The Apocryphal Acts of Peter: Magic, Miracles and Gnosticism (Studies on Early Christian Apocrypha)

229 Pages·1998·18.81 MB·English

Apocryphal
JAN N. BREMMER (ED.)
P E E T E RS
THE APOCRYPHAL ACTS OF PETER:
MAGIC, MIRACLES AND GNOSTICISM
Thls O n*
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STUDIES ON THE APOCRYPHAL ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
In recent years the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles have increasingly
drawn the attention of scholars interested in early Christianity and/or
the history of the ancient novel. New editions of the most important
Acts have appeared or are being prepared. We are therefore pleased
to announce an new series, Studies on the Apocryphal Acts of the
Apostles (edited by Jan N. Bremmer), which will contain studies of
individual aspects of the main Acts: Those of John, Paul, Peter,
Andrew, and Thomas. Initially, five volumes are scheduled.
Edited by:
T. Adamik, J. Bolyki, J.N. Bremmer (editor-in-chief),
P. Herczeg, A. Hilhorst, G. P. Luttikhuizen and J. Roldanus.
1. The Apocryphal Acts of John, J.N. Bremmer (ed.), Kampen 1995
2. The Apocryphal Acts of Paul en Thecla, J.N. Bremmer (ed.),
Kampen 1996
3. The Apocryphal Acts of Peter: Magic, Miracles and Gnosticism,
J.N. Bremmer (ed.), Leuven 1998
4. The Acts of John: a Two-stage Initiation into Johannine Gnosticism,
PJ. Lalleman, Leuven 1998
The
Apocryphal
Acts
JAN N. BREMMER (ED.)
Peter
Mamc, Miracles and Gnosticism
PEETERS
© 1998, Uitgcvcrij Peelers, Bondgenotenlaan 153, 3000 Leuven
ISBN 90-429-0019-9
D. 1998/0602/36
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publisher.
Contents
Preface i
Notes on contributors iii
List of abbreviations vii
I J.N. Bremmer, Aspects of the Acts of Peter: 1
Women, Magic, Place and Date
II I. Karasszon, Agrippa, King and Prefect 21
III P. Herczeg, Theios Aner Traits in the Apocryphal 29
Acts of Peter
IV G. P. Luttikhuizen, Simon Magus as a Narrative 39
Figure in the Acts of Peter
V T. Adamik, The Image of Simon Magus in the 52
Christian Tradition
VI C M. Thomas, ... Revivifying Resurrection 65
Accounts: techniques of composition and rewriting
in the Acts of Peter cc25-28
VII I. Czachesz, Who is Deviant? Entering the 84
Story-world of the Acts of Peter
VIII M. Misset-van de Weg, 'For the Lord always takes 97
Care of his own\ The Purpose of the Wondrous
Works and Deeds in the Acts of Peter
CONTENTS
IX J. Bolyku 'Head Downwards'; The Cross of Peter 111
in the Lights of the Apocryphal Acts of the New
r
Testament and of the Society-transforming Claim
of Early Christianity
X M. Pesthy, Cross and Death in the Apocryphal 123
Acts of the Apostles
XI L. H. Westra, Regulae fidei and Other Credal 134
Formulations in the Acts of Peter
XII A. Hilhorst, The Text of the Actus Vercellenses 148
XIII P.J. Lalleman, The Relation between the Acts of 161
John and the Acts of Peter
XIV W. Rordorf, The Relation between the Acts of 178
Peter and the Acts of Paul; State of the Question
XV G. Poupon, L'Origine africaine des Actus 192
Vercellenses
XVI P.J. Lalleman and J.N. Bremmer, Bibliography of 200
the Acts of Peter
Index of names, subjects and passages 203
Preface
After the fall of the Berlin Wall the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
decided to intensify contacts with universities in Eastern Europe. In
1991 the then Head of the Department of Church History, Professor
Hans Roldanus, took this opportunity to forge links with the Karoli
Gaspar University of Budapest, In the search for a common research
project, which would also prove to be attractive to classicists of the
Lorand-Eotvos University of Budapest, it was decided to focus on the
Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles. This particular choice hardly needs
to be defended. The world of early Christianity is currently receiving
an ever increasing attention from New Testament and patristic schol
ars as well as from ancient historians. Various Apocryphal Acts have
recently been re-edited or are in process of being re-edited, but the
contents of these Acts are still very much under-researched.
It is the object of the Dutch-Hungarian cooperation to study the
major Apocryphal Acts in a series of yearly conferences, of which the
proceedings are published in the series. Studies in the Apocryphal Acts
of the Apostles. The editors in principle envisage the publication of
five volumes, but they are open to further suggestions.
Following the first two volumes of the new series on the Acts of
John (1995) and the Acts of Paul and Thecla (1996), this new volume
is devoted to the Acts of Peter. The major part of the book studies var
ious persons, aspects and passages of the Acts: women, magic,
Agrippa, Simon Magus, resurrection accounts, invectives, miracles,
the cross, and credal formulations. After a study of their Latinity, there
follow two chapters studying the relation of the Acts of Peter to those
of John and PauL The penultimate chapter succeeds in locating the
Actus Vercellenses, the surviving part of the Acts of Peter in Latin, in
Africa. As has become customary, the volume is rounded off by a bib
liography and an index.
ii PREFACE
The conference which formed the basis of this book took place at
the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen in the autumn of 1996. I am grateful
to the Faculty of Theology and Science of Religion of the Rijksuni
versiteit Groningen and the Rudolf Agricola Instituut, the Groningen
Institute for the Humanities, for its financial support towards the con
ference. Pieter Lalleman most helpfully assisted with the editing of the
proceedings. Ken Dowden, Christine Thomas and Phil Sellew, espe
cially, helped to correct the English. Without the generous help of all
these colleagues it would have been impossible to prepare this volume
in such a speedy manner.
Jan N. Bremmer Groningen, 31 October 1997
Notes on Contributors
Tamas Adamik b. 1937, is Professor of Latin at the Lorand-Eotvos
University of Budapest. He is the author of the following studies in
Hungarian: A Commentary on Catullus (1971), Martial and His
Poetry (1979), Aristotle's Rhetoric (1982), Jerome's Selected Works
(1991), A History of Roman Literature I-IV (1993-96). He is also the
editor of new Hungarian translations of the Apocryphal Acts of the
Apostles (1996), the Apocryphal Gospels (1996) and the Apocryphal
Apocalypses (1996).
Janos Bolyki b. 1931, is Professor Emeritus of New Testament Studies
at the Karoli Gaspar University of Budapest. He is, in Hungarian, the
author of The Questions of the Sciences in the Histoiy of Theology in the
20th Century (1970), Faith and Science (1989), Principles and Methods
of New Testament Interpretation (1990) and The Table Fellowships of
Jesus (1992), and co-author of Codex D in the Book of Acts (1995).
Jan N. Bremmer b. 1944, is Professor of History and Science of Reli
gion at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. He is the author of The Early
Greek Concept of the Soul (1983) and Greek Religion (1994), co
author of Roman Myth and Mythography (1987), editor of Interpreta
tions of Greek Mythology (1987), From Sappho to de Sade: Moments
in the History of Sexuality (1989), The Apocryphal Acts of John
(1995), The Apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla (1996) and co-editor
of A Cultural History of Gesture (1991), Between Poverty and the
Pyre. Moments in the history of widowhood (1995) and A Cultural
History of Humour (1997).
Istvan Czachesz b. 1968, is Research Fellow at the Centre for
Hermeneutical Research in Budapest. He is, in Hungarian, the author