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This is the first modern collection of studies on the most important aspects of the Acts of Peter, the source of the famous novel Quo Vadis ? by Henry Sienkiewicz. The collection of essays discusses many aspects of the Acts of Peter: its relationship with the Acts of John and the Acts of Paul, but also important themes such as the fascinating figure of Simon the Magician, Agrippa and his concubines. It looks at the nature of the theos aner, the role of women, the place of magic, the performance of miracles, the famous death of Peter upside-down, the regulae fidei and other early credal formulations. Finally it discusses the transmission and Latinity of the Acts, and the date and place of its publication.

Five major apocryphal Acts survive from the early period of the Christian church, the so-called Acts of Andrew, Paul, Peter, John, and Thomas. The Acts of Peter deals primarily with the conflict between the apostle Peter and Simon Magus, and the apostle's martyrdom. It employs traditional stories and the literary conventions of its day in a free manner to assure believers that they have ample reason to remain loyal to Christ, or return to faith if they have faltered. (back cover).

"The scope of this collection, as it examines the transformation of the ancient world into Byzantine Christianity, demonstrates that the early Christian apocryphal literature is a vital source for historians of Christianity, for scholars of patristics and of the New Testament, and for those inquiring into such timeless issues as the structure of political authority, the role of women, religious experience, and the organization of social responsibility."--BOOK JACKET.

This is the first modern book, which studies the most important aspects of this early Christian treatise, of which especially the Acts of Thecla and the Martyrdom of Paul were immensely popular in the Christian Church from Armenia to Anglo-Saxon England. The volume studies (1) the readership of the Acts, (2) important themes such as the resurrection, possible gnostic elements, the role of women (with a detailed study of the Acts of Thecla), Paul's encounter with the lion, his physiognomy, the events after Paul's martyrdom, the relationship with the canonical Acts and the text of the famous Codex Bezae, parallels with the Old and New Testament, and (3) the popularity of Thecla in later times. The wealth of episodes and details in these Acts makes the book of great interest to church historians, ancient historians, students of the New Testament, early Christianity, the ancient novel and of Women's Studies.

This book is the first modern collection of studies on the reception of the apostles and their companions in Late Antiquity, earlier Middle Ages and the Orthodox Churches. The volume opens with an exploration of the nature of the stories about the apostles in Late Antiquity, highlighting some of the questions and problems these stories tried to answer. Chapter 2 takes us to the Forum Romanum and the Apostle Peter, and the latter's antagonist Simon Magus appears again in the next chapter. The next five chapters focus on Paul and Thecla. The first two look at the relationship between the canonical Acts of the Apostles and the Acts of Paul by concentrating on spatial aspects as well as sex and intermarriage, respectively. Three chapters concentrate on Thecla and show that the Acts of Paul and Thecla and Thecla herself enjoyed a very high reputation, were seen as authoritative--if not canonical in certain circles--and a source of inspiration for later hagiographers. We see the apostle John at work in the fairly unfamiliar Acts of John by Prochorus and the Acts of Timothy, but also his connection with the church S. Giovanni a Porta Latina in Rome. The section on Thomas takes up the textual tradition of the Acts of Thomas with new manuscripts, and the reception of the Acts in the hagiography and liturgy of the Orthodox Churches. The last two chapters focus on Philip, whose Acts Acts shows that in fourth-century Hierapolis local paganism was still a factor to be taken into account and to be fought, but also that the treatise promoted ideals of civility and self-control, which were not that far removed from those in the Gospels. As has become usual, the volume ends with a detailed index.