Apocryphicity

A Blog Devoted to the Study of Christian Apocrypha

More Secret Scriptures 3: The Apocryphal Apocalypses of John

by Tony

(The latest in a series of posts about little-known Christian Apocrypha that could not be included in my recent book, Secret Scriptures Revealed: A New Introduction to the the Christian Apocrypha, to be released later this month)

The earliest Christian apocalypse is the canonical Book of Revelation ascribed to John. The focus of this text is the end-time battle between cosmic powers of good and evil, with Jesus leading the heavenly host against the forces of Satan and the Beast. With the victory of Jesus, Satan and his minions are thrown into a lake of fire, and the faithful are raised from death to live forever in a new heaven and earth ruled by God. But the story does not end there for John; he is called on again to receive new visions in several other apocalypses in his name.

The Apocalypse of Saint John the Theologian (commonly known as 2 Apocalypse of John), available in Greek and Arabic and perhaps composed in Syria in the fourth century, is written as a supplement to the canonical text with John asking Jesus for additional information, such as a more detailed physical description of the Beast and details about the conditions of life after the second coming. The righteous dead, whether children or senior citizens, will “rise as thirty-year-olds” (10), Jesus says, and physical divisions will be no more: “Just as the bees do not differ one from another, but are all of the same appearance and size, so every …

Continue Reading

More Secret Scriptures 2: Letters from Jesus to Peter and Paul

by Tony

(The second in a series of posts about little-known Christian Apocrypha that could not be included in my recent book, Secret Scriptures Revealed: A New Introduction to the the Christian Apocrypha, to be released later this month)

While reading Bart Ehrman's latest book, Forgery and Counterforgery: The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics (Oxford 2013), I came across a reference to, apparently, lost letters of Jesus to Peter and Paul. These letters are not typically mentioned in studies of the Christian Apocrypha, though they should be part of the discussion of apocryphal letters of Jesus (particularly the Abgar Correspondence).

The reference is found in Augustine's  Harmony of the Gospels (De cons. Evang.). Augustine is refuting claims that Jesus composed texts of magic. It's interesting that Augustine's method of refutation is to point out that Jesus could not have written to Paul since Paul was not a Christian until after Jesus' death. Here is the relevant  excerpt (1.14-16; translated by S.D.F. Salmond, from Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 6. Edited by Philip Schaff. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1888):

14. But, indeed, these persons rise to such a pitch of folly as to allege that the books which they consider to have been written by Him contain the arts by which they think He wrought those miracles, the fame of which has become prevalent in all quarters. And this fancy

…
Continue Reading

New Article on Secret Mark by Viklund and Paananen

by Tony

Roger Viklund's online article, "Tremors or Just an Optical Illusion?A Further Evaluation of Stephen Carlson's Handwriting Analysis" (see HERE; and expanded upon in Timo Paananen's blog HERE and HERE), has now appeared in a peer-reviewed journal. The complete bibliographical details are: Roger Viklund and Timo S. Paananen, "Distortion of the Scribal Hand in the Images of Clement's Letter to Theodore," Vigiliae Christianae 67 (2013): 235-247. Their conclusion:

In sum: all the signs of forgery Carlson unearthed in his analysis of the handwriting in Clement’s Letter to Theodore disappear once we replace the printed images Carlson used with the original photographs. Looking at the artefacts, Carlson concluded that the “apparently hurried cursive was executed more slowly than it purports to be” and that the “writer had not fully mastered the style of handwriting”. An opposite conclusion has recently been reached (independently of us) by Venetia Anastasopoulou, who had access to the high-quality images of the manuscript, and possesses professional training, degrees, and experience in the field of forensic document examination. For Anastasopoulou, the script in Clement’s Letter to Theodore is “written spontaneously with an excellent rhythm”, while the “movement of the writing indicates a hand used to writing in this manner”.

Though Carlson is to be commended for his insight that the tools of forensic document examination could advance the debate, the execution of his project has left much to be desired. Based on the comparison of the images presented above we suggest that there is no “forger’s tremor”

…
Continue Reading

More Secret Scriptures: John and the Young Bishop of Ephesus

by Tony

In celebration of the release of my new book, Secret Scriptures Revealed: A New Introduction to the Christian Apocrypha, I am running a series of posts on texts that could not be included in the book due to space considerations (so many texts, so little room). The first of these is a story about the apostle John transmitted by Clement of Alexandria in his Quis dives salvetur (42.1-15). I only recently came across the story and I am surprised that it is not featured in the popular Christian Apocrypha collections, nor is it mentioned in the standard introductions to the Acts of John. The translation below is taken from an online edition of Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History 3.23, which excerpts the text from Clement's work (translated by Arthur Cushman McGiffert from Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 1).

1. At that time the apostle and evangelist John, the one whom Jesus loved, was still living in Asia, and governing the churches of that region, having returned after the death of Domitian from his exile on the island.

2. And that he was still alive at that time may be established by the testimony of two witnesses. They should be trustworthy who have maintained the orthodoxy of the Church; and such indeed were Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria.

3. The former in the second book of his work Against Heresies, writes as follows: And all the elders that associated with John the disciple of the Lord in Asia

…
Continue Reading

Review of “Ancient Gospel or Modern Forgery?” by Roger Pearse

by Tony

Roger Pearse, writer/administrator of his eponymous blog, has written a lengthy review of Ancient Gospel or Modern Forgery? The Secret Gospel of Mark in Debate. These are the papers presented at the 2011 York Christian Apocrypha Symposium. Read the review HERE. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on the book, Roger. I will offer a response to the review, but I'd be interested in reading other responses first.

Philip Jenkins on Jewish-Christian Gospels

by Tony

Philip Jenkins continues his posts on the Christian Apocrypha at Patheos. The latest focuses on Jewish-Christian Gospels.

One comment on a reading (perhaps) from the Gospel of the Ebionites stands out: Jenkins mentions two Latin manuscripts that share a reading with the Ebionite gospel "with no sense that they were drawing on any weird or marginal sect." Weird? Really?

Jenkins also raises an interesting point about how early copies of the gospels, which contained readings different from the canonical versions we have today, may have looked to medieval Christians: "At least in some cases, when scholars like Epiphanius talked about Jewish Christian gospels – when they gave these documents some name like the Gospel According to the Hebrews – were they actually dealing with nothing more heretical than very early drafts of what became our canonical texts?"

2013 Réunion de l’AELAC

by Tony

The Association pour l’étude de la littérature apocryphe chrétienne (AELAC) has announced its programme for the 2013 meeting, which will take place June 29-July 1 in Dole, France. Here are the titles of the papers which will be presented this year:

Christoph Markschies, "Überlegungen zum Begriff 'christliche apokryphe Literatur.'"

Caitríona O'Dochartaigh, "L’Histoire de Thècle en irlandais."

Andrey Vinogradov, "Les Actes d'André et de Matthias et leur place dans la tradition apocryphe."

Stephen J. Davis, "The Childhood Deeds of Jesus in Arabic Christian and Muslim Encounter."

Stefan Hagel, "Présentation du logiciel 'Classical Text Editor.'"

Els Rose, "Editing the Virtutes apostolorum: Lectio improbabilior and other editorial principles tried on the Virtutes Simonis et Iudae."

Enrico Norelli, "Un chapitre du commentaire sur l’Apocalypse de Pierre."

More from Philip Jenkins on Irish Apocrypha

by Tony

"The Three Wise Druids" at Patheos (brought to my attention by Paleojudaica). With a nice shout-out to the work of Martin McNamara (editor of the CCSA editions of the Irish Apocrypha) and others:

Successive conquests and cultural changes have taken a heavy toll of Irish libraries, but enough remains to show just how rich the apocryphal collections would have been. Modern scholars like Martin McNamara, Máire Herbert and David Dumville have painstakingly collected these records, discussing over a hundred items known in Ireland. Many are poetic elaborations of well-known stories, but we also find a full spectrum of widely known alternative texts. In many cases, the texts survive in the vernacular, in Irish Gaelic.

See also Jenkins' earlier post on "Canons of Scripture," which reflects the nuances of current discussion about the canon of the New Testament and the interplay of canonical and non-canonical texts over the centuries.

2013 York Christian Apocrypha Symposium

by Tony

I am pleased to announce, after some delay, the 2013 York Christian Apocrypha Symposium. The theme this year is “Forbidden Texts on the Western Frontier: The Christian Apocrypha in North American Perspectives.” The event takes place at York University September 26–28, 2013.

The planning for the 2013 Symposium was greatly helped by Brent Landau (University of Oklahoma). We have invited 22 Canadian and U.S. scholars to share their work and discuss present and future collaborative projects. Participants include David Eastman, Nicola Denzey Lewis, Mark Goodacre, Kristian Heal, Charles Hedrick, Cornelia Horn, F. Stanley Jones, and Stephen Patterson

Complete information about the Symposium is available at THIS LINK. We hope you can join us.

Philip Jenkins on Christian Apocrypha in Medieval Britain

by Tony

Philip Jenkins, author of (among other things) Hidden Gospels:How the Search for Jesus Lost Its Way (Oxford 2001), has contributed a post to the patheos blog entitled "The First English Bible." The title is somewhat misleading; Jenkins discusses the apocryphal texts circulating in Anglo-Saxon England and Ireland in medieval times, but it is a stretch to consider these texts part of the "English Bible." Certainly canonical and non-canonical texts were both valued and used but not in a single collection and not without a sense that some texts are more valued, more authoritative than others.

An Abridged Martyrium of Cornelius the Centurion

by Tony

While working today on my translation of the Greek manuscripts of the Martyrium of Cornelius the Centurion, I happened upon an online abridged version of the text in English. The text appears, often without acknowledgement of the source, on several sites dedicated to Eastern Orthodox Christianity. It seems to have originated from a translation by Stephen Janos of volume three of the series Reference Book for Clergy-Servers [Nastol’naya Kniga Svyaschennosluzhitelya] published by the Moscow Patriarchate, Moscow 1978 & 1979. I am curious about the original source for the tale since it does not match any of the Greek Mss in my possession (though it may simply be an abridgement made from the manuscript published by J.-P. Migne). Here is the text:

The Martyrium of Cornelius, the Centurion

Soon after the Lord Jesus Christ's Ascension into Heaven, a centurion by the name of Cornelius settled at Caesarea in Palestine, who had lived previously in Thracian Italy. Although he was a pagan, he distinguished himself by deep piety and good deeds, as the holy Evangelist Luke records in Acts 10:1. The Lord did not disdain his virtuous life and led him to the knowledge of truth through the enlightening light of faith in Christ.

Once, Cornelius was at prayer in his home. An angel of God appeared to him and said that his prayer had been heard and accepted by God. The angel commanded him to send people to Joppa to Simon, called Peter. Cornelius immediately fulfilled the command. While those …

Continue Reading

New Blog Activity on Ps.-Cyril’s On the Passion

by Tony

Michael Heiser of PaleoBabble has posted a short entry criticizing the "sensational" coverage of the recently published apocryphon on the Passion of Christ attributed to Cyril of Jerusalem (discussed in this previous post). Frankly, I thought the article was relatively tame in its coverage and allowed the author/editor of the text, Roelof van den Broek, an excellent opportunity to promote his work (and Jim Davila at Paleojudaica appears to agree with me).

Van den Broek has also contributed a guest post to Alin Suciu's blog outlining the contents of the edition and providing a photograph of one of the manuscripts he used to reconstruct the text.

Christian Apocrypha at the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies

by Tony

The 2013 Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies will take place in Victora, BC June 1-4. For the first time, the society is including a session on the Christian Apocrypha. We hope that there will be sufficient interest in the session to continue it into future years. This will depend, of course, on the willingness of society members to contribute papers on the texts. One of my professional goals is to encourage and support scholarship on the Christian Apocrypha in North America (with a soft spot for Canada in particular). So, I would like to see this initiative succeed. Here are the papers for this year's session:

Sunday, June 2 / Dimanche, 2 Juin
8:30-11:45 (B211)
CHRISTIAN APOCRYPHA / CHRÉTIEN APOCRYPHES
Chair / Président: C. Callon (Toronto)

8:30-9:00 John Horman

“A literary relationship between Thomas and Q”

A literary relationship between Thomas and Q is plausible because of close verbal parallels. There are, however, also difficulties. First, the passages where a relationship could be defended are short, and could have been transmitted orally. Second, most of the text of Q, including some dominant themes in Matthew and Luke’s version of Q, is unrepresented in Thomas. Third, the Q sayings found in Thomas do not at first glance seem to suit any current literary stratification of Q. When, however, we take Thomas’ literary method into account, it is clear that Thomas has used a form of Q.

9:00-9:30 Tony Burke (York University)

“Expansions on the Acts …

Continue Reading

Newly-Published Coptic Passion Apocryphon Features a Shape-Shifting Jesus

by Tony

The online magazine Live-Science features an article on Roelof van den Broek's new book Pseudo-Cyril of Jerusalem on the Life and the Passion of Christ (Brill, 2013). The text, based on two Coptic manuscripts, contains a number of interesting variations on the story of Jesus' arrest, trial, and crucifixion–including the placement of Jesus' arrest on Tuesday (rather than Thursday), the need for Judas to kiss Jesus because Jesus often changed his form, and mention of Jesus and Pilate sharing a meal on the night of his trial. The narrator claims to have found these details in a text "found written in the house of Mary." Read the complete article HERE (with thanks to Brent Landau for passing along the information).

A Review of Mark Goodacre’s “Thomas and the Gospels”

by Tony

Mark Goodacre, well-known in biblio-blogging circles as the voice behind the NTBlog and in Synoptic Problem circles as a vocal advocate of the Farrer-Goulder Hypothesis, forwarded to me a copy of his latest book Thomas and the Gospels: The Case for Thomas’s Familiarity with the Synoptics (Eerdmans/SPCK, 2012). Much like Goodacre’s The Synoptic Problem: A Way Through the Maze (2010), Thomas and the Gospels addresses a complex topic in an economy of space (only 226 pages) and with highly readable and lively prose. No-one but Mark Goodacre could get away with slipping a Doctor Who reference into a scholarly work (see p. 122; note also his amusing mention of the Beatles on p. 194); his appeal to pseudonymous blogger N. T. Wrong is testament also to Goodacre’s lack of pretention (p. 140). I hope readers will forgive me for the length of this review, but Goodacre's arguments demand substantial discussion (and even this review is somewhat cursory in places). To learn more about the book from Goodacre himself, watch this video trailer at NTBlog. 

Goodacre brings a different perspective to the question of Thomas’s dependence on (he prefers “familiarity with”) the Synoptics. For one, as a critic of the Two/Four Source Hypothesis, he does not believe in the existence of Q; without this other sayings gospel, Goodacre’s arguments about the genre, dating, and sources of Thomas are bound to be different. And second, though he joins North American apologetic scholars in arguing that Thomas is secondary to the Synoptics, …

Continue Reading