New Testament apocrypha

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The New Testament apocrypha are a number of writings by early Christians that claim to be accounts of Jesus and his teachings, the nature of God, or the teachings of his apostles and of their lives. These writings often have links with books regarded as "canonical". Not every branch of the Christian church agrees on which writings should be regarded as "canonical" and which are "apocryphal" (See, for example, the Gospel according to the Hebrews).

Definition

The word "apocrypha" means "things put away" or "things hidden" and comes from the Greek through the Latin. The general term is usually applied to the books that were considered by the church as useful, but not divinely inspired. As such, to refer to Gnostic writings as "apocryphal" is misleading since they would not be classified in the same category by orthodox believers. Often used by the Greek Fathers was the term antilegomena, or "spoken against", although some canonical books were also spoken against, such as the Apocalypse of John in the East. Often used by scholars is the term pseudepigrapha, or "falsely inscribed" or "falsely attributed", in the sense that the writings were written by an anonymous author who appended the name of an apostle to his work, such as in the Gospel of Peter or The Æthiopic Apocalypse of Enoch: almost all books, in both Old and New Testaments, called "apocrypha" in the Protestant tradition are pseudepigrapha. In the Catholic and Orthodox traditions, what are called the apocrypha by Protestants include the deuterocanonical books: in the Catholic tradition, the term "apocrypha" is synonymous with what Protestants would called the pseudepigrapha, the latter term of which is almost exclusively used by scholars.^[1]

History

Development of the New Testament Canon

Main article: Development of the New Testament canon

That some works are categorized as New Testament Apocrypha is indicative of the wide range of responses that were engendered in the interpretation of the message of Jesus of Nazareth. During the first several centuries of the transmission of that message, considerable debate turned on safeguarding its authenticity. Three key methods of addressing this survive to the present day: ordination, where groups authorize individuals as reliable teachers of the message; creeds, where groups define the boundaries of interpretation of the message; and canons, which list the primary documents certain groups believe contain the message originally taught by Jesus (in other words, the Bible). In general, the earliest books about Jesus were the ones included in the canons; later amplifications and variant traditions are now termed apocryphal. Some of them were vigorously suppressed and survive only as fragments. The earliest lists of canonical works of the New Testament were not quite the same as modern lists; for example, the Book of Revelation was regarded as disputed by some Christians (see Antilegomena), while Shepherd of Hermas was considered genuine by others, and appears (after the Book of Revelation) in the Codex Sinaiticus.

The works that presented themselves as "authentic" but that did not obtain general acceptance from within the churches are called New Testament Apocrypha. These are not accepted as canonical by most mainstream Christian denominations; only the Ethiopian Orthodox Church recognizes the Shepherd of Hermas, 1 Clement, Acts of Paul, and several Old Testament books that most other denominations reject, but it should be noted that this church does not adhere to an explicit canon.^{[citation needed]}

The Syriac Peshitta, used by all the various Syrian Churches, originally did not include 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John, Jude and Revelation (and this canon of 22 books is the one cited by John Chrysostom (~347-407) and Theodoret (393-466) from the School of Antioch).^[2] Western Syrians have added the remaining five books to their New Testament canons in modern times^[2] (such as the Lee Peshitta of 1823). Today, the official lectionaries followed by the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church and the Chaldean Syrian Church, also known as the Church of the East (Nestorian), still only present lessons from the 22 books of the original Peshitta.^[2]

The Armenian Apostolic church at times has included the Third Epistle to the Corinthians, but does not always list it with the other 27 canonical New Testament books. This Church did not accept Revelation into its Bible until 1200 CE.^[3] The New Testament of the Coptic Bible, adopted by the Egyptian Church, includes the two Epistles of Clement.

Modern scholarship

Tischendorf and other scholars began to study New Testament apocrypha seriously in the 19th Century and produce new translations. The "standard" scholarly edition of the New Testament Apocrypha in German and English is that of Schneemelcher.^[4] The texts of the Nag Hammadi library are often considered separately but the current edition of Schneemelcher also contains eleven Nag Hammadi texts.^[5]

Books that are known objectively not to have existed in antiquity are usually not considered part of the New Testament Apocrypha. Among these are the Libellus de Nativitate Sanctae Mariae (also called the "Nativity of Mary") and the Latin Infancy Gospel. The latter two did not exist in antiquity, and they seem to be based on the earlier Infancy Gospels.^{[citation needed]}

Gospels

Main articles: Gospel and List of Gospels

Canonical Gospels

Four gospels came to be accepted as part of the New Testament, or canonical. Many other documents (of various genres) given the title "gospel" were written subsequently.

• Gospel according to Matthew
• Gospel according to Mark
• Gospel according to Luke
• Gospel according to John

Infancy Gospels

The rarity of information about the childhood of Jesus in the canonical Gospels led to a hunger of early Christians for more detail about the early life of Jesus. This was supplied by a number of 2nd century and later texts, known as infancy gospels, none of which were accepted into the biblical canon, but the very number of their surviving manuscripts attests to their continued popularity.

Most of these were based on the earliest infancy gospels, namely the Infancy Gospel of James (also called the "Protoevangelium of James") and Infancy Gospel of Thomas, and on their later combination into the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew (also called the "Infancy Gospel of Matthew" or "Birth of Mary and Infancy of the Saviour").

The other significant early Infancy Gospels are the Syriac Infancy Gospel, the History of Joseph the Carpenter and the Life of John the Baptist.

Jewish Christian Gospels

Main article: Jewish-Christian Gospels

Jewish Christian sects within Early Christianity that retained a strong allegiance to Judaism, upholding Mosaic Law, used these Gospels as specific to themselves:

• Gospel of the Ebionites - 7 quotes cited, all by Epiphanius
• Gospel of the Hebrews - 7 quotes survive, six of them by Jerome
• Gospel of the Nazarenes - 30 quotes survive in works by Jerome and Origen

Some scholars consider that the 2 last named are in fact the same source.^[6]

Non-Canonical Gospels

Other documents entitled "gospels" came into existence in the second and third Christian centuries. Sometimes, those attributed to the text state elsewhere that their text is the earlier version, or that their text excises all the additions and distortions made by their opponents to the more recognised version of the text. The Church Fathers insisted that these people were the ones making distortions, but some modern scholars do not. It remains to be seen whether any are earlier and more accurate versions of the canonical texts. Details of their contents only survive in the attacks on them by their opponents, and so for the most part it is uncertain as to how extensively different they are, and whether any constitute entirely different works. These texts include:

• Gospel of Marcion (mid 2nd century)
• Gospel of Mani (3rd century)
• Gospel of Apelles (mid-late 2nd century)
• Gospel of Bardesanes (late 2nd - early 3rd century)
• Gospel of Basilides (mid 2nd century)

Sayings Gospels

One or two texts take the form of brief logia—sayings and parables of Jesus—which are not embedded in a connected narrative:

• Gospel of Thomas

A minority of scholars regard the Gospel of Thomas as part of the tradition from which the canonical gospels eventually emerged; in any case both of these documents are important as showing us what the theoretical Q document might have looked like.

Passion Gospels

A number of Gospels are concerned specifically with the "Passion" (arrest, execution and resurrection) of Jesus:

• Gospel of Peter
• Gospel of Nicodemus (also called the "Acts of Pilate")
• Gospel of Bartholomew
• Questions of Bartholomew
• Resurrection of Jesus Christ (which claims to be according to Bartholomew)

Although three texts take Bartholomew's name, it may be that one of the Questions of Bartholomew or the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is in fact the unknown Gospel of Bartholomew.

Harmonized Gospels

A number of texts aim to provide a single harmonization of the canonical gospels, that eliminates discordances among them by presenting a unified text derived from them to some degree. The most widely read of these was the Diatessaron.

Gnostic texts

Main article: Gnostic Gospels

In the modern era, many Gnostic texts have been uncovered, especially from the Nag Hammadi library. Some texts take the form of an expounding of the esoteric cosmology and ethics held by the Gnostics. Often this was in the form of dialogue in which Jesus expounds esoteric knowledge while his disciples raise questions concerning it. There is also a text, known as the Epistula Apostolorum, which is a polemic against Gnostic esoterica, but written in a similar style as the Gnostic texts.

Dialogues with Jesus

• Apocryphon of James (also called the "Secret Book of James")
• Book of Thomas the Contender
• Dialogue of the Saviour
• Gospel of Judas (also called the "Gospel of Judas Iscariot")
• Gospel of Mary (also called the "Gospel of Mary Magdalene")
• Gospel of Philip
• Greek Gospel of the Egyptians (distinct from the Coptic Gospel of the Egyptians)
• The Sophia of Jesus Christ

General texts concerning Jesus

• Coptic Apocalypse of Paul (distinct from the Apocalypse of Paul)
• Gospel of Truth
• Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter (distinct from the Apocalypse of Peter)
• Pistis Sophia
• Second Treatise of the Great Seth

Sethian texts concerning Jesus

The Sethians were a gnostic group who originally worshipped the biblical Seth as a messianic figure, later treating Jesus as a re-incarnation of Seth. They produced numerous texts expounding their esoteric cosmology, usually in the form of visions:

• Apocryphon of John (also called the "Secret Gospel of John")
• Coptic Gospel of the Egyptians (distinct from the Greek Gospel of the Egyptians)
• Trimorphic Protennoia

Ritual diagrams

Some of the Gnostic texts appear to consist of diagrams and instructions for use in religious rituals:

• Ophite Diagrams
• Books of Jeu

Acts

Main article: Acts of the Apostles (genre)

Several texts concern themselves with the subsequent lives of the apostles, usually with highly supernatural events. Almost half of these are said^[who?] to have been written by Leucius Charinus (known as the Leucian Acts), a companion of John the apostle. The Acts of Thomas and the Acts of Peter and the Twelve are often considered Gnostic texts. While most of the texts are believed to have been written in the 2nd century, at least two, the Acts of Barnabas and the Acts of Peter and Paul are believed to have been written as late as the 5th century.

• Acts of Andrew
• Acts of Barnabas
• Acts of John
• Acts of the Martyrs
• Acts of Paul
• Acts of Paul and Thecla
• Acts of Peter
• Acts of Peter and Andrew
• Acts of Peter and Paul
• Acts of Peter and the Twelve
• Acts of Philip
• Acts of Pilate
• Acts of Thomas
• Acts of Timothy
• Acts of Xanthippe, Polyxena, and Rebecca

Epistles

Main article: Epistles

There are also non-canonical epistles (or "letters") between individuals or to Christians in general. Some of them were regarded very highly by the early church:

• Epistle of Barnabas
• Epistles of Clement
• Epistle of the Corinthians to Paul
• Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans
• Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians
• Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians
• Epistle to Diognetus
• Epistle to the Laodiceans (an epistle in the name of Paul)
• Epistle to Seneca the Younger (an epistle in the name of Paul)
• Third Epistle to the Corinthians - accepted in the past by some in the Armenian Orthodox church.

Apocalypses

Main article: Apocalyptic literature

Several works frame themselves as visions, often discussing the future, afterlife, or both:

• Apocalypse of Paul (distinct from the Coptic Apocalypse of Paul)
• Apocalypse of Peter (distinct from the Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter)
• Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius
• Apocalypse of Thomas (also called the Revelation of Thomas)
• Apocalypse of Stephen (also called the Revelation of Stephen)
• First Apocalypse of James (also called the First Revelation of James)
• Second Apocalypse of James (also called the Second Revelation of James)
• The Shepherd of Hermas

Fate of Mary

Several texts (over 50) consist of descriptions of the events surrounding the varied fate of Mary (the mother of Jesus):

• The Home Going of Mary
• The Falling asleep of the Mother of God
• The Descent of Mary

Miscellany

These texts, due to their content or form, do not fit into the other categories:

• Apostolic Constitutions (church regulations supposedly asserted by the apostles)
• Book of Nepos
• Canons of the Apostles
• Cave of Treasures (also called The Treasure)
• Clementine literature
• Didache (possibly the first written catechism)
• Liturgy of St James
• Penitence of Origen
• Prayer of Paul
• Sentences of Sextus
• Physiologus

Fragments

In addition to the known Apocryphal works, there are also small fragments of texts, parts of unknown (or uncertain) works. Some of the more significant fragments are:

• The Unknown Berlin Gospel (also called the Gospel of the Saviour)
• The Naassene Fragment
• The Fayyum Fragment
• The Secret Gospel of Mark
• The Oxyrhynchus Gospels
• The Egerton Gospel

Lost works

Several texts are mentioned in many ancient sources and would probably be considered part of the apocrypha, but no known text has survived:

• Gospel of Eve (a quotation from this gospel is given by Epiphanius (Haer. xxvi. 2, 3). It is possible that this is the Gospel of Perfection he alludes to in xxvi. 2. The quotation shows that this gospel was the expression of complete pantheism)
• Gospel of the Four Heavenly Realms
• Gospel of Matthias (probably different from the Gospel of Matthew)
• Gospel of Perfection (used by the followers of Basilides and other Gnostics. See Epiphanius, Haer. xxvi. 2)
• Gospel of the Seventy
• Gospel of Thaddaeus (this may be a synonym for the Gospel of Judas, confusing Judas Iscariot for Judas Thaddaeus)
• Gospel of the Twelve
• Memoria Apostolorum

A note about The Eastern Orthodox Church

See also: orthodoxy

While many of the books listed here were considered heretical (especially those belonging to the gnostic tradition—as this sect was considered heretical by Proto-orthodox Christianity of the early centuries), others were not considered particularly heretical in content, but in fact were well accepted as significant spiritual works.

While some of the following works appear in complete Bibles from the fourth century, such as 1 Clement and The Shepherd of Hermas, showing their general popularity, they were not included when the canon was formally decided at the end of that century.

• 1 and 2 Clement
• Shepherd of Hermas
• Didache
• Epistle of Barnabas
• Apocalypse of Peter
• The Protevangelium of James
• Third Epistle to the Corinthians

Evaluation

Among historians of early Christianity the books are considered invaluable, especially those that almost made it into the final canon, such as Shepherd of Hermas. Bart Ehrman, for example, said:

The victors in the struggles to establish Christian Orthodoxy not only won their theological battles, they also rewrote the history of the conflict; later readers then naturally assumed that the victorious views had been embraced by the vast majority of Christians from the very beginning ... The practice of Christian forgery has a long and distinguished history ... the debate lasted three hundred years ... even within "orthodox" circles there was considerable debate concerning which books to include.^[7]

See also

• Nag Hammadi library
• List of Gospels
• The Q document, a hypothetical document underlying much of the text of the canonical gospels of Matthew and Luke
• Textual criticism
• Historicity of Jesus
• History of Christianity
• Authorship of the Pauline epistles
• Table of books of Judeo-Christian Scripture
• List of early Christian writers

References

1. ^ Charlesworth, James H (1985). Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson. p. 2257. ISBN 978-1598564891. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Peshitta
3. ^ Reliability
4. ^ James McConkey Robinson, Christoph Heil, Jozef Verheyden The Sayings Gospel Q: collected essays 2005 p279 "Not only has a third, fourth, fifth, and sixth edition of the standard German work by Edgar Hennecke and Wilhelm Schneemelcher prepared under the editorship of Schneemelcher appeared, but independent editions are being produced ...
5. ^ The fifth Gospel: the Gospel of Thomas comes of age - 1998 p105 Stephen J. Patterson, James McConkey Robinson, Hans-Gebhard Bethge -"The current edition of Wilhelm Schneemelcher's standard New Testament Apocrypha contains eleven Nag Hammadi tractates,"
6. ^ Craig A. Evans
7. ^ Ehrman, Lost Scriptures P 2,3

External links

• New Testament Apocrypha texts
• New Testament Apocrypha resources
• New Testament Apocrypha histories