User:S0208/Apocryphal Acts

The Acts of Paul is one of the earliest of the works in the noncanonical series related to the New Testament known as the Apocryphal Acts. According to the list given in the Codex Claromontanus (sixth century) it contained 3560 stichoi, thus almost 1000 more than the canonical Acts of the Apostles with 2600 stichoi. An approximate date given to the Acts of Paul is 160 CE. According to Tertullian a presbyter of Asia wrote out of respect for Paul, in Asia Minor. Origen and Hippolytus referred to the work favorably, and the Codex Claromontanus included it among the New Testament writings, along with the Shepherd of Hermas and the Apocalypse of Peter. In his canon Eusebius included it among the "spurious" books of the New Testament, and Tertullian and Jerome rejected it. The text is now preserved only in fragments; the contents can, however, be reconstructed in part, though there are gaps.

The Acts were first mentioned by Tertullian. Tertullian found it heretical because it encouraged women to preach and baptize. The Acts were considered orthodox by Hippolytus, but were eventually regarded as heretical when the Manichaeans started using the texts. The author of the Acts of Paul is unknown and wrote out of respect for Paul, in Asia Minor. The author does not show any dependency on the canonical Acts, but uses oral traditions of Paul's missionary work.

Based on current information is in contrast to the presentation of Luke's Acts, which was known to the author, only a missionary journey of Paul from Damascus shown through Asia Minor, Macedonia, Greece to Rome with numerous intermediate stops and miracle stories. The preaching of Paul consists mainly of calls for chastity and the proclamation of the resurrection hope.

The discovery of a Coptic version of the text, demonstrated that the text was composed of
 * the Acts of Paul and Thecla
 * the Epistle of the Corinthians to Paul
 * the Third Epistle to the Corinthians
 * the Martyrdom of Paul – his death at the hand of Nero

All of these constituent parts were often considered worth treating as separate texts, and frequently appeared independently, although scholars agree that they were originally part of the Acts of Paul. Besides the four main sections mentioned above, the remainder of the Acts exist only in fragments from the 3rd and 5th centuries:
 * The healing of Hermocrates from dropsy
 * The strife of the Ephesian beasts

The texts are a coherent whole, and generally thought to have been written by one author using oral traditions, rather than basing it on any of the other apocrypha or the orthodox canon. The main emphasis of the text is on Chastity and anti-Gnosticism. According to Tertullian, the author was a priest in Asia Minor. While the priest encouraged female ministry, it did have doctrinal orthodoxy in regards to continence and Resurrection. Also, they mentioned the close relationship of sexual purity and salvation.

The Epistle of the Corinthians to Paul and the Third Epistle of the Corinthians both appear in some editions of the Armenian Bible.

The design follows the course of the journey, and in any place of Paul the related episodes are told. Three parts of this document were handed down early independently and are better preserved:

Acts of Paul and Thecla Acts of Paul et Theclae or (AThe) The third letter to the Corinthians, a correspondence between the Corinthian church and Paul (3Kor) Martyrdom of Paul or martyrdom Pauli (Paul Mart)

Evidence that these parts belong to the Acts of Paul, managed by the Heidelberg papyrus. The story of Thekla is a self-contained composition and is about the conversion Thekla, whose dual ordeal she survives each alive, and their death. Paul here is not the main person and this part probably goes back to an older tradition. The third letter to the Corinthians is not a part of the original Acts of Paul and was later integrated into this work. Martyrdom is the end of the script, it was read on Christmas celebration in worship and therefore separated handed down from the complete work.

Die Paulusakten oder Acta Pauli (ActPaul) sind eine apokryphe Apostelgeschichte. Der Text umfasste nach einer Angabe im Codex Claromontanus insgesamt 3560 Stichen, somit knapp 1000 Stichen mehr als die Apostelgeschichte des Lukas mit 2600 Stichen. Der Text ist nur noch in Fragmenten erhalten, der Inhalt lässt sich jedoch in vielen Teilen rekonstruieren, auch wenn noch Lücken bleiben. Nach bisherigem Kenntnisstand wird im Gegensatz zur Darstellung der lukanischen Apostelgeschichte, die dem Verfasser bekannt war, nur eine Missionsreise des Paulus dargestellt von Damaskus über Kleinasien, Mazedonien, Griechenland bis Rom mit zahlreichen Zwischenstationen und Wundergeschichten. Die Predigt des Paulus besteht hauptsächlich aus Aufrufen zur Keuschheit und der Verkündigung der Auferstehungshoffnung.

The following is quoted material (not mine) that I want to get the substance of in:

Origen in two passages of his extant writings quotes the Acts of Paul with approval, and it was possibly due to his influence that these Acts were held in high regard in the East. In the Codex Claromontanus (3rd century), which is of eastern origin, the Acts of Paul are treated as a catholic writing and take rank with the Shepherd of Hermas and the Apocalypse of Peter. Eusebius, who utterly rejects "The Acts of Andrew, John and the rest of the apostles," puts the Acts of Paul in the lower class of debated writings alongside Hermas, Epistle of Barnabas, Didache, the Apocalypse of John, etc. (Historia Ecclesiastica, III, 25.4). In the West, where Origen was viewed with suspicion, the Acts of Paul were apparently discredited, the only use of them as a reliable source being found in Hippolytus, the friend of Origen, who however does not mention them by name. (The reference by Hippolytus is found in his commentary on Daniel. He argues from Paul's conflict with the wild beasts to the credibility of the story of Daniel in the lions' den.)

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