Lost scriptures: books that did not make it into the New Testament (40 page)

also plant others through him. I will not

the same, for he has alienated my conobject so long as the Lord will keep me cubines.” And Albinus said to him, “Why

alive; and again if he will take me away

are you waiting, Agrippa? Let us seize

I shall be glad and rejoice.”

him and kill him as a trouble-maker, so

While Peter was speaking the brethren

that we may get our wives back and

wept and four soldiers arrested him and

avenge those who cannot kill him but

brought him to Agrippa. And being enwhose wives he has also alienated.”

raged he ordered that he be crucified for

godlessness. And the whole multitude of

And as they made plans to35

the brethren came together, rich and poor,

gether, Xanthippe heard of the

widows and orphans, able-bodied and

conspiracy which her husband had with

disabled alike; they wished to see Peter

Agrippa, and she sent word to Peter and

and rescue him. And the people cried

asked him to leave Rome. And the other

unceasingly with one voice, “What harm

brethren, together with Marcellus, rehas Peter done, Agrippa? What evil has quested him to leave. But Peter said to

he done to you? Tell the Romans.” And

them, “Shall we act like deserters, brethothers said, “We must be afraid lest the ren?” And they said, “No; but by going

Lord destroy us also, should he die.” And

you can still serve the Lord.” He obeyed

when Peter came to the place he appeased

the brethren, and went away alone, saythe multitude and said, “You men who ing, “Let none of you go with me, I will

are in the service of Christ, men who

go alone in disguise.” When he went out

hope in Christ, remember the signs and

of the gate he saw the Lord come into

wonders which you saw through me;

Rome. And when he saw him he said,

think of the compassion of God, how he

“Lord, where are you going?” And the

performed healings for your sakes. Wait

Lord said to him, “I go to Rome to be

for him, till he comes and rewards every

crucified.” And Peter said to him, “Lord,

man according to his works. And now,

are you being crucified again?” And he

do not be angry with Agrippa, for he is

said, “Yes, Peter, again I shall be crucia servant of the power of his father. And fied.” And Peter came to himself; and he

that which happens takes place as the

saw the Lord ascending to heaven. Then

Lord has told me that it should happen.

he returned to Rome, rejoicing and prais

And why do I delay and not go to the

ing the Lord because he had said, “I am

cross?”

being crucified.” This was to happen to

Peter.

And when he had come to the

37 cross he began to say, “O name

36 He went again to the brethren of the cross, hidden mystery; O unspeakand told them of the vision able mercy, which is expressed in the

which he had. And their souls were sorname of the cross; O nature of man, rowing, and they wept and said, “We

which cannot be separated from God; O

entreat you, Peter, have regard for us, the

ineffable and inseparable love, which

young ones.” And Peter said, “If it be the

cannot be shown by impure lips; I seize

Lord’s wish it will be, even if we would

you now I am standing at the end of my

not have it so. The Lord is able to

earthly career. I will make known what

strengthen you in his faith, and he will

you are. I will not conceal the mystery

establish you in it and increase it in you

of the cross once closed and hidden to

whom he has planted, so that you may

my soul. You who hope in Christ, think

THE ACTS OF PETER

153

not this to be a cross which is visible; for

beloved, who now hear, and those who

my passion, like that of Christ, is entirely

shall hear it, must renounce the first error

different from that which is visible. And

and turn again. For you ought to come to

now especially, since you who can hear

the cross of Christ, who is the extended

can hear it from me who am in the last

Word, the one and only, concerning

and parting hour of life, listen. Keep your

whom the Spirit says, ‘For what else is

souls from everything which you can per

Christ than the Word, the sound of God?’

ceive with the senses, from all that seems

The Word is this upright tree on which I

to be, and is not truly real. Close these

am crucified; the sound, however, is the

your eyes, shut these your ears; withdraw

crossbeam, namely the nature of man;

from actions which are seen outwardly

and the nail which holds the crossbeam

and you shall perceive the facts about

to the upright in the middle is the con

Christ and the whole mystery of your

version and repentance of man.

salvation. But the hour has come for you,

Peter, to deliver your body to those who

are taking it. Take it, whose business it

39 Since you have made this

is. Of you, executioners, I ask to crucify

known and revealed these

me with head downwards, and not oththings to me, O Word of life, which is erwise. And the reason I shall explain to

now called tree, I thank you, not with

those who listen.”

these lips which are nailed, neither with

this tongue, through which comes forth

After they had hanged him up

38

truth and falsehood, nor with this word,

as he wished he began to speak

which is produced by the skill of earthly

again, “Men, whose calling it is to hear,

nature, but I thank you, O King, with that

listen to what I, being hanged, am about

voice which is heard through silence,

to tell you now. Understand the mystery

which is not heard by all, which does not

of the whole creation and the beginning

come through the organs of the body,

of all things, how it was. For the first

which does not enter the ears of flesh nor

man, whose image I bear, in falling head

is heard by corruptible substance, which

downward showed a manner of birth

is not in the world or sounds upon earth,

which did not formerly exist, for it was

which is also not written in books, nor

dead, having no motion. He, having been

belongs to one, nor to another, but with

drawn down, he who cast his origin upon

this voice, Jesus Christ, I thank you: with

the earth, established the whole of the

the silence of the voice with which the

cosmic system, suspended after the man

Spirit within me intercedes, who loves

ner of his calling, whereby he showed the

you, speaks with you, and sees you. You

right as the left and the left as the right

are known only to the Spirit. You are to

and changed all signs of nature, to behold

me, father, mother, brother, friend, serthe ugly as beautiful and the really evil vant, steward. You are all, and all is in

as good. Concerning this the Lord says

you; and you are Being, and there is

in a mystery, ‘Unless you make the right

nothing that is except you. To him, brethas the left and the left as the right, and ren, you also take refuge and learn that

the top as the bottom and the front as the

your existence is in him alone, and you

back, you shall not know the Kingdom.’16

shall then obtain that of which he said to

I explain this information to you, and the

manner of my suspension is symbolic of

that man who was first made. You, my

16Cf. Acts of Philip 140; Gospel of Thomas 22.

154

NON-CANONICAL ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

you, ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,

and he remained with those who had been

neither has it entered into the heart of

strengthened by Peter in the faith of

man.’17 We now ask undefiled Jesus for

Christ, strengthening himself even more

that which you promised to give us; we

till the arrival of Paul at Rome.

praise you, we thank you, we confess you

in glorifying you, though we are weak,

41

because you alone are God and no other,

When Nero heard that Peter

had departed this life, he

to whom be glory now and for ever,

blamed the prefect Agrippa for having

Amen.”

him killed without his knowledge; he had

intended to punish him the more cruelly

When the multitude surround40

and severely because Peter had made dising him cried Amen, Peter, durciples of some of his servants and aliening this Amen, gave up his spirit to the ated them from him. Therefore he was

Lord. When Marcellus saw that the

angry, and for a long time he would not

blessed Peter had given up the ghost,

speak with Agrippa. He sought how to

without communicating with anyone,

destroy all those brethren whom Peter

since it was not allowed, he took him

had instructed. And one night he saw a

down from the cross with his own hands

person striking him and saying, “Nero,

and bathed him in milk and wine. And

you cannot now persecute or destroy the

he ground seven pounds of mastic and

servants of Christ. Keep your hands from

also fifty pounds of myrrh and aloes and

them.” And in consequence of this vision

spice and anointed his body, and filled a

Nero became greatly afraid and left the

very costly marble coffin with Attic

disciples alone from that time in which

honey and buried him in his own tomb.

Peter had died. Thereafter the brethren

And Peter came to Marcellus by night

continued with one accord, rejoicing and

and said, “Marcellus did you not hear the

glorying in the Lord, and praised the God

Lord say, ‘Let the dead be buried by their

and Saviour of our Lord Jesus Christ with

own dead’?”18 When Marcellus said,

the Holy Spirit, to whom be glory for

“Yes”, Peter said to him, “What you spent

ever and ever. Amen.

on the dead is lost. For though alive you

were like a dead man caring for the

dead.” When Marcellus awoke he told of

171 Cor. 2: 9; cf. Gospel of Thomas 17. 18Matt. 8: 22

the appearance of Peter to the brethren,

and parallel.

NON-CANONICAL

EPISTLES AND

RELATED WRITINGS

156

NON-CANONICAL EPISTLES AND RELATED WRITINGS

There are more epistles in the New Testament than any other genre: four Gospels, one book of Acts, and one apocalypse, but twenty-one epistles. It is somewhat ironic that relatively few
apocryphal
epistles exist. There are some, of course, and these still make for fascinating reading. They include a set of correspondence allegedly between the apostle Paul and the greatest philosopher of his day Seneca (the historical Seneca, of course, knew nothing of Paul) and an anti-heretical piece called “3 Corinthians” (to match the 1 and 2 Corinthians of the New Testament).

Other epistles that were not forged in the name of an apostle are included in this collection because they were revered by one group or another as bearing sacred authority. This is true even of “orthodox” productions such as the Epistle of Barnabas, which is an anonymous piece later attributed to Paul’s traveling companion Barnabas, and the letter of 1

Clement, later assigned to a person thought to be a bishop of Rome. Both Barnabas and 1 Clement were considered by some orthodox Christians of later times to be canonical authorities and so were included in some manuscripts of the New Testament. Yet other non-canonical letters embody

“heretical” concerns, including several that are clearly gnostic creations—which try, in fact, to convince proto-orthodox readers that a gnostic point of view is correct (e.g., Ptolemy’s Letter to Flora and the Letter to Rheginus).

Some of the books included here are not typical letters, but are addresses to communities providing instruction on how to conduct their communal lives (e.g., the “Didache [i.e., the “Teaching”] of the Apostles”).

As is true of other writings found throughout this collection, some of these books have long been known by scholars (e.g., the Letter to the Laodiceans), whereas others—both orthodox and heretical—have been discovered just in modern times, often to much fanfare (e.g., the Didache and the Letter to Rheginus). Taken as a group, they show just how wide ranging the early Christian movement was in terms of belief, communal life, liturgical practice, and ethics.