinthus Pistis
Sophia
This
apocrypha consists of gospels, acts, letters, and apocalypses, composed mainly
to amplify and embroider matters touched on or suggested by the canonical
writings. The writings vary greatly in
their values and the date they were written, ranging from early in the 100s to
the present day. The term “apocrypha” or
hidden books does not fit this collection, which were not hidden or set aside
for the wise only. Some labeled these
books apocrypha in the sense that they were “spurious” or “false.” Their purpose, with a few possible
exceptions, was to enforce what to the particular author seemed sound Christian
beliefs.
The
books served the following functions
1. Revealing new doctrines or truths
2. Extolling or expand upon some particular
virtue or kind of life
3. Emphasizing or embroidering some
spectacular doctrine (e. g. virgin
birth, physical resurrection,
the Second Coming of Christ
4. Amplifying intriguing incidents that lack
interesting details, using the
authority of distinguished names from the past to
fill in certain
silences or gaps.
A
key contribution to New Testament apocrypha was made by the heretic
Marcion. He came under Gnostic
influence, and became persuaded that the God of Hebrew scripture, the Creator,
the God of justice, was an inferior god; and that Jesus had revealed the
supreme God, one of love. He was persuaded
that the 12 apostles had utterly corrupted the pure doctrine of Christ, that
Paul was the only true apostle, and that Luke, as an associate of Paul, wrote
the best gospel. Even so, the text of
the gospel suffered severe mutilation at his hands, as he sought to purge out
anything which was incompatible with his basic doctrine.
Though
excommunicated by the church and repudiated by his father, who was bishop of
Sinope. Marcion achieved an
extraordinary success in organization as in the propagation of his
teachings. There were at one time some
hundreds of churches in several provinces of the Empire, both East and West,
which looked to him as their founder.
Gnostic schools existed on the margins of, or even within the great
church. As such, they represented a
substantial influence, because their doctrines, fantastic as they now seem,
agreed with the popular mind of the age.
They created documents in keeping with their doctrine: gospels of
Peter, of Thomas, of Philip, of “Truth,” acts of Peter, of Thomas, of John,
etc.
It
is most unlikely that any of them preserve authentic traditions or words of
theirs heroes' deeds. They take Old
Testament stories, embroider them and add New Testament names. This does not
warrant the easy assumption that they are worthless. They shed light on the hopes and concerns of
an early generation of the church, and they shed light upon the canonical
writing. To a much lesser degree, the
gospels of Matthew, Luke and John do the same thing when they expand upon the
sparse details offered in the gospel of Mark.
One
sure value of these writings is found in their lack of any historical
probability or value when their stories have no connection with the Gospel of
Mark. This shows unmistakably the absence of reliable historical information
outside the Gospel of Mark and the Gospels of Luke and Matthew, which follow
Mark fairly closely. It also highlights
the use of the source that Mark was based on in the writing of all three gospels. Sometimes the author of an apocrypha, when
dealing with an authentic gospel incident, albeit in lurid and pretentious
style, will see the earlier author's intent more clearly than we do now.
The
first type of writing in these apocrypha is the gospels. There are infancy gospels and passion
gospels, both of which satisfy people's curiosity concerning details on which
the four gospels remain silent. Infancy gospels deal with Jesus' childhood;
passion gospels deal with details of the resurrection. The scant details of the canonical Book of Acts,
and the vivid imagination of writers created the third type of apocryphal
writing that of acts, which were a long string of romances which invariably
ended with the martyrdom of the apostle.
A few letters were produced as a third type of writing, but not nearly
in the volume of the other types of writing.
There are several apocalypses, headed by the famous Apocalypse of Peter,
which set the fashion for accounts of personally conducted tours of heaven and
hell by the several apostles.
There
are also several writings having to do with:
the assumption of the Virgin; the book of John the evangelist; and
stray sayings ascribed to Jesus found outside the four canonical gospels. Brief mention must also be made of the long
list of modern apocrypha, many passed off as new, exciting discoveries of “ancient
texts.” Without exception they are
worthless trash and the rankest forgeries, but they serve to show how the
accepted books of the New Testament still fire the imagination of writers
today.
The
material in this section of the dictionary contains the people, places, events,
and apocryphal writings that helped shaped the world in which Jesus practiced
his ministry, and in which the followers of Christ spread the gospel. As such, it plays an essential part in our
understanding of the Christian faith. It is set apart from the purely Old
Testament and New Testament entries for two reasons. First, it cuts down on the
confusion of information faced by someone seeking a basic understanding of the
Old and New Testaments in and of themselves.
Second, those who are ready to look into those people and events outside
the scope of the Bible, which nonetheless offer some historical background of
Old and New Testament times and people, will find this a useful resource for
expanding their understanding and appreciation of the whole Bible.
A
ABDIAS, APOSTOLIC HISTORY OF. The
several legends purporting to describe the histories of the apostles. It is a mélange drawn from various sources:
the canonical gospels and Acts; the Clementine literature; heretical Acts
(especially various Martyrdoms). The
collection was assembled perhaps in France, not earlier than the 500s or 600s
A. D.
ABGARUS, EPISTLES OF CHRIST
AND. A short letter from Abgarus Uchama, King of Edessa, and Jesus'
reply. Abgarus requests healing from a
terrible disease and offers to share his kingdom. Jesus declines the invitation
in striking, Gospel-of-John like phrases, but promises to send one of his
disciples. Thaddaeus arrives, heals
Abgarus, and converts the whole community.
ACTS, APOCRYPHAL. A
long series of romances which attempt to provide the information missing in the
canonical books of Acts, namely the activities of John, Paul, Peter, Andrew,
and Thomas.
ALEXANDER 1. The son of Simon of Cyrene, brother of Rufus. They may have been converted Jews. Simon was probably in Jerusalem to keep the
Feast of Passover. In the Acts of Peter
and Andrew, Alexander and his brother are companions and disciples of Andrew
and Peter in missionary endeavor. In the
Coptic Assumption of the Virgin, Evodius suggest that Alexander and Rufus were
among the 70 that Jesus sent out.
ANDREW, ACT OF. One
of a long series of early romances, and an apocryphal book recounting the
travels, wonder-working and martyrdom of Andrew. It was written in Greek, probably around 250
A.D. and was once very long. It has been
drastically shortened before it reached us in its present, Latinized form. It is basically a long series of tales of the
miracles wrought by Andrew in Pontus, Bithynia, Thrace, and Macedonia. It is said that the region north of the Black
Sea was allotted to Andrew. He
understandably became the patron saint of Russia. He evangelized and suffered martyrdom by
crucifixion in Achaia (Greece). Legend
has it that his arm was transported by Regulus to Scotland, where he also
became their patron saint.
ANDREW AND MATTHIAS, ACTS OF. This
apocryphal book recounts the dramatic rescue by Andrew of Matthias who had been
captured by cannibals. Shortly before
Matthias was to be eaten, Jesus appears and sends Andrew to his rescue, and
also pilots the vessel Andrew is on.
Andrew rescues Matthias, performs many miracles, is tortured and
restored by the Lord, and after nearly drowning the city with a miraculous
flow of water, restores the city because of their repentance. He plans a church and baptizes the people.
ANDREW AND PAUL, ACTS OF. A
wild tale of adventure in which Andrew and Paul are joined. Paul visits the underworld by diving into the
sea. Upon his return, he recounts his
visit with Judas and tells of Judas' betrayal of Jesus, his repentance, his
seduction by Satan, Christ's visit to him, and his ultimate fate. Together, they cause a city's gates to
vanish, enter the city to contest with the Jews there, and convert 27,000 Jews.
NTA-1
ANNA
(חנה (khah nah), Anna, grace)
2. The mother of Mary and
grandmother of Jesus. In Apocrypha, Anna
and her husband, Joachim have long been childless; this fact has brought sorrow
and humiliation to them both. When
angels promise a child, Anna joyfully promises to dedicate the child to
lifelong service to God. According to
other legends, she was married two more times.
APOCALYPSES, APOCRYPHAL A
comparatively small group of apocryphal writings attributed to New Testament
characters, providing prophecies for the end of this world, and visions of the
world to come.
APOSTLES, EPISTLE OF THE A statement
of beliefs from the 100s A.D., in the form of a letter by the 11 apostles. The sources it used were the four gospels,
Acts, the Apocalypse of Peter, Barnabas, and Hermas.
It
opens as a letter “to the churches of the east and west, of the north and
south,” and rapidly recounts the supernatural birth (In this letter Jesus says
that he appeared to Mary in the form of the angel Gabriel and had formed
himself and entered her body), miracles, and the resurrection of Jesus. The writing continues as a revelation by
Jesus to them about the bodily resurrection of all faithful Christians, the
prediction of the advent of Paul, and an identification of the wise and foolish
virgins. No longer was Jesus regarded as
empowered by the Spirit; rather, he did what he did because he was what he was.
APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS. A collection of
ecclesiastical regulations and liturgical materials in eight books. In the
eighth book, the 85 Apostolic Canons are added as the last chapter. It was written around 380 A. D.
The
first six books have as their principal source the Didascalia, which is
substantially reproduced even in the smallest details. Book VII is an expansion or adaptation of the
Didache, the oldest list of regulations on church worship and ministry. It provides detailed instruction for the
ordination of bishops and presbyters; detailed instructions for deaconesses,
sub-deacons, confessors, virgins, widows, and exorcists, as well as for
observances, fasts, and prayers. Judging from the similarity of style and
diction throughout the sections that are clearly the words of the editor, one
man assembled this whole collection of material.
APOSTOLIC FATHERS. The
name commonly used since the seventeenth century to designate a group of
writings contemporary with the later books of the New Testament by authors who
claim association with either the apostles or their immediate disciples.
Among
the writings are: Epistle of Barnabas; Epistles I and II of Clement;
epistles of Ignatius of Antioch; the single epistle and the Martyrdom of
Polycarp; and the Shepherd of Hermias. They are helpful sources for the
history, theology, and the development of the institution of Christianity. They are less helpful in the study of the New
Testament; what allusions are made, do not agree very closely with the gospels
we have.
ARABIC GOSPEL OF THE INFANCY. A
collection of wonder stories about the infant Jesus. It is heavily dependent
upon the Proto-evangelium of James and the Gospel of Thomas. Chapters 10-35 contain a long series of
tasteless miracles wrought by Mary in Egypt through contact with the infant,
his clothes or bath water.
ARMENIAN GOSPEL OF THE INFANCY A
late and wordy infancy gospel based on the much more sober Proto-evangelium of
James and the Gospel of Thomas. There is
little in this gospel that cannot be found elsewhere in a much earlier form.
ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN. A
legend widely circulated and variously elaborated, of the death and translation
of the Virgin Mary. None of the many
Egyptian versions is earlier than the 300s A.D., although the origins of the
story may go back to the 200s A.D. In
the Coptic versions Jesus himself appears to Mary, before the apostles depart
on the missionary labors, and announces her coming death and translation. In the Greek, Latin, and Syriac versions, an
angel makes the announcement, Mary requests the presence of all the apostles,
who are brought on clouds to Mary from their several places of labor. In 1950 “the Assumption of the Blessed
Virgin” was made a part of official Roman Catholic dogma.
AVE MARIA An
anthem in praise of Mary, the Lord's mother, from the salutations by Gabriel
and Elizabeth in the first chapter of Luke.
The Roman mass first used the Ave Maria as an Offertory anthem for the
Annunciation in the late 600s A.D. As a
popular devotion, it did not come into general use until near 1100.
NTA-2
B
BARNABAS, ACTS OF A
late and short apocryphon, heavily dependent upon the canonical book of
Acts. The book purports to be by
Mark. The writing was probably composed
in Cyprus not earlier than the 400s A.D.
It is in essence an imaginative expansion of the more compelling
sections in the Acts of the Apostles.
BARNABAS, EPISTLE OF. A
writing in Greek attributed to, but not really written by Barnabas. It belongs to the Apostolic Fathers. It asks the question: Was the Old Testament
revelation concerned with Jews or Christians? It also adds a moral catechism
on the “way of light and the way of darkness.”
While called a letter, it is more like an instructive piece of writing
like the Letter to the Hebrews.
It
pursues a single, undivided subject, namely Judaism as the great deception
concerning the will and the way of God.
Here, the relationship of the Old Testament with Judaism is severed and
the belief that the Old Testament was intended for the Christians from the very
beginning as a prophecy of Christianity is introduced. The original audience was newly baptized
Christians, who received written baptismal instructions in this epistle. The epistle consists of an introduction
referring to baptismal grace, the main instructive part on Christian beliefs,
practical moral instructions, and a conclusion.
The
author uses the Old Testament as his main source to which he applies his
understanding of Jesus, based most likely upon oral tradition. His quotations from the Old Testament follow
only in part the Greek Old Testament. “The
way of light” and “the way of darkness” were probably independent of each
other, but dependent on a common source, like a Jewish moral catechism.
The author was at home in a heathen
proselyte community. There are no indisputable signs of an acquaintance with
the letters of Paul, but the Pauline triad of faith, love, and hope is there,
as is the justification of Abraham by faith, the Stoic Pan formula (See Stoics) as applied to Christ, and
the Christology of pre-existance. The
author prefers the word “gnosis,” but that should not mislead one to connect
him with Gnosticism. Here, “gnosis” is
used for the deeper insight into Christianity with the help of the allegorical
exegesis of the Old Testament. He uses it in the service of his main theme as
an awkward weapon against Judaism, and it tends to distort the meaning of the
Old Testament passages he uses.
The
allusion to the fulfillment of an Isaiah prophecy concerning the destruction
and the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem was probably written in the time
of Hadrian. It was probably written
before 130 A.D., and definitely not
written by the apostle Barnabas, because as one who observed the Jewish
regulations on cleanliness, he could not oppose the literally understood ritual
as being ungodly.
The
actual author might have been a representative of the early Christian office of
“teacher.” There are three distinct
Greek versions of this epistle, and seven others dependent on one of the
three. Some important Christian
authorities quote from it, and some parts of the early church thought it was
almost as important as those accepted into the New Testament.
BARTHOLOMEW, GOSPEL [QUESTIONS]
OF A work mentioned by Jerome, an early Church Father, in his Commentary
on Matthew. The original gospel has not
been found, but there exists in writing from no earlier than the 400s at least
the relics of this gospel. It consists
of a series of questions asked by Bartholomew to Jesus after his resurrection,
and to Mary. He was also able to ask Satan some questions as a result of his
special ability to see visions not granted to others, which Jesus promised
Nathanael (whom some believe is the same as Bartholomew) at the time of his
call.
NTA-3
The
content of this curious writing may be listed as five topics:
a.) Christ's account of his
descent into hell; Beliar's (Satan's) terrified reaction;
the rescue of the patriarchs,
especially “Adam, the first-formed . . .”
b.) The interrogation of the Virgin by Peter, at Bartholomew's request;
her description of the angel’s advent and
the two of them sharing in
communion;
and his promise that after 3 years she would conceive a
son. At this point fire came from Mary's mouth,
and would have
consumed the world, had not Jesus appeared and covered her
mouth.
c.) A brief account of the bottomless pit vision granted to the apostles.
d.) A very long, inflated and pompous account of
the questions put by
Bartholomew to Satan, after the latter had been brought heavily
chained into the
presence of the disciple and had been trampled upon
by Bartholomew at Jesus' instructions.
e.) A brief and informal “conversation” regarding the
deadly sins, listed as
hypocrisy, back-biting, and speaking ill of a faithful
Christian (a “sin
against the Holy Ghost”).
BARTHOLOMEW THE APOSTLE, BOOK OF THE
RESURRECTION OF CHRIST BY
A writing whose obvious purpose is the glorification
of Bartholomew. It is a very loosely constructed
series of disconnected, spontaneous and often extravagant sentences. The stories from the four Gospels are the sources for the tales, but they are expanded,
altered and combined with utter unconcern for either tradition or
consistency. Jesus is buried twice; he
converses with Death in his tomb, and confronts doubting Thomas, who doubts in
spite of the fact that he has just raised his own son from the dead. There is also a series of 8 hymns which were
sung in exultation in heaven to welcome those redeemed from Hell, chief among
whom was Adam. The work exists only in
Coptic (Egyptian) form and is commonly dated in the 400s or 500s A. D.
C
CERINTHUS (KhpinqoV
)
An early Gnostic active in
western Asia Minor around 100 A.D.
With Simon Magus he is
listed in the Epistle of the Apostles.
Cerinthus was educated in the wisdom of the Egyptians. He taught that Jesus was the natural son of
Joseph and Mary, though more righteous, prudent, and wise than other men; that
at his baptism there descended upon him the Christ in the likeness of a dove,
endowing him with miraculous power.
Nothing of Cerinthus’ writing is known.
CLEMENT, EPISTLES OF Two
documents, a letter and a homily, attributed since the 100s A.D. to Clement,
reputed disciple of Peter and the third bishop of Rome
I
Clement is an official communication of the church in Rome to the Corinth church,
concerning a factional dispute in which some younger members of the church in
Corinth succeeded in deposing from the ministry elder men of the
hierarchy. The Roman church took strong
exception to this deposition as an affront to the revealed will of God. The letter thus becomes a key document in the
development of the threefold orders of bishops, elders, and deacons, and for
the emergence of the theory of apostolic succession in the ministry.
The
situation at Corinth is utilized to exhort the Corinthians, and possibly others
to practice the virtues of faith, compassion, humility, self-control, and
hospitality, and to avoid factiousness, jealousy, envy, double-mindedness, and
pride. The writer of I Clement has an
excellent command of the Greek Old Testament and cites from all parts of it at
length, and sometimes with considerable textual liberties. He uses sayings of Jesus which are not
identical to any in the
NTA-4
canonical gospels.
He quotes from Paul’s letters, especially Romans, I Corinthians, and Ephesians. Clement's style betrays marked influence from
the rhetoric of the Greek diatribe, an acquaintance with Stoic terms, and
slightly less familiarity with Platonic terms.
A reference to recent persecution at Rome has persuaded most scholars
that I Clement was composed in 95 or 96 A.D., following the persecution
associated with Domitian.
II
Clement was preached as a homily to Gentile converts. Its subjects included repentance,
self-control, and watchfulness in light of the coming judgment. The principal theological interest of the
homily is the speculation concerning the spiritual church, which existed before
creation. The preacher's treatment of the
gospel of Matthew as scripture and the sources he quotes from suggest a date
for the homily sometime toward the middle of the 100s. It could have been written in Rome, Corinth,
or Alexandria.
CORINTHIANS, THIRD EPISTLE TO
THE A part of the apocryphal Acts of Paul, long regarded as authentic in
the Syriac and Armenian churches.
CYRIL OF JERUSALEM
D
DIATESSARON A
harmony of the four gospels prepared around 170 A.D. by Tatian.
DIDACHE (didach (di da ke), teaching) The oldest known document of a class
denoted as “Church Orders,” containing directives for instruction in the
Christian faith, worship, and ministry.
The Didache, like all Church Orders, is a compilation from various
sources and various periods in the early church's history. It may well be that some of the materials of
the Didache derive from the apostolic age.
There is still considerable disagreement as to when the Didache was
brought together in the form we have today.
The editor who brought together the “two ways” and the Church Order
probably worked toward the middle of the 100s A.D. in Egypt. He used the now Apocryphal works of Barnabas
and Hermas, which in Egypt were seen as being of equal value to his New
Testament sources.
Chapters 1-6 of the Didache deal
with moral precepts and commandments, and are part of the instructions given
prior to baptism. The pattern of ethical instruction in these chapters,
according to “two ways, one of life, and one of death,” was a basic method of
Jewish instruction in their faith. This
method must have been adapted by an early Christian teacher for instruction of
Gentile converts. Two other early Christian
writings have this Christian formulation of the “two ways:” the Epistle of Barnabas; and a Latin
version of the Didache. The simplest
explanation is that all three stem from a common original, most likely from a
Jewish or Jewish Christian source.
Chapters 7-15 make up the Didache's Church
Order. In chapter 7, he directs that the
candidate for baptism fast for 1 or 2 days before baptism, and that it be
administered in the triune name, using running cold water. Chapter 8 recommends that Christians fast on
Wednesdays and Fridays; the Lord's Prayer is to be recited 3 times a day. Chapters 9-10 provide forms of thanksgiving
before and after the church’s common meals.
There is, in chapters 11-13, a
discussion of how the churches are to receive, test, and provide for inspired
ministers that may happen to visit their communities; the tests are not
theological but ethical, meant to expose selfish charlatans. Chapters 14-15 direct the regular celebration
of the Eucharist on the Lord's Day, and the appointment of “bishops and deacons
worthy of the Lord” to provide this ministry.
A final chapter is a warning regarding the signs of the coming of the
Lord at the end of this present age.
NTA-5
In 5 instances, the Church Order
material of the Didache refers as its authority to the Lord’s gospel commandments. This circumstance, added to the similarity of
the ministries described in the Didache with those mentioned at Antioch in Acts
13, has persuaded most critics that the source of the Church Order in the
Didache is of Syrian origin. The date of
this Syrian Church Order would thus be later than Matthew, but prior to the
acceptance of the fourfold gospel canon.
The Didache was not used much outside of Egypt.
DIOGNETUS,
LETTER TO A 12 chapter writing which
explains Christianity. It is of
uncertain date, but is probably not earlier than the 200s A.D. Also unknown is the author and the person
(Diognetus) to whom the letter is addressed.
There is no indication of any important influence of the writing. It is best known for its simile of the
Christians as being to the world what the soul is to the body, and for
identifying the Christians as a third “race,” alongside Jews and pagans.
DISCOURSE OF
SAINT JOHN THE DIVINE. A Greek version of the Assumption of the Virgin.
DISCOURSE OF
THEODOSIUS A Coptic version of the Assumption of the Virgin.
DOSITHEUS,
APOCALYPSE OF A Gnostic work in Coptic discovered at
Chenoboskion; it bears the subtitle “The Three Great Steles of Seth.”
DYSMAS A
name given to the penitent thief on the cross next to Jesus at his crucifixion
in the apocryphal stories prompted by Luke 23.
These stories are found in one of the Infancy Gospels and in the Acts
of Pilate; his unrepentant companion was usually called Gestas. From these stories he received ample
attention and eventual sainthood as Saint Latro.
E
EBIONITES,
GOSPEL OF THE (Ebiwnaioi (eh
be oh nay ee oy), from the Hebrew word 'ebioneem meaning poor) Only Epiphanius refers to it under this
title. It is probably to be identified
with the Gospel According to the Hebrews (See Hebrews, Gospel According to
the). While many scholars contend that
this is a different gospel, Epiphanius’ references to it suggest that it is
essentially the same as the Hebrew gospel.
The Ebionites have listed John in first place, denied the supernatural
birth of Jesus, and have different versions of the gospel to fit their
vegetarian beliefs.
EGYPTIANS,
GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THE. A Greek Gospel current in Egypt
Origen names this gospel as one of
those produced by men who, rashly and without the needful gifts of grace
possessed by the writers of the four canonical gospels, attempted to produce
gospels of their own. At present we have
only a few scant references to this gospel, so we cannot provide a very clear
picture of its degree of variance from orthodox doctrine.
NTA-6
EPISTLES,
APOCRYPHAL A form of composition suggested by the letters
in the New Testament, both those of Paul and those incorporated in the
canonical Acts. They are comparatively
few in number and for the most part trivial in content, although several
attained wide circulation. The most
significant is the Epistle of the Apostles.
For a list of the epistles, see Introduction to this Appendix.
EVODIUS,
HOMILY OF A Coptic writing containing a version of the
Assumption of the Virgin. Evodius is
represented as Peter's successor in the see of Rome, one of the 72 disciples,
and an eyewitness of the death and assumption of Mary.
G
GOSPEL,
APOCRYPHAL. The form of composition suggested by the canonical gospels
led to the writing of other gospels much later in the Christian Era. These gospels fall into three classes: early gospels which appear similar in
outward form to the gospels of the Bible, known to us solely from occasional
references and quotations; infancy gospels; and passion gospels (See also
the Introduction to this section of the Appendix).
H
HEBREWS, GOSPEL ACCORDING TO
THE. A lost Greek gospel current in the Decapolis and Egypt
The
early church father Eusebius refers to this writing several times, saying that
the Hebrews who have accepted Christ take special pleasure in this gospel,
although other Christians have rejected it.
The Ebionites used only the gospel called According to the Hebrews. Clement and Origen of Alexandria also cited
from it. Owing to the mistaken belief of
the church father Jerome, there is considerable confusion as to the nature and
content of the Gospel According to the Hebrews.
Many regarded it as a source of as least equal historical value,
although it is not so highly regarded today.
It is heavily dependent upon the canonical four.
Apparently
this Greek Gospel According to the Hebrews was a totally different book from
the Gospel of Matthew, which it depends heavily upon; it is also dependent upon
Luke-Acts. James was the central figure
in this Gospel. It was to James that
Jesus made his first post-resurrection appearance. Peter was not regarded as the chief of the
Twelve. John is listed first, and Simon
third. According to Eusebius, it
contained a variation on the parable of the talents, and the story of the woman
taken in adultery.
Origen
twice cites from this gospel. The first
is: “Even now did my mother the Holy Spirit take me by one of my hairs and
carried me away unto the great mountain Tabor . . .” The
second quote is: “He shall not cease from seeking until he find, and having
found he will be amazed, and having been amazed he will reign, and having
reigned he will rest.”
The
title “Gospel According to the Hebrews” would seem to reflect the disparaging
recognition on the part of those who knew and rejected this gospel, that it was
the gospel belonging to the Jewish Christians and employed by them; it was
notably against Paul‘s interpretation of Christ‘s message. While this writing was not heretical, it also
did not have much in common with those commonly accepted by the orthodox.
NTA-7
HERMAS, SHEPHERD OF. An
apocalyptic work by a Roman prophet Hermas.
One of the canon of the Roman Church states that the work was written
when Hermas’ brother, Pius, was bishop of Rome around 140 A.D. The first four Visions, at least, may be as
early as the beginning of the 100s. The
Shepherd has three principal divisions: five Visions; twelve Mandates or
Commandments, and ten Similitudes or Parables.
In
the first four Visions, the revealer is a woman named Rhoda, a symbolic
representation of the church. In Vision
V, a figure garbed as a shepherd takes over the role of revealer. The principal theme of Hermas’ apocalypse is
the revelation of a “second chance” of repentance to baptized Christians. Hermas’ teaching has been understood as a
modification of a tradition that refused reconciliation to Christians
excommunicated for serious offenses. The
offer of respite is extraordinary, and linked to an imminent crisis.
The
Shepherd has a lot of moralistic instructions.
The chief one is faith, defined as “that by which the elect of the Lord
are saved.” The other virtues are:
self-control, simplicity, knowledge, innocence, reverence, and love. Salvation requires right doing no less than
right believing. Hermas is the first
Christian moralist to promote the idea of works over and beyond the
commandments, for which the reward is a “more surpassing glory and esteem from
God.”
The
root of sin, in Hermas’ view, is “double-mindedness.” From it issue blasphemy, hypocrisy, jealousy,
dishonesty, pride, lust, and contentiousness.
His portrayal of ordinary Christian living in his time belies the
idealistic notion that many have of the church.
The source of Hermas’ ethical principles is to be found in Jewish moral
teaching as influenced by Greek, but with Christian perspectives. Of special interest is his theory of two
kinds of “spirits” or “angels” in humans.
Apart
from his concept of the church, there is little in Hermas to interest the
student of doctrine. His Christology
exhibits adoptionist tendencies, his style is of mediocre quality, and he knows
several apocrypha. The closest parallels
to his ideas about Judgment Day are to be found in II Esdras, and he appears to
have known Mathew and Mark, less probably Luke and John.
The
Shepherd was highly esteemed by the Church Fathers before the Nicene Council;
they considered it inspired. It was
widely used for the moral instruction of converts. No complete text in Greek still exists,
although there are two Latin versions in existence. The rest of what we have is in the form of
fragments in several different languages.
(See also Apostolic Fathers)
I
IGNATIUS, EPISTLES OF. 7 letters by a
bishop, perhaps the second one of Antioch in Syria, written on a journey
through Asia Minor while he was being conducted to Rome as a prisoner condemned
to fight and die in the wild-beast shows, some time between 98 and 117
A.D. One group of letters was sent from
Smyrna to the churches of Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, and Rome. Another group was sent from Troas to the Philadelphia
and Smyrna churches, and a personal letter to Polycarp, Smyrna’s bishop. In the 300s A.D. these letters were expanded
by an Arian interpolator; much later there was the addition of a number of
spurious letters. We know nothing certain about Ignatius beyond what is in the
letters. His names suggests to some
slave origins. He apparently left the Syrian
church in turmoil. The historian
Eusebius provides the information that he suffered under Trajan. The church father Origen describes Ignatius
as “second bishop of Antioch after Peter.”
NTA-8
Ignatius’
letters are from a sensitive, intense mystic, both proud and humbled by his
sufferings for Christ’s sake. His letter
to the Romans is an urgent plea that they do nothing to hinder his becoming an
“imitator of the suffering of my God” by being “ground by the teeth of the wild
beasts”; Ignatius claimed the gifts of prophetic utterance. In all his letters to the Asian churches,
Ignatius was a strong advocate of the authority of bishops, presbyters, and
deacons. His writings are the earliest
clear witness to the governance of the churches by a three-fold order of
ministry, yet he shows no hint of any doctrine of apostolic succession. His advocacy of Episcopal rights stemmed
apparently from practical, rather than theoretical considerations. As bishop, he was responsible for preserving
his flock from the dangers then threatening the integrity of the apostolic
faith and teaching.
The
Asian churches were being subjected to powerful Judaizing tendencies. These churches were infiltrated with
teachers of the Docetic heresy that denied the historic reality of the Lord’s
birth, life, death and resurrection.
Against this denial of the “flesh and blood” of Christ, Ignatius was
passionate in expressing his dread, anger, and contempt. Ignatius is the first Christian writer to use
the term “Catholic Church.” His doctrine
of the Godhead and of the person of Christ is remarkably agreeable to the
dogmatic definitions of later times. He
affirms the Davidic descent of Jesus, his virgin birth, his baptism by John,
his crucifixion under Pilate and Herod, and his bodily resurrection. He shows little interest in the Second
Coming.
The
Old Testament is not often reflected in Ignatius’ letters. His gospel traditions are closest to
Matthew. There are also strong
affinities of thought and outlook between Ignatius and John’s gospel. Ignatius was well acquainted with the letters
of Paul, especially Ephesians.
Dependence of Ignatius upon other New Testament writings cannot be demonstrated. Ignatius’ style is replete with vivid
metaphors and quotable maxims, generally lucid, free of all bombast, and above
all passionate in expressing his convictions.
INFANCY
GOSPELS. Narratives purporting to tell of the birth and
childhood of Jesus. (See the Introduction at the beginning of
this section of the appendix.)
ISAIAH,
ASCENSION OF. A later writing from the first century after Christ
that is a combination of: the Martyrdom of Isaiah (Jewish), the Testament of
Hezekiah, and the Vision of Isaiah (both Christian). Origen and IV Baruch indicate acquaintance
with the Martyrdom. Versions of the
text, in whole or in part, have survived in Latin, Ethiopic, and Greek. The last is from the 100s A.D. and contains
the entire work, but in abbreviated and rearranged form. The Martyrdom was
probably written in Hebrew or Aramaic and then translated into Greek. The rest was originally in Greek. The Ethiopic, Latin, and Slavonic go back to
the Greek texts. The text throughout is
corrupt, but for the most part the corruptions are of a minor character.
The Martyrdom of Isaiah is a Jewish interpretation of II Kings 21. In it, Isaiah makes certain dire predictions
concerning Manasseh, who will have Isaiah sawed in two. Belchira, a false prophet, offers Isaiah freedom,
if he would say that his prophecies were lies. Isaiah resisted this temptation,
and, upheld by the Holy Spirit, died bravely.
The manner of Isaiah’s death became a part of both Jewish and Christian
tradition.
The
Testament of Hezekiah is a Christian apocalypse purporting to be a vision of
Isaiah’s which he related to Hezekiah.
Isaiah briefly predicts the descent of the Beloved (Christ) from the
seventh heaven, and briefly describes his life and the Twelve, ending with his
ascension to the seventh heaven. Next
and still briefly, Isaiah prophesies about the early church and the working of
the Holy Spirit. With the approach of
the Second Advent there will be much falling away. There will be a decrease of
true prophets, and the prophets of the Old Testament will be ignored.
Then
Beliar, the Satanic ruler of this world will descend from his place in the
firmament, assuming the form of Nero, and will persecute the church and execute
one of the Twelve. Acting and speaking
like the Beloved, he will perform miracles and will rule over the world 3
years, 7 months, and 27 days (the 1,335 days of Daniel 12). The Lord will then return with his army of
angels and will defeat Beliar and his hosts.
A messianic reign will follow, shared by the godly who are still alive
and by the saints who have gone to the seventh heaven. After this messianic period the righteous
will ascend to the seventh heaven. A
rebuke of the visible world ruled over by Beliar will precede a second
resurrection and judgment of the godless, whom the Beloved will annihilate by
fire.
This little apocalypse has a Neronic
Antichrist passage resembling one in Revelation 13, and includes the
Destruction of the Antichrist, first resurrection, a messianic interim, second
resurrection and judgment, and destruction of the wicked by fire.
There are also come striking similarities to the Matthean account of the
Crucifixion and the Resurrection. It is
possible that there is a common dependence upon Christian traditions.
NTA-9
The Testament has been dated as early
as 68 A.D. This may well be too
early. The statement that there would be some who knew Jesus living at the
time of his second advent and resemblances to Revelation, might indicate a date
nearer 100 or a early 100s date. The
complete silence concerning Paul may indicate a time prior to Acts and Paul’s
letters, or to a date in the early 100s when Paul was in eclipse.
The Vision of Isaiah is the longest
source. It shows similarities to the Testament, but is more Gnostic than
apocalyptic. Isaiah had a vision in
which he left his earthly, body and was taken up into the seventh heaven by an
angelic guide. The seventh heaven was
the abode of God, the Beloved, and the Holy Spirit, as well as the righteous
dead from Adam’s time. Isaiah was shown
the garments (spiritual bodies), crowns, and thrones that were reserved for the
believers when they reached the seventh heaven.
A birth narrative is then
presented. The Virgin Mary is with
child, but because of a visit by the angel of the Spirit, Joseph does not put
her away. Two months after conception
Mary looked and saw a babe and was astonished, for she had no signs of a
birth. When he was grown, he performed
signs and miracles (nothing is said about his teaching). The Adversary caused the Jews to deliver him
to the king to be crucified. He then ascended
to the seventh heaven, and seated himself at the right hand of the Great
Glory. Isaiah is assured that in the
last days he (and presumably others) will go to the seventh heaven to receive
their heavenly garments.
A Gnostic movement provides the best
parallel for the Vision. In one Gnostic
myth, it is stated that the pre-existent Christ descended from the seventh
heaven, disguising himself as a resident of each succeeding heaven. In the meantime, Jesus was prepared as the
pure receptacle for the descended Christ.
When the “powers” decided to destroy him, Christ departed from Jesus,
who then was crucified. Christ assisted
Jesus in rising from the dead, a
spiritual and not a physical resurrection.
He remained on earth 18 months, he received knowledge and great
mysteries. He was then received into
heaven, and he sat at the right hand of Ialdabaoth.
The Vision seems to be a
modification of this Gnostic scheme—lacking, of course, its fantastic mytho-logy
and its extreme Gnosticism. This would
place the Vision in the latter part of the second century. There are some similarities with other
apocrypha from 100 A.D. It is quite
evident that the Ascension as a whole was in circulation by the beginning of
the 300s; it may well have been compiled earlier, but where or by whom is
unknown.
J
JAMES (IakwboV (yak oh bose)) A variant form of the name Jacob. The extent of identity among the various
people named “James” in the New Testament is much discussed.
Jesus’ call of James and his brother John is related with the call of
Peter and Andrew. Legendary stories long
after his execution expand the narrative of Acts. The apocryphal Apostolic History of Abdias
describes James’ miracles and the controversies that led to his execution. His early death led to James receiving little
attention in the growth of legendary stories. In Christian tradition James is
known as James the Great.
Belief in the perpetual virginity of Mary led to the
development of the view that Jesus and James were foster brothers, i.e. Mary
was betrothed to an elderly widower with children. This theory was widely accepted during the
early centuries of Christian history. The principal difficulty with it is that
it is based on accounts of the lives of Joseph and Mary which are essentially legendary
and non-historical.
By tradition James was the first “bishop of
Jerusalem.” Jewish Christianity exalted
James above Peter. The apocryphal Gospel
According to the Hebrews presents the resurrected Christ as appearing first to
James. This honoring of James is a
Jewish Christian attempt to exalt the one remembered as their leader to the
position of true guide of the first Christians. (See also the main Biblical entry).
NTA-10
JAMES, APOCALYPSE OF A Gnostic writing found at Chenoboskion in Egypt. This writing may conceivably be related to the
“discourses” handed down to Mariamne by James the brother of the Lord,
concerning primordial man and the triple principle of the universe.
JAMES, ASCENTS OF
A writing mentioned only by
Epiphanius. According to him, it was a
book used by the Ebionites; it represented James the brother of the Lord as
speaking against the temple and sacrifices, and was bitterly anti-Pauline. It is very possible that the book described
the ascents of James up the temple steps, whence he addressed the
multitude. James’ martyrdom may well
have been the grand finale of these ascents.
JAMES, PROTEVANGELIUM OF. The
earliest of the infancy gospels, recounting the birth, childhood, adolescence,
token marriage, supernatural pregnancy, and delivery of Mary. Together with the Gospel of Thomas, it was
the chief source of several other infancy gospels. The earliest certain reference to this
writing is by Origen. It is the source
of the tradition that Jesus’ brothers were “sons of Joseph by a former wife.” His statement “Now these who say so wish to
preserve the honor of Mary in virginity to the end.” This accurately describes the apparent
purpose of the author.
The writing tells the story of the birth and early years
of Mary. She is born to Anna and Joachim
in answer to the bitter prayers of the long-barren woman and her husband. At the age of three, in accord with the
earlier vow of the mother, Mary is brought to the temple and seated by the
priest upon the third step of the altar.
She is brought up as a sort of Jewish vestal virgin.
In answer to the advice of his fellow priests the high
priest Zacharias enters the holy of holies, prays and receives divine direction
for her betrothal to that one of the widowers of the people who shall be
designated by a divine portent. Inserted
here in the story is her being selected by the priest to weave the “true purple
and Scarlet” portion of the veil of the temple.
Mary, while filling her pitcher with water, hears: “Hail, thou art highly favored--blessed art
thou among women.” As she is spinning,
an angel appears and announces the birth of a son, who she shall name Jesus.
Joseph, finding Mary six-months pregnant, reproaches her,
but is admonished in a dream. Then
follows Augustus’ decree, the trip to Bethlehem, where Mary is left in a cave
while Joseph seeks a midwife. After the
birth of the baby in the cave comes the story of the Wise Men and the
star. In fear of Herod’s decree, Mary
wraps the young child and hides him in an ox manger. Next comes the story of the miraculous escape
of John the Baptist. Then follows Zacharias’
death, who is arrested and slain by the officers of the enraged Herod. Symeon takes the place of Zacharias and is
promised that he shall see the Christ. This
résumé of contents reveals that the birth stories in Matthew and Luke are the
principal sources. This nameless author
has filled in Mary’s early years.
Considerable ingenuity is displayed in braiding into the purely
imaginative story many biblical touches.
Attempts to see this as the earlier source of the stories in Matthew and
Luke are absurd.
That the story as we now have it is all the product of
one author is most unlikely. The several
abrupt transitions and gaps in the narrative suggest that at least two original
narratives have been woven together; hypotheses of an Apocryphon of Joseph and
also one of Zacharias have been offered.
Touches from folklore are clearly to be seen. These suggest a familiarity on the part of
the teller or tellers of this tale with popular legend and tradition; that the
author knows stories about Isis and vestal virgins is entirely likely.
It is widely recognized that the story was composed in
Greek in the 100s B.C., very probably in Egypt.
Versions from the Greek have survived in Syriac, Armenian, and Coptic. Although early pronounced heretical, the
Protevangelium of James has had a very wide influence, and has been the
inspiration of many of the masterpieces of such Italian painters as Giotto,
Raphael, and Titian.
JAMES THE GREAT, ACTS OF. One
of the many romances seen as apocryphal descriptions of the acts of an
apostle. This one purports to set forth
the adventures and martyrdom of James the son of Zebedee. It now exists only in Latin, as part of the
Apostolic History of Adbias; it is possible that there was an earlier Greek
original. James is shown to be in
constant conflict with the magician Hermogenes and his disciple Philetus. He finally converts Philetus and empowers him
to perform miracles. After a dispute
with the Jews, James is beheaded, together with a scribe named Josias, whom
James converts and pardons. The book is
a common-place tale of magical wonders, influenced by the earlier legend of
Peter.
NTA-11
JESUS, WISDOM OF.
A Gnostic writing discovered
at Chenoboskion, in the form of a dialogue between the resurrected Jesus and
twelve disciples and seven holy women.
JOHN, ACTS OF. Commonly regarded the earliest of the apocryphal
Acts, this work contains a series of wonder stories, miracles, and discourses
of the apostle John in Asia Minor. The
work purports to be an eyewitness account of the events and scenes
described. Leucius came to be regarded
as the author of the whole series of five Acts, including this one, which the
Manichaeans substituted for the canonical Acts.
It is commonly dated some time after 150 A.D.
One list says that it
contains 2,500 lines, which is slightly less than the canonical Acts. About two-thirds of it has survived; the
beginning is now lost. The first long
episode recounts many romantic and interesting happenings in Ephesus. In all the stories a very strong ascetic tone
of hostility to marriage and everything sexual is ever-present.
The Docetic emphasis is most clearly
revealed in the long discourse in which John tells of his early contacts with
Jesus. In the account of the
Transfiguration a most belabored attempt is made to dwell on Jesus’ changing
appearance and fading from sight. It was
strangely interrupted by the detail that Jesus had tweaked John’s beard so
vigorously that John had suffered pain for 30 days. There is also an account of the dance which
Jesus had at that occasion taught them.
When John fled the Crucifixion,
Jesus appeared to John on the Mount of Olive, and preached a sermon. “Having therefore beheld, brethren, the grace
of the Lord and his kindly affection toward us, let us worship him as those
unto whom he has shown mercy, not with our fingers, nor our mouths, nor our
tongues, nor with any part whatsoever of our body, but with the disposition of
our soul.”
The remaining section in Greek tells
of John’s peaceful death. A trench is dug at his command; he lies down upon
garments, thanks God for having kept him, “untouched by union with a woman,”
and said “Peace be with you, brethren,” he “gave up his spirit rejoicing.” Someone added later that on the next day the
grave was found empty. There were many
additions to the first draft. In the
Latin version other stories are given—carefully purged of their heretical
(Gnostic) notes, but with a very strong condemnation of wealth and of the folly
of those who prized it. There are many
stories about John, some of which found their way in the Acts of John. No one is certain as to the exact content of
this book’s first draft.
Despite its obvious unorthodox
representation of the physical nature of Jesus, this writing has exerted a real
influence upon both Christian literature and art. It gives a firsthand view of certain Gnostic
teachings, and throws light upon the early practice of a “eucharist for the
dead.” John is simply the vehicle chosen
for the expression of the writer’s views.
It is possible that the later writer chose John to be the mouthpiece of
the particular views that the apostle had traditionally attacked.
JOHN, ACTS OF, BY PROCHORUS. A Greek romance of the 400s A.D., it is quite
different from the Acts of John mentioned above. It recounts the wondrous deeds of John during
his 15 years on Patmos. Prochorus is a
reflection of the Jerusalem deacon whom tradition has as one of the 70 and
later bishop of Nicomedia.
JOHN, APOCRYPHON OR SECRET BOOK
OF. A Gnostic work from the 100s A.D.; it was
refuted by the early church father Irenaeus.
JOHN,
GOSPEL OF. The last of the four canonical gospels in the New
Testament; according to tradition it was written by John the son of Zebedee.
John
was highly valued in ancient times as the “spiritual gospel. There has been much controversy about its
authorship, place of origin, theological affiliations and background, and
historical value. Even if it were not
the work of an apostle, it would not follow that its testimony was inferior to
that of the other gospels.
NTA-12
There
are possible echoes of John in isolated passages of I Clement and Barnabas, but
the first clear traces of John are in the epistles of Ignatius of Antioch (110
A.D.) and in the writings of Justin Martyr.
He knew of more than one gospel, and attributes Revelation to John, but
does not attribute any gospel to him.
The earliest mentions of John of Ephesus are in connection with Polycarp
and Papias. Polycarp told Irenaeus of
“his association with John and with the others who had seen the Lord.” The John whom Papias and Polycarp knew was
presumably an elder, rather than the apostle.
About
the time of Justin, the apocryphal Acts of John identifies the Beloved Disciple
with John the son of Zebedee, but denies that he wrote a gospel. Around 160 A.D. the Valentinian Gnostic
Heracleon wrote a commentary on John. He and the church father Origen agree
that John the son of Zebedee wrote the gospel.
Around 180 A.D., Theophilus of Antioch quotes the first verse of John’s
gospel. The church father Irenaeus
identifies the author as the Beloved Disciple, and adds that he published the
gospel at Ephesus.
Polycrates,
bishop of Ephesus, describes the Ephesian John as having been a priest who wore
the petalon (the gold plate attached
the high priest’s turban). It is
difficult to see how Polycrates description of him can be applied to a former
Galilean fisherman. The view that John
was the work of the son of Zebedee was firmly established in the following
century, and it remains to be seen how this accords with the gospel’s evidence.
JOHN
THE EVANGELIST, BOOK OF. A writing used by the Albigenses and commonly regarded
as stemming from the Bobomiles, in the form of a series of questions asked by
“John your brother and partaker in tribulation,” and answered by Jesus. This pattern is similar to other Gnostic
writings. This writing is not only of
the same general pattern but evidences the same dualism characteristic of both
Gnostics and Marcion. John the Baptist
was sent by Satan; Baptism and apparently the Lord’s Supper are valueless. This curious little late edition of standard
Gnostic theology ends with an account of the Last Judgment so conventional and
free from heresy as to suggest it has been severely tampered with.
JOSEPH, PRAYER OF. A Jewish apocalypse, which no longer survives except in fragments preserved in Greek quotations by Origen. Jacob is represented as pre-existing in the form of an angel, Israel. In our fragments he alone is the speaker. The work seems to represent a tendency among Jews in the early Christian centuries to exalt Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob above all angels. It has been thought that the Prayer of Joseph was decidedly anti-Christian, but this seems unlikely because of the respect in which Origen held it. It must have been anti-Christian to some extent at least.
JOSEPH
HUSBAND OF MARY. The husband of the mother of Jesus. This Joseph is mentioned only a few times in
the New Testament and almost exclusively in the birth and childhood stories of
Matthew and Luke. In the Gospel of John,
Jesus is twice said to be the “son of Joseph.”
Since Joseph appears as the father or foster father of Jesus and the
references to him drop out early in the gospel narratives, it is a likely
inference that he died before Jesus’ ministry began.
The Book of James (100s A.D.) and the History of Joseph
the Carpenter or Death of Joseph (300s) present Joseph as a widower with
children at the time he espoused Mary.
The Gospel of Thomas (100s) also presents fanciful incidents concerning
Jesus and Joseph.
JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA.
The apocryphal Assumption of
the Virgin is ascribed to Joseph of Arimathea. In it he reports that he cared
for Mary after Christ’s ascension until her death. This version is in Latin.
JOSEPH
THE CARPENTER, HISTORY OF. An Egyptian glorification of Joseph, not earlier than
the 300s A.D. and heavily indebted to the Protevangelium of James (See James, Protevangelium of). It purports to relate the life and death of
Joseph and the eulogy spoken over him by Jesus.
NTA-13
L
LAODICEANS,
EPISTLE TO THE. A short letter purporting to have been written by Paul
and occasioned solely by the reference in Colossians 4 to the letter from Laodicea
The
date of the composition is unknown; it was in existence in the 300s A.D. By the 500s it was widely accepted as Pauline
and is found in many Latin manuscripts.
Until the 1400s its presence in Latin manuscripts is about as common as
its absence. Gregory the Great regarded
it as authentic but not part of the group of Paul’s letters accepted by the
church; although very short, it still had some use. It is found not only in many Latin Bibles but
also in many of those written in the local languages, such as the German Bible. It was added before the middle of the 1400s
in two distinct English versions.
Although it exists only in Latin, and has been regarded as having been
first written in that language, its frequent Greek-like phrases and the occasional
warnings against it by the Greek fathers combine to make the hypothesis of a
Greek original possible.
The
writing itself is simply a collection of short unconnected Pauline phrases
lifted bodily from the canonical letters.
The little letter or 247 Latin words expresses thanks for their
perseverance in his (Christ’s) works, warns them against heresy, advises them
that it is God who works in them and that “the saints salute them.” It concludes that this letter should be read
to the people of Colossae. As Erasmus
said, “There is no argument which will more effectively convince that this is
not by Paul than the epistle itself.”
LENTULUS,
EPISTLE OF. A medieval writing from some time in the 1200s-1400s
describing the physical appearance of Christ.
It is commonly in the form of a short letter to the Roman senate by
Lentulus, a Roman official in Judea. It
may well be a written description of one of the many traditional
portraits. The tradition that Luke
painted many such is very ancient.
M
MANI. Founder
of the religion Manicheism. Born in
Babylonia of Iranian origin, Mani live 216-77.
He is the author of religious scriptures and letters addressed to his
followers. Until a few years before the
end of his life Mani enjoyed the official favor of the Sassanian ruler Shapur I
(239-270).
MANICHEISM. The
religious movement initiated by Mani. The sources of documentation for the Manichean
faith are of a great variety: testimonies of the Greek and Roman church
fathers; Christian Syriac chroniclers; and Persian and Arabic Muslim authors;
supplemented by the discovery of original Manichean texts in Chinese Turkistan
and the Egyptian Fayum. The Manichean
canon seems to have consisted of the following scriptures, originally written
in Aramaic: the “(Great Living) Gospel”; the “Treasure of Life”; the
“Historical Treatise”; the “(Book of) Secrets”; the “Book of the Giants”; the
“Epistles”; and the “Psalms” and “Prayers.”
NTA-14
In
the beginning of the 200s A.D., western Iran was the meeting place of many
indigenous or imported creeds. These
included Zorastrianism, Greek philosophy and science, Judaism, Christianity,
and various gnostic philosophy. It seems
even likely that Brahmins and Buddhist monks exercised some influence, although
the main center of their activities lay naturally, in eastern Iran. Labeling such Manichean doctrinal elements as
the belief in transmigration, duality of Light and Darkness, and the important
role assigned to the Paraclete and Jesus, as borrowings from Buddhism,
Zoroastrianism, and Christianity is a self-evident truth.
Manicheism
claims to be a universal religion. Mani, the “seal of the prophets” such as the
patriarchs, Buddha, Zoroaster, and Jesus, considered himself the supreme and final
revelator. It is a missionary religion
and a religion of the book. In order to
explain to humans their condition in this world, Mani conceived a grandiose
cosmological myth: two antagonistic substances existed, the one Good and the
other Evil, or Light and Darkness, or God and Matter. By means of an attack executed by the forces
of darkness, the unmixed state of separation between the two principles is
followed by a state of mixture. The
operation of delivering the light particles and transferring them back to their
place of origin lasts for the duration of the world.
This move is counteracted by Matter,
which creates the first couple of human beings: Adam and Eve. Adam’s eyes were opened by a savior,
“Jesus-splendor,” to the divine origin of his soul; but Adam’s offspring
continues procreating in accordance with the design of Matter. The third moment of the Manichean myth is to
be inaugurated by a series of upheavals.
After a last Judgment the world will burn for a period of 1,486
years. The last light particles will be
reunited with the light world, the material world will end, and darkness will
be restricted to its own domain.
From this bare outline of the myth of the
world’s origins, it will appear that understanding of the dual nature of
whatever exists and of humankind opens the road to human salvation. Manichean ethics prohibit sex, killing, meat,
wine, possessions, sowing and harvesting.
Rigorous observation of these rules is required only of the elite; the
rules are somewhat relaxed for other members of the community, who cannot
escape from reincarnation. The elite
shall return to the Paradise of Light. There
is no way to give a fair estimate of the number of followers of Manichean faith
for the almost twelve centuries it was active.
The future Saint Augustine was among its members.
MARCION,
GOSPEL OF. A gospel used by Marcion, a highly influential
reformer in the 100s and ardent Pauline Christian. This gospel formed for him and his many
followers a canon of scripture in place of the Old Testament. It is commonly regarded as a version of the
canonical Gospel of Luke, stripped of its additions and Jewish interpretations,
such as the birth story. To what extent
Marcion’s text differed from the one he inherited is not easily said.
Frequent
guesses as to why Marcion selected Luke have been made. Only Mark and Luke would seem genuine enough to
Marcion, although they were adulterated by Jews and Jewish Christians. It is likely that in Marcion’s Pontus, Luke
would have been the gospel most commonly used.
Some scholars think of Marcion’s gospel as an “early Luke” which was
revised and combined with other material to form our Luke-Acts.
MARY,
BIRTH (OR DESCENT) OF. A Gnostic and anti-Semitc writing, known only from an
early-church reference in Epiphanius.
The reason Zacharias had first been struck dumb and subsequently
murdered was that he had seen the God of the Jews in the form of an ass; the
reason the high priest was commanded by Moses always to wear bells on his
garment was to warn this divinity to hide lest his form be seen.
MARY,
GOSPEL OF THE BIRTH OF. A Latin infancy gospel which repeats substantially
that part of the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew which tells of the birth and life of
the Virgin Mary.
Mary
was born at Nazareth, of the stock and family of David. The three-year old Virgin went up all the
altar steps “in such a way that you would think she had attained full age.” After the annunciation to Mary the author
quits his source and moves on to those stories “which are held to be less
worthy of being narrated,” namely the return of Joseph to Mary after a
three-month absence, “intending to marry the virgin.” He found her pregnant, suspected fornication,
was corrected by an angel of the Lord, and took her as his wife. The traditional ascription of this writing to
Jerome is utterly without foundation, and its influence upon medieval art is
quite out of proportion to its own merits.
NTA-15
MATTHEW,
MARTYRDOM OF. A late, long-winded, and very confused account of the
martyrdom of Matthew at the hands of the king of the Anthropophagi (cannibals).
The account is clearly dependent upon the Acts of Andrew and Matthais.
Matthew has replaced Matthias in the older story. A church is in the land with Plato as its
bishop. The account is a loosely
strung-together tale of Matthew’s arrival at the city, his planting of a rod,
its speedy growth into a tree; the exorcism of the demon Asmodeus from the wife
and family of the king; Matthew’s martyrdom by fire; the burial of Matthew in
an iron coffin at sea; the reappearance of Matthew on the sea, with two men in
shining apparel and led by Christ in the form of a child; the emergence from
the sea of the cross and the iron casket; the long-delayed conversion of the
king, his ordination under the name of Matthew, to become the bishop of the
city. It is simply a hodge-podge of
wonder tales appropriated from earlier sources, with no interest shown in
either religion or dogma.
MATTHIAS, ACTS OF ANDREW AND. See Andrew and Matthias, Acts of.
MATTHIAS,
TRADITIONS OF. A work known only from Clement of Alexandria. Origen mentions a Gospel According to Matthias
that strays from acceptable gospel tradition.
Occasionally the Traditions and the Gospel have been considered the same
writing, but our knowledge is too limited to be certain.
MESSOS,
APOCALYPSE OF. A Gnostic work in Coptic, discovered at Chenoboskion
in 1946. It is thought to be one of the
five apocalypses which Plotinus is reported by Porphyry to have combated. Messos was probably a Gnostic seer or
prophet.
MINISTRY,
CHRISTIAN. Few subjects in the history of the church have
received such disputed interpretations as to the origin and development of the
ministry. This is due to the meager and
contradictory notices on the subject in the New Testament, and to the
conflicting theological views respecting the church’s nature, and the necessity
or expediency of certain forms of ministry.
Involved in these disputes have been questions concerning the several
sources of ministerial authority, the manner of selection and ordination of
ministers, and the transmission of ministerial authority to succeeding
generations of the church’s ongoing life and mission.
The
letter of the Roman church to the church in Corinth (95 A.D.), known as the
First Epistle of Clement, is particularly concerned with the deposition by the
Corinthians of their bishops and deacons.
The writer condemns the removal from office of faithful servants of the
Lord. It is not clear whether the author
of I Clement employs “elders” in a technical sense, as synonymous with
“bishops” and “deacons,” or whether he is thinking merely of men of a past and
older generation. None of the surviving
documents of the post-apostolic age provides sufficient material to explain the
emergence of the threefold order of bishops, elders, and deacons. The letters of Ignatius were written before
117 A.D. and were the first clear witness to the custom of a single bishop’s
presiding as authoritative leader over the entire Christian community in any
one city or place. The first explicit description of a ministerial succession
from the apostles occurs in the Letter of Clement, but the same idea is
implicit in the Pastoral letters.
MURATORIAN
FRAGMENT. A fragment of a corrupt Latin manuscript comprising
the greater part of a list of the Christian writings accepted as canonical by
someone probably at Rome near the end of the 200s A.D.
NTA-16
N
NAZARENES,
GOSPEL OF THE. An Aramaic Targum (commentary) of the canonical Gospel
of Matthew. The early church father
Jerome has caused great confusion by calling it the “Gospel According to the
Hebrews,” which is actually an entirely different book.
Jerome seems to have first heard of this Aramaic Targum from
Apollinaris. Jerome’s many citations
from this gospel are from the commentaries of Apollinaris. Jerome insisted that he had translated it
into Greek and Latin. Most of the
citations from Jerome which he claimed to be from the Gospel According to the
Hebrews are more safely ascribed to the Gospel of the Nazarenes. Many variants of this gospel are now
preserved as marginal readings in the so-called Zion manuscripts.
NICODEMUS,
GOSPEL OF. A title ascribed since the
1300s to the Acts of Pilate. See Pilate, Acts of.
O
OXYRYNCHUS
SAYINGS OF JESUS. Four fragments of papyrus and parchment found in
Oxyrhynchus. The ancient site of
Oxyrhynchus is 200 km south of Cairo and 16 km west of Nile. A treasure chest of ancient texts, dating
from the first to the 800s A.D. have been found between 1897-1941. Of the 18 volumes found, four small and badly
mutilated volumes contained sayings purporting to be from Jesus.
The first of these was discovered in 1897. It is a fragment of the leaf of a papyrus
codex containing 7 or 8 sayings. They
appear as an unconnected series of separate sayings, preceded by “Jesus
saith.” The next volume of Jesus’
sayings was discovered in 1903. It is a
badly preserved fragment of a papyrus roll and contains 42 lines written on the
left side of a survey list of various pieces of land. Only the first half of each short line is
decipherable. Various editors have
attempted to fill in the gaps; it is not surprising that no two editors agree
in the final results.
The
third piece is a broken leaf of a papyrus roll, apparently quite distinct from
the last one found; it appears to be a sort of free adaptation of Luke 11. The fourth fragment was discovered in
1905. It is a parchment leaf of a tiny
codex, written on both sides and containing 45 lines in a very tiny hand. The first 7 lines are apparently the
conclusion of a speech by Jesus in Jerusalem to his disciples. Then follows an animated conversation between
Jesus and a pharisaic chief priest, regarding the proper way to achieve true
purity. Jesus assured him that bathing
in the pool of David was useless. “I and
my disciples . . . have been washed in living waters which came down from God
out of heaven.” Since there seems no way
of identifying the source, guesses are at best futile as to which non-canonical
gospel it is from.
Evelyn
White argues that they are parts of two copies of the same collection, which he
identifies as the Gospel According to the Hebrews. This is probably attempting too precise an
identification. The most that can be
safely said is that they evidence a clear knowledge of and dependence upon the
canonical gospels. A date in the 200s
for all 4 fragments would seem to be the most likely.
NTA-17
P
PAUL,
ACTS OF. One of the earliest of a long series of romances which
attempt to provide the information missing in Acts. This work contains the widely circulated
story of Paul and Thecla, the apocryphal correspondence between Paul and
Corinth, and the legendary Martyrdom or Passion of Paul.
References
to the existence of such a book have long been known; at the end of the 1800s
its original content was determined.
Its earliest mention was by Tertullian, who strongly disapproved of it
as encouraging women to preach and baptize.
Other early fathers who mention it are Hippolytus, Origen, Eusebius, and
Je-rome. The nature of the work together
with Tertullian’s identification of the author, makes probable that it was
produced by an orthodox Christian around 160-170 A.D. In the early 1900s a scholar argued that the
se-parate writings of the Acts of Paul and Thecla, Corinthian correspondence,
and the Martyrdom of Paul were all parts of a single writing.
As
reconstructed from the clues provided by the Coptic manuscript, the original
form seems to have been substantially as follows: In the Antioch of Asia Minor,
Paul restores to life the son of Panchares and Phila. Then follows the famous episode of Paul and
Thecla. Thecla, a Greek girl in Iconium,
hears Paul’s preaching. Impressed by
his insistence on the importance of chastity, she breaks, off her engagement,
visits Paul in prison, engages in missionary work, miraculously escapes death,
then baptizes herself. Later she goes to
Myra, rejoins Paul, reports her baptism, and is sent back by him to Iconium to
preach.
To
what extent this legend was produced as a direct correction of Paul’s views
with regard to women as teachers is perhaps uncertain, although far from
unlikely. The romance became very
popular, and Thecla became by far the most famous virgin martyr. Then follows episodes in Myra, in Sidon, and
in an unidentified place where he is condemned to the mines and restores to
life a Christian convert. It is probable
that at this point the episode of the lion who caressed him in the Ephesian
arena occurred. In the Greek fragment
that still exists the lion speaks to Paul, and Paul asks in return if it is not
the same lion whom he has earlier baptized.
From
Ephesus, Paul goes to Philippi, where he is imprisoned. The Corinthians write him to report that two
men, Simon and Cleobius, are overthrowing the faith in Corinth
The
Coptic text from this point on is very fragmentary and obscure. In the Greek fragment Paul meets Jesus
walking on the water, and is urged by him to continue to Rome. Paul restores to life Nero’s cupbearer,
Patroclus and converts him. Paul is
arrested, tried before Nero, beheaded, and later appears to terrify this wicked
monarch. The famous Martyrdom exists in
two Greek manuscripts, an incomplete Latin version, and in Syriac, Coptic,
Ethiopic, and Slavonic versions. The
only sources for this orthodox expansion and completion of the life Paul were
a knowledge of the canonical Acts and of Asia Minor , and a fertile imagination; the work appears to have enjoyed wide
favor in the early church.
PAUL,
ACTS OF ANDREW AND. See Andrew and Paul, Acts of.
PAUL,
ACTS OF PETER AND. See Peter and Paul, Acts of.
NTA-18
PAUL,
APOCALYPSE OF. A late but widely circulated apocalypse, which
purports to set forth the experiences of Paul when he was “caught up to the
third heaven.” Augustine is contemptuous
of those who had forged a writing full of fables regarding the unutterable
words which Paul had heard. In addition
to the Greek, it is preserved in a full Latin text. It is commonly dated in the last years of the
300s A.D. With Paul’s reference to the
“man in Christ” who was snatched up into the third heaven and heard things that
cannot be told, and the Apocalypse of Peter as a model, the present apocalypse
was composed.
The
writing falls into seven parts: the discovery of the book in a marble chest
underground at Tarsus; the Lord’s command to Paul to preach repentance to the
children of men; a lengthy account of the function and daily reports of the
“angel of every man and woman, which protect and keep them”; Paul’s vision from
on high of the fates of one righteous and one sinful man; his first view of
paradise, his meeting with Enoch the scribe; his tour of hell and his vision of
the torments of the damned. This section concludes with Paul’s plea for mercy
for them. The Son of God appears, grants
them a respite of one day and night each week forever.
Here
the document would seem properly to have ended, but in all our copies there is
a seventh section in the form of a second vision of paradise. At this point, it is futile to attempt any
reconstruction of a book. Perhaps the
earliest form of this work ended with this elaboration of Paul’s cryptic word
in II Corinthians 12.
PAUL,
PASSION OF. A revision in Latin of the original Martyrdom of
Paul. This later version adds several
stories, notably that of the handkerchief given to Paul by Plautilla, and a
paragraph about Seneca’s profound admiration of Paul.
PAUL, PASSION OF PETER AND. See Peter and Paul, Passion of.
PAUL
AND SENECA, EPISTLES OF. A series of 14 Latin letters between Paul and the
Roman philosopher Seneca, who is deeply impressed by the majesty of Paul’s
thought and the clear evidence of his divine inspiration. Since this correspondence was known to
Jerome, it cannot be later than the 300s A.D.
The precise reason for its composition is uncertain. The letters were very influential in
establishing Seneca at an early date as a “Christian.”
PERDITION (בליעל (beh lee yah al),
injury, destruction; apwleia (ah po lee ah), destruction)
In New Testament
Apocrypha, “son of perdition” refers to Satan and to false prophets.
PETER,
ACTS OF. One of a long series of romances devoted largely to
Peter’s activity in Rome. Eusebius
mentions this writing, along with others attributed to Peter, as unknown in
catholic tradition. A large section of this writing, which was certainly
composed in Greek and probably before 200 A.D., is preserved in a Latin
manuscript. The parts this manuscript includes are: Paul’s departure from Rome
to Spain; Simon Magus’ arrival in Rome, which causes all but Narcissus and six
devout women to fall away from faith; Peter’s departure from Jerusalem and his
victory over Simon; and his martyrdom, in consequence of the wrath of Agrippa
and a friend of Caesar. The Martyrdom is
also preserved in two Greek manuscripts, and in several other languages.
The versions other than the Latin contain several other episodes,
including the story of Peter’s paralyzed daughter, and the similar story of the
gardener’s daughter, which is mentioned in the Letter of Titus. These two stories suggest that the original
form of the Acts of Peter may well have carried a more outspoken attack on
marriage. Traces of an ascetic nature
are present in the parts known to us, but the present form of the writing is
far less insistent at this point than is either the Acts of John or the Acts of
Paul.
The
purely imaginative expansion and elaboration of the materials from the New
Testament as we know it today is particularly evident in this writing, which
seeks to explain what led him to go to Rome Samaria
PETER,
APOCALYPSE OF. The earliest of
the apocalypses attributed to the apostles, reported to have been read annually
in the 400s in some church of Palestine on Good Friday. The Muratorian “Canon” lists it after the
Revelation of John. Clement of
Alexandria appears to have regarded it as canonical, but Jerome and Eusebius
list it as uncanonical. At any rate, its
use in later apocrypha indicates its wide popularity.
NTA-19
In 1886 a substantial Greek fragment of this piece of apocrypha was
discovered in a tomb at Akhmim in upper Egypt.
The Greek fragment opens abruptly toward the end of a discourse of the
risen Lord, who then shows them “one of our righteous brethren that had
departed out of the world, that we might see what manner of men they are in
their form. . .” The vision is clearly
dependent upon the canonical account of the Transfiguration. Then follows a second vision: “And I saw also another place over against
that one, very squalid”; the various torments suffered by sinners are then
described in full detail.
This
writing, with its torments fitting the ones suggested by the canonical
Revelation, is not later than the middle of the 100s. It is probable that it is earlier than the
Gospel of Peter, which probably made extensive use of it. There is a Coptic writing also entitled
Apocalypse of Peter, which seems to have nothing in common with the one described
here.
PETER,
GOSPEL OF. A passion gospel, current in Syria Egypt
This writing was known to us through the preservation by Eusebius of a
portion of a refutation of it by Serapion, who charges that the writing was
composed by the Docetists. A
considerable fragment of this writing was found in a tomb in Upper Egypt. This fragment recounts the crucifixion of
Jesus as due entirely to the hostility of the Jews, and that the Lord cried out
“aloud saying, ‘My power, my power, thou hast forsaken me.” Then follows a description of the descent of
two figures from heaven who entered the tomb and brought Jesus out.
The fragment closes with: “But I,
Simon Peter, and Andrew my brother, took our nets and went unto the sea; and
there was with us Levi the son of Alphaeus.”
Dependence
upon all four of the canonical gospels is unmistakable. The variations from the canonical accounts
are all of the nature of interpretation.
To what extent the present fragment represents the original Gospel of
Peter it is hard to say. The manifest
use of the fourfold gospel would make any date before 125. The most probable date is the 220s.
PETER,
PASSION OF. A late revision in Latin of the Martyrdom of
Peter. The Passion of Peter has been
attributed to Linus, Peter’s successor as bishop of Rome; it follows the
traditional Martyrdom, but adds some details, by naming the jailers, and
describing a complicated vision at the time of Peter’s crucifixion.
PETER,
PREACHING OF. An early handbook of mission preaching, attributed to
Peter; it is dismissed by Eusebius.
Clement of Alexandria
This little writing would seem to have been a forerunner of Christian
explanations. Origen also knew a
Teaching of Peter, which contained the word: “I am no bodiless spirit.” The detailed warning against the worship of
animals, would suggest Egypt as a likely source of origin. This little booklet apparently had but little
circulation.
PETER,
SLAVONIC ACTS OF. A late and grotesque romance of some of Peter’s
experiences en route to and in Rome, and culminating in his martyrdom. During his voyage to Rome, Peter purchases a
child for the ship’s captain. The child
performs many miracles in Rome. When
Nero arrests Peter, the child appears to rebuke him. Peter is crucified head downward. The child appears again; Peter forgives his
enemies and the child at last reveals himself as Jesus.
NTA-20
PETER
AND ANDREW, ACTS OF. A short sequel to the flashy Acts of Andrew and
Matthias. Andrew is carried by a cloud
from the land of the cannibals to the mountain where Peter is preaching. Jesus appears and bids Peter and Andrew go to
the land of the barbarians; this they do.
A skeptical man named Onesiphorus is convinced by the miracle of a camel
going through the eye of a needle. He is
baptized, together with 1,000 other converts.
A now penitent wanton woman makes lavish gifts including her own house
for a monastery for virgins.
There is a change in style and emphasis
in these later Acts from that in the five principal and apocryphal romances. The latter suggested the
possibilities of edifying fiction outside the range of the canonical Acts. What we have in these acts is a welter of
wonder stories which are seemingly the sole concern and interest of the
writers.
PETER
AND PAUL, ACTS OF. A writing which comes down to us only in Greek and is
essentially the same as the Passion of Peter and Paul. In this version Paul comes to Rome from the
island of Gaudomelete. Paul’s friend the
shipmaster, who like Paul is bald, is mistaken for Paul; he is beheaded by the
local toparchs, and his head is sent to Nero.
This version of the voyage to Rome is heavily dependent upon the New
Testament Acts.
PETER
AND PAUL, PASSION OF. A comparatively late and thoroughly orthodox writing
in both Latin and Greek, recounting the close relationship and harmony between
Peter and Paul, their continued and successful opposition to Simon Magus, and
their subsequent martyrdoms. It is not
to be dated before the 400s.
PETER
AND THE TWELVE DISCIPLES, ACTS OF. A Gnostic apocryphon discovered in 1946 at
Chenoboskion in Upper Egypt.
PHILIP,
ACTS OF. One of several romances, not earlier than the 300s or
400s, purporting to chronicle the destinies of those apostles who hand not been
treated in the earlier corpus of apocryphal Acts. Attention is paid to the adventures and
miracles of Philip and his martyrdom by crucifixion head down ward at
Hierpolis. The Greek version has the
first nine acts and the martyrdom, which circulated separately in several
versions.
PHILIP,
GOSPEL OF. A gospel forged “in the name of Philip the holy disciple”
and used by the Egyptian Gnostics (e.g.
“The Lord revealed unto me what the soul must say as it goes up into
heaven, and how it must answer each of the powers above.”). It reflects the popular Gnostic notion that
the sparks of the divine must be collected and freed from their defiling
contact with the world of matter. In the
Pistis Sophia this gospel may be
indicated in the statement that it was Philip who wrote down the revelation
given by Jesus to his disciples. Clement
of Alexandria states that the Marcionites considered Philip an enemy of
marriage. These references suggest that
the writing was current in the 200s, and perhaps even in the late 100s.
PILATE, PONTIUS
(PilatoV) The
Roman Procurator of Judea 26-36 A.D., and hence the judge in the trial and
execution of Jesus.
Certain
apocryphal writings increase the legend both in extent and in tone. Pilate changes from being regarded neutrally
or with some hostility and emerges rather as a hero and even as a Christian. The Gospel of Peter suggests that Pilate had
withdrawn entirely from the trial proceedings against Jesus. A certain work about Pilate is known as the
Gospel of Nicodemus. Most scholars see
in the Gospel of Nicodemus a work of the 300s or 400s. Tertullian speaks of a report from Pilate to
the emperor. There is also the Letter of
Pilate to Herod and Herod to Pilate; these are appended to the Gospel of
Nicodemus. Pilate’s wife is unnamed in
the New Testament; in later literature she acquires the name of Procula.
PILATE,
ACTS OF. A passion gospel, not earlier than the middle of the
300s A.D. Part I is an account of the
trial of Jesus before Pilate and of his crucifixion, and the subsequent acts of
the Jewish Sanhedrin, which led to positive proofs of the resurrection and ascension. Part II is an account by two eyewitnesses,
who themselves returned from the land of the dead, of Christ’s descent to hell
and rescue of those there held captive.
Part I is an imaginative amplification of the accounts of the trial,
passion, and resurrection of Jesus. The
present account simply amplifies the New Testament’s idea that Pilate’s act was
forced upon him, against his better judgment.
Joseph of Arimathea and Veronica are the most notable witnesses. When Jesus enters the Praetorium, Pilate’s
attendants show him the most elaborate respect, but the imperial standards
miraculously bow before him. At Jesus’
death Pilate shows the deepest contrition.
NTA-21
A priest, a rabbi, and a Levite witness
to the Resurrection and the Ascension. A
search for the body turned up Joseph of Arimathea, who escaped a prison cell
supernaturally, through the direct action of Jesus. The earliest apparent reference to the book
is toward the end of the 300s. Thus 350
A.D. would appear a not unlikely date for its composition.
Part II is the lively and romantic
filling out of the early belief: He went
and preached to the spirits in prison.” At
the insistence of Joseph of Arimathea, two sons of Simeon write out their
amazing experience. They had died but
now are alive once more and in a position to record their visit to the
underworld. When Jesus arrived, a dazzling light suddenly blazed out to the
delight of the waiting saints; the arrival of Satan in glee to report to Hades
his new, august victim. Jesus handed
Satan over to an outraged Hades, who had been bested once again. A cross was set up; Christ and the saints
ascended to heaven. Nicodemus and Joseph
pass on the word to Pilate, and he includes it in the public book of his
judgment hall.
Opinions
differ as the relative age of parts I and II.
A prologue to the work claims that the translator had discovered the
work in Hebrew, as Nicodemus had written it, and had translated it into Greek
in the year 425. Part I is in many Greek
manuscripts; Part II is found in many much later manuscripts. Part I is also in Coptic Syriac, and
Armenian. The whole work is found in two
Latin versions, which exerted a very wide influence, being regarded in many
circles as a fifth witness to the Passion.
In the course of time many appendixes came to be joined to this
work. One is a letter, purporting to be
from Pilate to Claudius, telling of the trial; it was also inserted in Acts of
Peter and Paul.
PISTIS
SOPHIA (pistiV sofia, faith-wisdom) A Gnostic treatise recounting the instruction
given by Jesus, in the 12th year after his resurrection. In its present form it consists of four
books, but Book IV is commonly regarded a quite separate work.
In books I-III, to be dated in the late 200s, Jesus
gives instruction about the fate, fall and eventual redemption of Pistis
Sophia, a spiritual being of the world of aeons. The writing is one of the comparatively few
documents to be preserved which were written by Gnostics themselves. The writing contains five of the Odes of
Solomon and many references to the two books of Jeu (Mystery of the Great
Logos).
POLYCARP,
EPISTLE OF. A letter addressed to the church in Philippi by Bishop
Polycarp, probably dating not later than Trajan’s reign (117 A.D.); the
original Greek text of the letter is only partially preserved.
The letter had two purposes. One
concerned Ignatius, who had passed through Philippi on his way to martyrdom at
Rome. Polycarp requested information
about his fate, and passed on Ignatius’ request, for delegations from the
churches to visit the distraught church of Ignatius. The other matter had to do with Polycarp’s
pastoral advice, requested by the Philippians, about one of the Philippians
presbyters, as well as sharp warnings about the Docetic heresy that denied the
reality of Christ’s humanity.
Apart
from its inherent historical value, the Epistle of Polycarp is of particular
importance for the wide range of Christian writings quoted or reflected in
it. It also shows a man of constant
study and meditation in Christian works.
He knew the Synoptic gospels and Acts.
His acquaintance with the Pauline letters was intimate; but he quoted I
Peter 14 times. Contacts with the
Pastoral letters are frequent, but it is impossible to say whether Polycarp
quoted them or the Pastorals used Polycarp.
There is no trace of Revelation in the letter and only one possible
contact with the Gospel of John.
Polycarp
was burned at the stake in Smyrna in February 155 (156?). An authentic—and
deeply moving—eyewitness account of his martyrdom still exists. This document is also generally included in
editions of the Apostolic Fathers. At
the time of his ordeal Polycarp confessed that he had been a Christian 86
years. A historian of Polycarp’s generation sees Polycarp as the outstanding
Christian leader of his generation.
POLYCARP,
MARTYRDOM OF. A letter from the church at Smyrna to the church at
Philomelium, containing what appears to be, and probably is, a contemporary description
of the martyrdom of Polycarp. The date
of the martyrdom itself is usually set in 155 A.D.
NTA-22
PSEUDO-MATTHEW,
GOSPEL OF. A Latin infancy gospel from no earlier than the 700s
A.D.; the earliest surviving manuscripts are of the 1000s A.D. It is not an original work, but is the
re-scripting of the Protevangelium of James and the Gospel of Thomas.
Chapters 1-17 reproduce the
Protevangelium, with some alterations.
Mary is brought up in the temple, and is 14 at the time of her
betrothal. Abiathar the priest seeks to
obtain Mary as the bride for his son.
Chapters 18-24 are concerned with the flight to Egypt and a long list
of fantastic miracles. The source of
this material is unknown. Chapters 25-42
reproduce the Gospel of Thomas with some changes. Several additional stories are given: Jesus
at the age of 8 goes along the road to Jericho; enters a cave, and is then
accompanied by lions across the Jordan.
The family eventually moves to Capernaum, and Jesus restores to life a
rich man named Joseph.
This
gospel attained a great fame in the Middle Ages and was the medium through
which the far earlier stories made their contribution to later legend and art.
S
SALVATION (ישועח (yeh shoo ‘ah), deliverance, safety; גאל (gah ‘al), redeem, ransom, recover [debt];
swzein
(so tsine), save,
deliver, preserve, free; swthria (so teh ree ah), saving preservation, deliverance)
The saving or deliverance of a
person or group from spiritual destruction.
The Hebrew and Greek words which are translated in their religious
context as “salvation” actually have meanings that range from the most ordinary
and everyday sense of the word to the most profoundly theological and religious
sense. For instance, the Hebrew ga’al transforms from its original
meaning of recovering property to a word meaning “to deliver” or “to save,”
with God as go’al, the deliverer or
savior (Isaiah 41, 43, and 44).
Redemption is conceived as deliverance from adversity, oppression,
death, and captivity.
In the New Testament (NT), the
Greek sozein occurs more than 100
times; soteria is translated as
“salvation,” and is found 46 times in the NT.
“Savior” is represented by soter. It will be noted that the great majority of
uses occur in those parts of the NT which probably belong to the period after
the death of Paul. Perhaps under the
influence of Gnosticism, the title soter began
to be commonly used of Christ.
In
the 100s and 200s A.D., the Hermetic literature bears evidence of the
widespread myth of the Anthropos or Heavenly Man. A celestial light-being was cast down from
heaven, having been vanquished; he fell down to earth where his personality was
shattered into countless atomic units.
These fragments (i.e. humankind) are now imprisoned in evil matter
(i.e. our bodies). The Gnostic redeemer
comes down from heaven to save them; he is the “Heavenly Man.” He saves by imparting knowledge (gnosis) of
humankind’s real nature and by communicating the passwords by which the soul at
death can escape the planetary guardians.
Salvation consists in the re-creation of the fallen into the heavenly
person they were before they fell.
The
myth is incorporated into many of the mystery cults of the Greek world, and it
is suggested that it has likewise been incorporated into that part of
Christianity most influenced by Greek culture.
Paul’s “heavenly man,” “new man,” “perfect man” and the “Son of man” in
John’s Gospel show how Greek culture helped Christianity reinterpret the
original message of the Aramaic church.
The whole concept of a gathering into one of a fragmented humanity in
the “body” or person of the Son of man from heaven, it is argued, is a
Christianized version of the Gnostic myth.
(See also the entry in the main
section.)
SATAN (שטן, adversary;
diaboloV
(dee ab oh los),
instigator, slanderer) The archfiend; chief of the devils;
instigator of all evil; the rival of God; the Antichrist. The Hebrew root satan means primarily “obstruct, oppose” (e.g. obstructing a man’s
path; opposing in war; playing the part of an adversary).
In
Jude 9 reference is made to an altercation between Satan and the archangel
Michael for the body of Moses. In
Barnabas 4 Satan is described as “the Black One.” In the Gnostic Pistis Sophia, the fiend who presides over one of the hells is
called “the Ethiopian Ariuth.”
See also the entries in the Old Testament
Apocrypha / Intertestamental section of the Appendix and in the main section.
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SAVIOR,
DIALOGUE OF THE. A Gnostic treatise in the form of a dialogue between
Jesus and the disciples regarding the world’s creation. It was found in 1946 in Egypt, written in
Coptic.
SIBYLLINE
ORACLES. A collection of prophecies or wise sayings in Greek
verse combining elements pagan, Jewish, and Christian. Sibyl was a prophetess of Cumae. Later, there
were many “sibyls.” The collection
oracles grew from early times (500 B.C.) until the 300s A.D. and eventually
comprised 15 books. Hermas, who wrote
Shepherd of Hermas (see Hermas,
Shepherd of in New Testament Apocrypha section of the Appendix), Justin,
Clement of Alexandria, and other writers cite the letter with respect.
SILVANUS, TEACHINGS OF. A Gnostic apocryphon attributed to the
companion of Peter and Paul; discovered in 1946 in Upper Egypt.
SON
OF GOD. The somewhat confused Christology of the Shepherd of
Hermas is based entirely on the idea of Christ as Son of God; “Christ” is used
once, and “Jesus” is not used at all.
Since the slave weeded the vineyard and thus did more than he was
commanded, the owner, after consulting his beloved Son, decided that the slave
should be joint heir. God made the Holy
Spirit to dwell in the flesh of the slave, and since the flesh did not defile
the Spirit, God chose this flesh as koinonon,
companion of or sharer in the Holy Spirit.
On the other hand, the Shepherd tells
Hermas that the Son of God is not given the appearance or guise of a slave but
great power and lordship. Hermas is
taught that all flesh in which the Holy Spirit has dwelt will receive a
reward. Hermas has confused the idea of
the eternal Son of God with the adoption of Christians as scions of God. In other passages the Son of God is
identified with the law of God. The Son
in one vision is identified with a rock which is very old, because he is older
than all creation, and is a new gate; one cannot enter in to the kingdom of God
or approach the Lord except through him.
Other books of the Apostolic Fathers
emphasize the idea of Jesus as Son of God but add no new teachings. The Epistle to Diognetus, in an eloquent
passage reminiscent of Paul and John, speaks of God’s sending Christ in
gentleness and meekness, as a king might send his son.
SON OF MAN (uioV anqrwpou (whee os an thro poo), son of a human being) Mani, the founder of Manicheism, lived
in the 200s A.D. A century before that, the figure of the
Anthropos is already an important figure of Gnosticism, mostly likely drawn
from Iranian sources. Valentinus, the
first great Christian Gnostic, places Anthropos and his consort Ecclesia (“Church”)
in the fourth position of the Ogdoad, or divine hierarchy, after the
Ineffable, the Pater, and the Logos. The
apocryphal Gospel of Mary makes the First Man the fount of all existence. The
Manichean religion assigns a very important role to the Primal Man, who is the
champion of light against the powers of evil, who wound him and take part of
his nature captive. The “archons” or
evil commanders take his nature and create the world and humanity. Humans are partly archons and partly the
power of light.
The ideal or
heavenly man is feature of the Mandaean (Gnostic) religion, which was
influenced by the Manichean religion.
The Mandaeans are located in lower Mesopotamia (Iraq) and in Iran. They regard Jesus as a false messiah, and his
mother (Holy Spirit) as a demon; John the Baptist is to them a true
messiah. In the oldest portions of their
writings the hero is a redeemer, Manda d’Hayye (“knowledge of life”). He was the champion of light in its
primordial conflict. As a victorious
figure he is probably modeled on the Babylonian god Marduk. The other Mandaean redeemer, Enosh-Uthra
(“man-angel”), figures prominently in the Right Ginza, the principal Mandaean
book. He is based partly on Marcionite
ideas of Christ, and is somehow related to Jewish ideas about Adam and his
descendants, including Enosh.
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STEPHEN, REVELATION OF.
An
apocryphal apocalypse known to us by its condemnation, together with the
Apocalypse of Paul and the Apocalypse of Thomas. This work was prized by the Manichaean
heretics, and was most likely the tale told by Lucian in 415 A.D. It is a romance which survives only in
Slavonic, and it provides a background for Lucian’s narrative in the form of an
elaborate and highly fanciful expansion and amplification of the story of
Stephen, in which Saul plays a very prominent part as chief inquisitor.
SYMMACHUS. A
late 100s Greek translator of the Old Testament (OT). His translation was used by Origen for the
fourth column of his six-column comparison of OT translations. Symmachus shows acquaintance with and
dependence on Aquila and Theodotion but constitutes an almost periphrastic,
translation.
SYNAGOGUE
(ﬤנסﬨה ביﬨ (bet ha kaw nah soth), house of assemblies; term
first appeared 1-100 A.D., at the same time “synagogue” appeared; ﬤנישﬨא (kah
nee shih taw (?)), gathering; used in Aramaic versions of the Bible; sunagwgh (sin ah
gog), collecting, gathering, congregation)
T
THADDAEUS,
ACTS OF. A 400s A.D. book containing the local Edessene legends
about Thaddeus and the correspondence between Abgarus and Jesus. See Abgarus,
Epistles of Christ and, in this section.
THECLA,
ACTS OF PAUL AND. A part of Paul’s apocryphal Acts, long circulated as
an independent treatise.
THOMAS,
ACTS OF. One of a long series of
early romances and apocryphal Acts, and among the latest of the 5 principal
works of this sort, containing accounts of the travels, exploits, and miracles
of Thomas of India. Many of these
fantastic tales, with their talking animals and cures by relics of the
long-dead Thomas, are little more than the reworking of familiar biblical
stories.
The writing is the only one of its sort to have come down essentially intact. Since it consists of a series of incidents,
loosely put together, it is conceivable that it circulated in a shorter form
with the Martyrdom, in Armenian, Ethiopic, Latin, Syriac, and Greek. Copies exist in Syriac and Greek; either
could be the original.
The
commonly accepted view is that it was composed in Syriac in Edessa, by
disciples of Bardesanes. This sect had
turned the apostles of the Lord into preachers of their own impious views (e.g.
the “Hymn of the Spirit” is present only in the Syriac version.) Several Greek manuscripts show such marked
differences in the form of the concluding Martyrdom as to suggest the
possibility that here we have vestiges of the original text. Thomas is several times styled in only the
Greek text as the “twin brother of Christ”; it may be nothing more than the
result of toying with Thomas’ nickname.
To
what extent the common reference to this apocryphon as Gnostic is justified is
far from certain. Most likely the common
term “Gnostic” for this compilation is actually unwarranted. There is far less interest in proclaiming
doctrine than in braiding together a long string of wonder tales about the
ancient hero. it is distinctly ascetic.
Thomas “fasted continually, and prayed, and ate bread only, with salt,
and his drink was water, and he wore but one garment, and received nought of
any man. . .”
Thomas’ chief object in his missionary
adventures is severely restricted to the highly successful attempt to alienate
wives from husbands, sweethearts from lovers.
Sexual intercourse and covetousness are the constant concern of the
author, rather than unorthodox doctrines.
These themes were shoved to the fore in stories intended as Christian
substitutes for the popular literature. They
may well have led groups like Gnostics, Encratites, Apostolics, and
Priscillians, as well as Manicheans, to approve the writing.
NTA-25
In the Acts of Thomas, the scene opens in
Jerusalem with the apostles assembled to apportion the sections of the world in
which each is to labor. India falls to
the lot of Thomas. When he refuses,
Christ himself sells him to a merchant who chances to be in Jerusalem in search
of a carpenter for his king. En route
they stop at Andrapolis, where a wedding is under way. Thomas sings a mystic bridal hymn,
reminiscent of the Song of Songs [Solomon], which suggested that the only
proper marriage for a Christian is of the soul to Christ; the wedding is broken
off by Christ.
Thomas is directed to build a palace for
King Gundaphorus. Instead, he spends the
lavish funds on the poor and tells the angered king that a palace has been
built and awaits him in heaven. His
brother dies that night, sees the heavenly palace, is restored to life, and
tells the king. Next, a serpent murders
a woman’s lover and is forced to confess this and other evil deeds (from Adam
and Eve on). Thomas meets the colt of an
as who identifies herself as of direct descent from Balaam’s ass.
A lustful demon is exorcised and departs
in a cloud of fire and smoke. A young man murders his mistress because she will
not practice self-restraint. His hand
withers as he eats the Eucharist; Thomas restores both his hand and the
mistress’ life. The mistress describes hell in great detail, using words from the Apocalypse
of Peter. Next
a pious captain asks Thomas’ help in curing his wife and daughter, long
possessed by devils. One of four wild
asses drawing their chariot is endowed with speech and summons and banishes the
devils.
In another part of India, where the
martyrdom takes place, the wife of a wealthy courtier, is converted to
celibacy. Her husband enlists the aid of
the king. Along with the wife others,
including the king’s wife and son, are also converted. After Thomas has been warned and escapes
prison several times, the king attempts to torture, and is prevented by a
miracle. Thomas is then taken onto a
mountain, is pierced by four spears, dies, and is nobly buried by his
converts. The king is also converted,
after his demon-ridden son has been cured by dust from Thomas’ grave.
The Acts of Thomas contains sermons,
other exhortations and many mystic hymns and prayers. The most famous of these is the so-called
Hymn of the Soul. The precise meaning of
the poem is far from clear. The usual
interpretation is that it is an allegory of the soul, which, of heavenly
origin, is sent to earth to secure the pearl of price. On earth it is awakened by revelation,
secures the pearl, and returns to heaven.
Not infrequently attempts have been made to interpret the hymn as a
mystic portrayal of the Incarnation. It
is clearly not the composition of the author of the romance and is actually
quite irrelevant in its context. Most
likely it was inserted by the original author of the Acts simply as a pretty
decoration which had caught his fancy.
The writing, while devoid of historical
value, does provide detailed and vivid accounts of how the Christian
sacraments were practiced at the time, combining anointing with oil, a total
immersion baptism, and the Eucharist. It
also exhibits a very wide, superficial, knowledge of the canonical Testaments,
both Old and New. (See also Apocrypha, New Testament.)
THOMAS,
APOCALYPSE OF. One of the comparatively few apocalypses attributed to
persons prominent in the New Testament.
It remained but a name until the discovery in the early years of the
1900s of two manuscripts—one of the 700s, the other of the 1000s or
1100s.
Unlike the apocalypses of Peter and Paul, this apocalypse is a prophecy
of the end of this world, as revealed to Thomas by the Lord. In a description of contemporary events
presented as a prophecy, in a style reminiscent of Daniel, is a series of the
seven signs which will precede the ending of this world. The writing was known in England in the
800s. It refers to the deaths of
Arcadius and Honorius in 408 and 423 respectively. It was apparently written in Latin.
THOMAS,
GOSPEL OF. An early apocryphal, probably Gnostic, gospel,
frequently referred to negatively by early Christian writers.
The first to mention this gospel by name is Hippolytus, who says it was
in used among the Naasenes, who found support in it for their view of the
“nature of the inward man.” Origen and
Eusebius mention a gospel by this name.
Irenaeus states that the Marcossian sect supported their doctrine by an
unspeakably vast number of apocryphal writings.
Since the infancy story is in the Gospel of Thomas, the apparent source
of all subsequent infancy gospels, it has been often assumed that Irenaeus
bears indirect testimony to its antiquity.
Among the manuscript found in 1945 at Chenoboskion is one containing the
Gospel According to Thomas, the Gospel According to Philip, and the Book of
Thomas.
NTA-26
The
infancy gospel survives in two Greek versions, a Latin version and a
much-abbreviated Syriac revision. While
the forms of the two Greek versions and the one Latin version exhibit many
variations, they are plainly modifications of the same book. Based upon nothing but unbridled imagination,
they represent an early attempt to fill in the hidden years, and to extend back
into his infancy superhuman powers which the canonical gospels ascribe to him
as a man.
For
example, Jesus molds 12 little mud sparrows on the sabbath, and by clapping his
hands causes them to fly away. He leaps
down from the roof of a house and restores to life another child who has fallen
off, and reaps a hundred measures of wheat from one kernel which he has
sown. Fantastic examples of Jesus’
super-human knowledge are given in an expanded version of the story of the 12 year-old
Jesus in the temple. He also
miraculously attacks and/or kills those who interfere with his work. One and all, the stories depict an arrogant
little wonder-worker, destitute of all save a high opinion of himself, the
miraculous power to wreak vengeance on all who oppose him, and the ability to
escape the consequences of his deeds.
This
gospel was used again and again by subsequent writers of New Testament
Apocrypha, and by medieval and modern writers.
Save in the story of Jesus’ esoteric knowledge of the nature of Hebrew
letters, the Gospel of Thomas is manifestly free from distinctive Gnostic
speculation. In conclusion, it is
possible to explain the Gospel’s fantastic stories as an attempt to make
explicit what was implied by the intriguing word of Luke 2: “The child grew and became strong, filled
with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.”
TITUS (TitoV) A name given in some apocryphal works to the
penitent thief of Luke 23. See Dysmas.
V
VIRGIN,
APOCALYPSES OF THE. Two unrelated apocalypses, one in Greek, the other in
Ethiopic, in which the Virgin is shown the torments of the damned.
In the Greek apocalypse the Virgin is conducted by Michael to see the
torments of the wicked: rejecters of the Trinity; wicked priest; Jews who crucified
Jesus; deniers of baptism; and murderers.
The Virgin is pained at the sight, and gets the saint to intercede for
the sinners. The Son appoints all
subsequent days of Pentecost to be times of rest for the tormented.
The
Ethiopic apocalypse was probably composed in Greek, translated into Arabic, and
from that into Ethiopic; it is scarcely more than a plagiarism of the
Apocalypse of Paul (See Paul,
Apocalypse of in this section. The
setting is John’s account of the story the Virgin had told him of what had
recently happened as she was praying at Golgotha. After a tour similar to the other apocalypse,
the Virgin asked the Son to forgive them.
Jesus said: “Yes, if they repent
from their heart, but [not] their pastors, who did not admonish them.”
VIRGIN,
ASSUMPTION OF THE. See Assumption of the Virgin.
Z
ZOSTRIANUS, APOCALYPSE OF. A Gnostic work in Coptic, found at Chenoboskion in Upper
Egypt in 1945 (See The Introduction to this section of the Appendix.). It appears to have
been one of the 5 writings that the ancient scholar Plotinus attacked. It has been suggested
that another of these 5, the Apocalypse of Zoroaster, is actually a part of Zostrianus, but this
is uncertain.
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