# The Apocryphal Acts of Paul, Peter, John, Andrew and Thomas/Acts of Paul

The Acts of Paul is an apocryphal work originally in Greek preserved in a fragmentary Coptic translation. Certain sections of it are preserved separately in the original Greek, or in Latin, Armenian, and Syriac translations. Pick's 1909 translation gives a summary of the entire document along with full translations of the best-preserved portions.
THE APOCRYPHAL ACTS
I
THE ACTS OF PAUL
LITERATURE
Harnack, Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur, I, 128–131; II, 1, 491–93.
Zahn, Geschichte des Neutestamentlichen Kanons, II, 2, 865-92.
Schmidt, Die Paulusakten (Neue Heidelberger Jahrbücher), 1897, p. 217 ff.; comp. Zahn in Neue Kirchliche Zeitschrift, VIII (1897), p. 933–40; Harnack, Theologische Literaturzeitung, 1897, no. 24.
Harnack in Texte und Untersuchungen (new series), IV, 3, 1899; V, 3 (1900), p. 100–106.
Ehrhard, Die altchristliche Litteratur (1900), p. 152 ff.
Bardenhewer, Geschichte der altchristlichn Literatur, I (1902), p. 424-28.
Corssen, "Die Urgestalt der Paulusakten" (in Zeitschrift fur die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, 1903).
Hennecke, Neutestamentliche Apokryplien, 1904, pp. 357 ff. and Handbuch, pp. 358 ff.
Schmidt, Acta Pauli (aus der Heidelberger Koptischen Papyrus Handschrift No. 1 herausgegeben), 2 vols.; Leipzig 1904.
Leipoldt, Geschichte des Neutestamentlichen Kanons, Vol. 1 (Leipzig 1907), p. 258 ff.
Bardenhewer, Patrology (English translation by Th. J. Shahan), St. Louis, 1908, p. 100 ff.
Schmidt, Ein neues Fragment der Heidelberger Acta Pauli in "Sitzungsbericht der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften; Berlin 1909, p. 216-220. ​
The Acts of Paul (Praxeis Pauiu, or Acta, also Actus Pauli) are first mentioned by Origen, who quotes twice from them. Thus we read Hom. in John XX, 12: "if any one likes to receive that which is written in the Acts of Paul as said of the Saviour, 'I go to be crucified again.'" In a somewhat different form the same phrase occurs in the Acts of Peter. Since it is impossible to imagine that Origen should confound the Acts of Peter which were rejected as heretical with the Acts of Paul which he highly esteemed, Harnack may very well be right in supposing that the old Acts of Peter did not contain an account of Peter's martyrdom, but that this originally occurred in the Acts of Paul.
The second reference is found in De Princip., I, 2, 3, where we read: "Hence that word appears to me also spoken correctly which is written in the Acts of Paul: 'This is the word, a living being,' though not expressed so well as in the Prologue to the Fourth Gospel."
Without name the Acts are also referred to by Hippolytus (Commentary on Daniel, III, 29, 4 ed. Bonwetsch 176) who says : " for if we believe that when Paul was condemned to the wild beasts, the lion that was loosed upon him lay down at his feet and licked him, why should we not believe what happened in the case of Daniel in the lion's den?" This seems to suppose that the writing which contained the narrative concerning Paul was regarded as trustworthy in Church circles. Besides, the parallels are so obvious that there can be no doubt as to the author of the work. That the statement of Hippolytus is taken from the Acts of Paul is clear from the statement of Nicephorus Callisti (Church history, II, 25 in Migne, " Patrologia Graeca," Vol. CXLV, Col. 821–824, Paris 1865), who relates that this incident was related in the Periodoi Pauli.
This historian of the XIV. cent, speaks of Paul's fight with the beasts at Ephesus.
Nicephorus introduces his narrative with the words that those who described the "travels of Paul" recorded also very many things which he had already done before and ​suffered (before), as well as at the time when he was in Ephesus. That the "Journeys or Circuits of Paul" are identical with the "Acts or Deeds of Paul" needs no explanation.
Nicephorus then continues as follows: "When Jerome was head of the city, Paul came forth boldly. And he (Jerome) said, 'This is very good, but not the right time for such speeches.'" The populace of the city, however, being enraged, had Paul put in chains and locked up in prison, till he was cast before the lions to be eaten. But Eubula and Artemilla, the wives of prominent Ephesians, who were his disciples and sought his communion at night, desired the grace of divine baptism. By means of an extraordinary divine power and angels, which had spears and illuminated the darkness of the night by the abundance of inner splendor, Paul was released from his fetters and brought them to perfection through the divine baptism, having gone to the seashore without being noticed by the prison keepers. He returned again to the prison, to be kept as food for the lions. A very big and strong lion was let loose upon him, and having run up to his feet, lay down, and though many more beasts were let loose upon him, none would touch the holy body, which was supported and strengthened by prayer. While this was going on, an awful hailstorm came and crushed the heads of many men and of the wild beasts. Jerome too was hit by a hailstone, and in consequence of this he turned with his followers to the God of Paul, and received baptism. But the lion ran away to the mountains, and Paul sailed thence to Macedonia and Greece."
Eusebius (Hist, eccles., Ill, 25, 4), places the Acts of Paul amongst the Antilegomena, under the heading of nothoi or spurious, but ranks them with the Shepherd of Hermas, the Apocalypse of Peter, the Epistle of Barnabas, the Didache, and even the Apocalypse of John and the Epistle of the Hebrews.
In the list of books given in the Codex Claromontanus ( ​of the VI. cent.) the order is Barnabas, Apocalypse, Acts of the Apostles, Hernias, Acts of Paul, Apocalypse of Peter. In the stichometry of Nicephorus, besides the journeys of Peter, John, Thomas, also "the journeys of Paul" are mentioned. They contained 3600 stichoi. That the Acts of Paul are meant thereby there can be no doubt, for the number of stichoi is almost identical with the 3560 stichoi, ascribed to the Acts of Paul in the Codex Claromontanus.
The Muratorian Fragment and the Decretum Gelasianum (proclaimed 496) do not mention the Acts of Paul. The latter mentions instead the Actus Pauli et Theclce, which shows that long before the promulgation of the Gelasian decree the Acts of Paul and Thecla must have been detached from the main body of the " Acts." This accounts for the fact that till recently we knew considerably little of the Acts of Paul which were so highly esteemed in the Eastern Church.
The discovery of fragments of a Coptic translation of the Acts of Paul made by Prof. Carl Schmidt, has supplied us with enough material to enable us to reconstruct the original Acts. Aside from the three known portions : the Thecla narrative, the correspondence of Paul with the Corinthians, and the Martyrdom of Paul, the Coptic fragments, as far as they could be deciphered, supply enough material to show at least the connection of the narrative.
From the Acta Pauli published by Schmidt, we learn the following: The story opens with a deed of Paul at Antioch in Pisidia, where he raised from the dead the son of Anchares and Phila, who were evidently Jews. Being invited by Anchares to stay with him, Paul spends eight days in the house of Anchares. The Jews insist that Anchares should drive Paul from the city. But it seems that the apostle had anticipated them. Anchares openly professes Jesus as the Son of God. Now the Jews bring the apostle back to the city, abuse him, stone him and finally drive him away from the city. Anchares, who will not recompense evil with evil, retires with his wife to his house, where he fasts and prays. In the evening Paul returns again to Anchares, bids him farewell and betakes himself to Iconium. ​
This is followed by the story of Paul and Thecla, the greater part of which is preserved.
The next scene is at Myra, where Thecla left him. Here lived the dropsical Hermocrates. Having heard of the power of the God whom Paul preached, he fell down at the feet of Paul together with his wife and children, beseeching his help. The apostle promised to help him in the name of Jesus Christ. At this the dropsical man fell down, his body opened and much water came forth. Those that stood by, believed the sufferer to be dead; but the apostle lifted him up and gave him bread to eat. At this Hermocrates and his wife were baptized. But the elder son Hermippus was not pleased with the turn of affairs, as he had already been counting on the inheritance. With his friends he plotted against the life of the apostle. In the meantime the second son of Hermocrates, Dion, who carefully listened to the words of the apostle, hurt himself and died. The apostle restored him to life again. Being admonished in a vision of the danger which threatened him, he receives Hermippus who rushes upon him with his drawn sword with the same word with which Jesus met the bailiffs in Gethsemane. Hermippus suddenly grows blind. He asks his companions not to leave him in his misery and accuses himself of having persecuted innocent blood. He prays all to ask Paul to cure him from his blindness and reminds them of what Paul did for his father and brother. Paul being deeply moved, goes away. The companions carry Hermippus to the house, in which Paul is teaching. The blind man touches the feet of all who went in and asks them to intercede for him before Paul. Among these are his parents Hermocrates and Nympha who bring corn and money to be distributed among the poor because of Dion's deliverance. The parents are greatly distressed at the condition of their son. Paul and the parents pray for Hermippus; he is healed and imagines that the apostle put his hand on him. . . . From Myra Paul went to Sidon. On the way some Christians from Perge in Pamphylia join him, Thrasymachus and Aline (or Alype) Cleon and ​Chrysa, who entertain the apostle. They rest under a tree ( ?) where there is a heathen altar. Paul speaks of contamination by idolatry, against which an old man protests who tries to persuade the hearers to retain the old belief, adducing many instances, where the adoption of Christianity caused the death of the converts. ... In Sidon Paul preaches, exhorting the inhabitants to think of Sodom and Gomorrha, and admonishes them to believe because of his miracles. On this account he is imprisoned with Thrasymachus and Cleon in the temple of Apollo, and supplied with precious victuals. Paul however fasts three days and prays in the night for the help of God. At once one-half of the temple falls down. When the servants of the temple and the conspirators see this, they proclaimed it in the whole city. The inhabitants run to the temple, where they find Paul and his companions weeping "because of this temptation, which will make them a spectacle for all." At the request of the multitude they are led into the theatre. . . . (What happened here we know not. It seems that miracles were performed for the salvation of Paul, which changed the opinion of the people. For in the end the) " God is praised, who sent Paul, and a certain Theudes is baptized." Paul leaves Sidon for Tyre.
In Tyre Paul casts out some devils and two men Amphion and Chrysippus are mentioned, with whom he has to do.
(After this comes a series of mutilated fragments, but the apostle is supposed by the editor of the Coptic Acts to travel on to Jerusalem, since we come to a fragment belonging to the first half which runs as follows : " thou findest thyself in view of Jerusalem. But I trust in the Lord that thou wilt . . . Saul . . ." Since in the following the name of Peter is mentioned, it is possible that Paul meets him at Jerusalem, probably at the time of the apostolic council.)
The next fragment shows the apostle as prisoner in a mine, where, we know not. A certain Longinus is introduced, whose daughter Phrontina is condemned to be hurled from a rock. As Paul is blamed for the fate of the daughter, the father insists that the apostle should also die with her. In a vision Paul is made aware of the attempt on ​his life, but he goes about his work with the other prisoners as usual. On the third day Phrontina, lamented by her parents and soldiers, is carried forth on a bier to meet her death. . . . Paul raises Phrontina from the dead, and leads her through the city to the house of her father. The result is that the God who restored to life Phrontina, is now acknowledged by the multitude as the only God, the creator of heaven and earth. Paul goes to Philippi.
Here, as presently appears, Paul was put in prison because of Stratonike, the wife of Apollophanes. While at Philippi, messengers came to Paul with a letter from Corinth complaining of the teaching of Simon and Cleobius (Here follows the correspondence).
Another fragment contains a farewell scene, which reminds us of a like one, at Miletus, mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, chap. xx. Paul says : " The grace of the Lord shall go with me, that I may finish in patience all administration, which shall come to me." When they heard this, they became sad and fasted. And Cleobius rose up, and speaking through the spirit said to them : " Brethren, the [Almighty?] will permit Paul to accomplish all and allow him to go up [to Jerusalem?] ; thence he shall teach . . . in great instruction and knowledge and sowing of the word, that he will be envied, that he departs from this world." When the brethren and Paul heard this, they lifted up their voice, saying: . . . But the spirit came upon Myrte, and she said: "Brethren, . . . and look at this sign, by ( ?) . . . Paul namely, the servant of the Lord, shall save many at Rome, and nourish many by the word, that they shall be without number, and he reveals himself more than all believers. Then shall . . . come of the Lord Jesus Christ and a great mercy shall be . . . in Rome." And this is the manner in which the Spirit spoke to Myrte. All partake then of the bread, are filled with joy and celebrate the Lord's Supper, singing psalms. — This is the substance of the Coptic fragments.
Who was the author of the Acts of Paul? Tertullian (between 220 and 240) writes in his treatise De Baptismo, ch. XVII : " But if any defend those things which have been rashly ascribed to Paul, under the example of Thecla, ​so as to give license to women to teach and baptize, let them know that the presbyter in Asia, who compiled the account, as it were, under the title of Paul, accumulating of his own store, being convicted of what he had done, and confessing that he had done it out of love to Paul, was removed from his place. For how could it seem probable that he who would not give any firm permission to a woman to learn should grant to a female to teach and baptize?" There can be no doubt that this account of Tertullian refers to the whole work and not merely to the Acts of Paul and Thecla. For in the latter little or nothing is said of deeds of the apostle. All which we now have of the Acts of Paul are only portions which were early detached from the original work. We can therefore apply the remark of Tertullian to the entire work, which was composed by a presbyter in Asia who was deposed because he used the name of the apostle. And it is interesting to know that amongst the Coptic fragments is the conclusion of the whole MS. together with the statement; "The Acts of Paul according to the Apostle," i.e. according to St. Paul himself.
The author being a presbyter of Asia, whose history Tertullian knows, we may take it for granted that the Acts were composed at least before A.D. 200, perhaps somewhere between 165 and 195, and most probably within a few years of the middle of that period. Hennecke puts the time between 160-180; Leipoldt names the year 180.
The Acta Pauli were no doubt intended to show the popular Christianity of the second century, of which Paul was the best exponent. The tendency of the author was to give a counterpart to the canonical Acts of the Apostles. The author who wrote " out of love to Paul " was deposed, but his work retained an honorable place in the Church literature.
A. The Acts of Paul and Thecla.
LITERATURE
Pick. Art. " Acts of Thecla and Paul," in McClintock and Strong's Cyclop., Vol. X (1881), 310-314, where the older literature is also given. ​
Pick, The "Acts of Paul and Thecla" in Lutheran Quarterly, 1888, 585-601.
Harnack, Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur, I, 136 ff., II, 491-508.
Zahn, Geschichte des neutestamentlichen Kanons, II, 2 p. 892-910.
Von Gebhardt, "Die lateinischen Uebersetzungen der Acta Pauli et Theclae" (in Texte und Untersuchungen, XXII, 2 (1902).
Lipsius, Die apokryphen Apostelgeschichten, II, 1 (1887), pp. 424-467.
Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha, I (1891) pp. XCIV-CVI; 235-272.
Gwynn. Art. "Thecla" in Dict, of Christian Biography, IV (1887), 882-896.
Wohlenberg, "Die Bedeutung der Thekla-Akten fuer die neutest. Forschung" (in Zeitschrift fuer Kirchliche Wissenschaft und Kirchliches Leben, IX (1888), 363-382.
Rey, Etude sur les Acta Pauli et Thecia, et la legende de Thecia, Paris, 1890.
Ramsay, The Church in the Roman Empire, 3d ed. London, 1894, 375-428.
Conybeare, The Apology and Acts of Apollonius and other monuments of Early Christianity, London 1894, 49-88. Cabrol, La legende de Ste. Thecia, Paris, 1895.
Hennecke, Neutestamentliche Apokryphen, 1904, 358 ff.
Handbuch, 1904, 359 sqq.
Schmidt, Acta Pauli, 1904, 145-161.
Bardenhewer, Patrology, p. 102 ff.
Holzhey, Die Thekla-Akten, Ihre V erbreitung und Beurteilung in der Kirche, Munich 1005.
One of the oldest and most interesting relics of the extant New Testament Apocrypha, is the Acts of St. Paul and Thecla. They were first edited by Grabe in his Spicilegium, Oxford, 1698 (2d ed., 1700); again by Tischendorf in his Acta Apocrypha, Leipzig, 1851; and more recently by Lipsius, who together with Bonnet, published a new edition of Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha, 2 Vols. 1891–1903. ​
Grabe's text was published from a manuscript belonging to the twelfth century. To the same time (X.–XIII. cent.) the other manuscripts belong, and it is therefore difficult to say at what time the Acta Theclæ were detached from the Acta Pauli. But this must have been done long before the so-called decree of Gelasius (496) was issued, which excludes from the list of "scriptures received by the Church" the book which is called "the Acts of Paul and Thecla." But we have yet earlier testimonies. The earliest is that of Tertullian, in his treatise De Baptismo, c. XVII., already alluded to. It has been taken for granted that the meaning is that a presbyter of Asia, somewhat towards the end of the first century, compiled a history of Paul and Thecla, and, instead of publishing it as a true narrative, either in his own name, or with any name at all, but in good faith, published it falsely, and therefore wickedly, under the name of Paul, as though he were himself the writer; that he was convicted of his forgery, and deposed from the priesthood.
This account has been marvelously dressed up, and some of its advocates have ventured to say that a Montanist writer of the name of Leucius was the real author of these Acts. (Tillemont, Mémoires, II, 446).
The next witness is Jerome, who in his Catalogus Script. Eccl. c:7 (written about the year 392), commenting upon the passage of Tertullian, says that the presbyter who wrote the history of Paul and Thecla was deposed for what he had done by John (apud Johannem) the Apostle. That Jerome relied upon Tertullian is evident from his statement; but his conduct in fathering the story of the deposition by John upon Tertullian is inexcusable, because no such statement was made by Tertullian. Tertullian speaks of an Asiatic presbyter, Jerome adds apud Johannem, and his copyists instead of "apud Johannem," write "a Johanne."
Of Eastern writers who were acquainted with our Acts, we mention Basil, bishop of Seleucia (431-467), author of a "Life and Miracles of St. Thecla" (see Migne, Pat. Gr. 85 col. 477 ff.), Nicetas of Paphlagonia, towards the end of the ninth century, and Simeon Metaphrastes in the tenth. The only writer who treats Thecla directly, and not by way of mere passing allusion, is Methodius, the author of ​Symposium Decem Virginum (written about A. D. 300). Into this Symposium or dialogue ten virgins are introduced as contending in the presence of Areté concerning chastity. At the end of the dialogue Thecla leads off a hymn, to which the rest, standing round as a chorus respond: "I keep myself pure for Thee, O Bridegroom, and holding a lighted torch I go to meet Thee."
In inviting Thecla to speak, Areté designates her a disciple of Paul: in her oration she speaks of those who "set little by wealth, distinction, race or marriage, and are ready to yield their bodies to wild beasts and to the fire, because of their yearning and enthusiasm for the things that are in supermundane places." After Gregorion had finished the address, Euboulios cannot suppress her admiration; she knows of other acts of Thecla, with which what they have just heard coincides, for says she: "I know her wisdom also for other noble actions, and what sort of things she succeeded in speaking, giving proof of supreme love to Christ; and how glorious she often appeared in meeting the chief conflicts of the martyrs, procuring for herself a zeal equal to her courage, and a strength of body equal to the wisdom of her counsels." After the last two virgins have finished speaking, Areté addresses them all saying: "And having in my hearing sufficiently contended by words, I pronounce you all victors and crown you: but Thecla with a larger and thicker chaplet, as the chief of you, and as having shone with greater luster than the rest." From the latter passage we can infer how greatly esteemed Thecla was already in the third century. Allusions to her we find also in the writings of Gregory Nazianzen. In his first address against Julian the Apostate, he concluded a catalogue of apostles and disciples of the apostles with Thecla; he also speaks of her as a virgin who had escaped the "tyranny" of her betrothed husband and her mother (Oratio, XXIV.) and (Exhortatio ad Virgines, II) connects ​her escape with Paul's suffering hunger. Gregory of Nyssa (Hom., XIV. in Cant, cantic.) speaks of her as Paul's virgin disciple, and (Vita Macrinæ) he calls her a virgin martyr. Epiphanius (Hæres. 79, 5) puts Thecla by the side of Elias, John the Baptist and the Virgin Mother, and praises her for sacrificing under Paul's teaching her prospects of a prosperous marriage. Chrysostom tells us how Thecla managed to see Paul. In his Homily, XXV. (in Acta Apost.) he says: "Hear then of the blessed Thecla, who for the sake of seeing Paul, gave up her jewels; but thou wilt not give an obolus for the sake of seeing Christ."
Isidore of Pelusium (Lib., I. epist. 260) calls her "protomartyr," and John of Damascus in an address on those who have died in the faith, says, that one should pray to God not for his own soul alone, but also for that of others, as the protomartyr Thecla had done. Zeno of Verona (De Timore) of the fourth century who joins her name with that of Daniel, Jonah, Peter gives an account of the Thecla-Antiochian martyrdom as told in the Acts, giving as it does particulars of the bulls goaded to attack her, her perils from the seals, and the fiery cloud which covered her nakedness. Ambrose joins her name with that of Agnes and with the virgin Mother, Daniel and John as the " Immaculatus chorus puritatis " (De lapsu virginls, c :3, 4), and with Miriam, Moses' sister (epist. 63, 34 Ad Vercellensem eccles.); and Sulpicius Severus in his account of St. Martin of Tours, written about 403 narrates that Thecla together with Agnes and Mary often appeared unto him. Even Jerome though as we have seen he rejects the written narrative of her life, asserts the traditional prevalence of her fame by adducing her as an example of saintliness. Churches were built in Thecla's honor. As early as 385 A. D. the "Martyrium" ​of Thecla near Seleucia was visited by Sylvia of Aquitania, who in her travels gives a description of the locality with its monasteries and the church, which inclosed the "Martyrium" and states that she prayed in the "Monasterium" and read there the holy history of Thecla.
From all indications it may be inferred that the work was composed at least before A. D. 200, perhaps somewhere between 165 and 195, and most probably within a few years of the middle of that period. And this will hold good of the Acts of Paul in general. Though deeply tinged with Encratism, and notwithstanding the author's deposition from his ministry, the history of Thecla was universally welcomed in Catholic circles, was frequently re-edited, and often used as a subject of homiletic discourse.
An indication of the early origin of the Acts of Thecla is the absence of quotations from the New Testament. There is not a single direct citation, yet the student cannot fail to discover many instances in which the New Testament has been used.
After these preliminary remarks we now give the Acts of Paul and Thecla. The Greek text is found in Lipsius Acta Apocrypha, I, 235–269; the Coptic, as far as it goes and its German translation in Schmidt, Acta Pauli, pp. 27–53.
Acts of Paul and Thecla.
1. As Paul was going up to Iconium after his flight from Antioch, his fellow-travelers were Demas and Hermogenes, the coppersmith, full of hypocrisy, and persisted in staying with Paul, as if they loved him. Paul looking only to the goodness of Christ, did them no harm, but loved them exceedingly, ​so that he made sweet to them all the words of the Lord and the oracles of the gospel concerning the birth and resurrection of the Beloved; and he gave them an account, word for word, of the great deeds of Christ, how they were revealed to him [that Christ is born of the virgin Mary and of the seed of David].
2. And a certain man, by name Onesiphorus, hearing that Paul was to come to Iconium, went out to meet him with his children Simmias and Zeno, and his wife Lectra, in order that he might entertain him. For Titus had informed him what Paul was like in appearance. For he had not seen him in the flesh, but only in the spirit.
3. And he went along the royal road to Lystra, and kept looking at the passers-by according to the description of Titus.<ref>In the Philopatris of Pseudo-Lucian of the 4th cent, Paul is contemptuously alluded to as "the bald-headed, hook-nosed Galilean, who trod the air into the third heaven, and learned the most beautiful things."
Malala of Antioch, of the 6th cent, describes Paul as being in person "round-shouldered, with a sprinkling of grey on his head and beard, with an aquiline nose, greyish eyes, meeting eyebrows, with a mixture of pale and red in his complexion, and an ample beard. With a genial expression of countenance, he was sensible, earnest, easily accessible, sweet, and inspired with the Holy Spirit."
Nicephorus of the 14th cent, says: "Paul was short and dwarfish in stature, and as it were, crooked in person and ​slightly bent. His face was pale, his aspect winning. He was bald-headed, and his eyes were bright. His nose was prominent and aquiline, his beard thick and tolerably long, and both this and his head were sprinkled with white hairs."
Luther imagined; "St. Paulus war ein armes, dürres Männlein, wie Magister Philippus" (Melanchthon).</ref> And he saw Paul coming, a man small in size, bald-headed, bandy-legged, of noble mien, with eyebrows meeting, rather long-nosed, full of grace. For sometimes he seemed like a man, and sometimes he had the countenance of an angel.
4. And Paul, seeing Onesiphorus, smiled; and Onesiphorus said, "Hail, O servant of the blessed God." And he said, " Grace be with thee and thy house." And Demas and Hermogenes were jealous and showed greater hypocrisy, so that Demas said: "are we not of the blessed God, that thou hast not thus saluted us?" And Onesiphorus said, "I see not in you the fruit of righteousness; but if such you be, come also into my house and refresh yourselves."
5. And Paul having gone into the house of Onesiphorus, there was great joy, and bending of knees, and breaking of bread, and the word about self-control and the resurrection, Paul saying: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God; blessed are they that have kept the flesh chaste, for they shall become a temple of God; blessed are they that control themselves, for God shall speak with ​them; blessed are they that have kept aloof from this world, for they shall please God; blessed are they that have wives as not having them, for they shall receive God for their portion; blessed are they that have the fear of God, for they shall become angels of God.
6. "Blessed are they that tremble at the word of God, for they shall be comforted; blessed are they that have received the wisdom of Jesus Christ, for they shall be called the sons of the Most High; blessed are they that have kept the baptism, for they shall be refreshed by the Father and the Son; blessed are they who have come to a knowledge of Christ, for they shall be in the light; blessed are they that through love of God have come out from conformity with the world, for they shall judge angels, and shall be blessed at the right hand of the Father; blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy, and shall not see the bitter day of judgment; blessed are the bodies of the virgins, for they shall be well pleasing to God, and shall not lose the reward of their chastity. For the word of the Father shall become to them a work of salvation against the day of the Son, and they shall rest for ever and ever." ​
7. And while Paul was thus speaking in the midst of the congregation in the house of Onesiphorus, a certain virgin named Thecla, the daughter of Theoclia, betrothed to a man named Thamyris, sitting at the window close by, listened day and night to the discourse of virginity and prayer, as proclaimed by Paul. And she did not look away from the window, but paid earnest heed to the faith [rejoicing exceedingly]. And when she saw many women and virgins going in beside Paul, she also had an eager desire to be deemed worthy to hear the words of Christ. For she had not yet seen Paul's figure, but heard his word only.
8. As she did not move from the window, her mother sent to Thamyris. And he came gladly, as if already receiving her in marriage. And Thamyris said to Theoclia, "Where, then, is my Thecla <that I may see her>"? And Theoclia answered, "I have a strange story to tell thee, Thamyris. For three days and three nights Thecla does not rise from the window, neither to eat, nor to drink; but looking earnestly as if upon some pleasant sight, she is devoted to a foreigner teaching deceitful and artful discourses, that I wonder how a virgin of her great modesty exposes herself to such painful vexations.
9. "Thamyris! this man will overturn the city of the Iconians, and thy Thecla too, besides; for all the women and the young men go in beside him to be taught by him, who says one must fear only one God and live in chastity. Moreover, also, my ​daughter, tied to the window like a spider, lays hold of what is said by him with a strange eagerness and awful emotion. For the virgin looks eagerly at what is said by him, and has been captivated. But do thou go near and speak to her, for she has been betrothed to thee."
10. And Thamyris going near, and kissing her, but at the same time also being afraid of her overpowering emotion, said, "Thecla, my betrothed, why thus? And what sort of feeling holds thee overpowered? Come back to thy Thamyris, and be ashamed." Moreover, also, her mother said the same things: "Why dost thou sit thus looking down, my child, and answering nothing, but like a mad woman?" And they <that were in the house > wept bitterly, Thamyris for the loss of a wife, Theoclia of a child, and the maidservants of a mistress. And there was a great outpouring of lamentation in the house. And while these things were thus going on, Thecla did not turn round, but kept attending earnestly to the word of Paul.
11. And Thamyris, starting up, went forth into the street, and watched all going in to Paul and coming out. And he saw two men bitterly quarreling with each other, and he said to them, "Men, who are you, and tell me who is this among you, leading astray the souls of young men, and deceiving virgins, so that they do not marry, but remain as they are? I promise you money enough if you ​tell me about him; for I am the first man of this city."
12. And Demas and Hermogenes said to him, "Who he is we know not. But he deprives the husbands of wives and maidens of husbands, saying, 'there is for you a resurrection in no other way, except ye remain chaste and pollute not the flesh.'"
13. And Thamyris said to them, "Come into my house and refresh yourselves." And they went to a sumptuous supper, and much wine, and great wealth and a splendid table. And Thamyris made them drink, from his love to Thecla, and his wish to get her as a wife <on the day appointed by her mother Theoclia>. And during the supper Thamyris said, "Ye men, tell me, what is his teaching, that I also may know, for I am no little distressed about Thecla, because she thus loves the stranger, and I am prevented from marrying."
14. And Demas and Hermogenes said <as with one mouth > "Bring him before the Governor Castellius, because he persuades the multitude to embrace the new teaching of the Christians, and he will destroy him, and thou shalt have Thecla as thy wife. And we shall teach thee about the resurrection, that it has already taken place in the children [and we rise again, after having come to the true knowledge of God]." ​
15. And when Thamyris heard these things he rose up early in the morning, and, filled with rage and anger, he went into the house of Onesiphorus with archons and lictors, and a great crowd with batons and said [to Paul], "Thou hast deceived the city of the Iconians, and especially my betrothed bride, so that she will not have me! Let us go to the Governor Castellius!" And the whole crowd cried, "Away with the sorcerer! for he has misled all our wives," and the masses were also incited.
16. And Thamyris standing before the tribunal, said with a great shout, "O proconsul, this man—we know not whence he is—who makes virgins averse to marriage, let him say before thee why he teaches thus." But Demas and Hermogenes said to Thamyris, " Say that he is a Christian and he will die at once." But the proconsul stayed his intention, and called Paul saying, "Who art thou, and what dost thou teach? for they bring no small accusation against thee."
17. And Paul, lifting up his voice, said, "If I to-day must tell any of my teachings, then listen, O proconsul: the living God, the God of vengeance, [the jealous God], the God who has need of nothing, who seeks the salvation of men, has sent me that I may reclaim them from corruption and uncleanness and from all pleasure, and from death, that they may sin no more. On this account God sent his ​Son, whose gospel I preach and teach, that in him men have hope; who alone has had compassion upon a world led astray, that men may be no longer under judgment, but may have faith and fear of God and knowledge of honesty and love of truth. If, therefore, I teach what has been revealed to me by God, what wrong am I doing, O proconsul?" When the proconsul heard this, he ordered Paul to be bound and sent to prison, until he had time to hear him more attentively.
18. And Thecla, by night, took off her bracelet and gave it to the gatekeeper; and the door being opened to her, she went into the prison. To the jailer she gave a silver mirror, and was thus enabled to go in beside Paul, and sitting at his feet, she heard the great deeds of God. And Paul was afraid of nothing, but trusted in God. And her faith also increased and she kissed his bonds.
19. And when Thecla was missed by her friends and Thamyris, they were running up and down the streets, as if she had been lost, and one of the gatekeeper's fellow-slaves informed them that she had gone out by night. And they examined the gatekeeper, who said to them, " She has gone to the foreigner into the prison." And having gone, they found her, as it were, enchained by affection. And having gone forth thence, they incited the people, and informed the governor what had happened.
20. And he ordered Paul to be brought before the tribunal ; but Thecla was wallowing on the place where Paul had sat whilst in prison. And the Governor ​ordered her also to be brought to [the tribunal], and she came with an exceedingly great joy. And when Paul had been led forth, the crowd vehemently cried out, "He is a sorcerer, away with him! But the proconsul gladly heard Paul upon the holy works of Christ. And having called a council he summoned Thecla and said, "Why dost thou not marry Thamyris, according to the law of the Iconians?" But she stood looking earnestly at Paul. And when she gave no answer, Theoclia, her mother, cried out saying: "Burn the wicked one; burn her in the midst of the theatre who will not marry, that all the women that have been taught by this man may be afraid."
21. And the proconsul was greatly moved; and having scourged Paul, he cast him out of the city. But Thecla he condemned to be burned. And immediately the governor arose and went away to the theatre. And the whole multitude went out to witness the spectacle. But as a lamb in the wilderness looks around for the shepherd, so Thecla kept searching for Paul. And having looked upon the crowd, she saw the Lord sitting in the likeness of Paul, and said, "As if I were unable to endure, Paul has come to look after me." And she gazed upon him with great earnestness, but he went up into heaven.
22. And the boys and girls brought wood and straw, in order that Thecla might be burned. And ​when she came in naked, the governor wept and admired the power that was in her. And the executioners arranged the wood and told her to go up on the pile. And she, having made the sign of the cross, went up on the pile. And they lighted the fire. And though a great fire was blazing, it did not touch her. For God, having compassion upon her, made an underground rumbling and a cloud full of water and hail overshadowed (the theater) from above, and all that was in the cavity of it was poured out, so that many <of the lookers-on > were in danger of death. And the fire was put out and Thecla saved.
23. And Paul was fasting with Onesiphorus and his wife, and his children, in a new tomb, on the way which led from Iconium to Daphne. And when many days were past in fasting, the children said to Paul: "We are hungry." And they had nothing to buy bread, for Onesiphorus had left the things of this world, and followed Paul, with all his house. And Paul, having taken off his cloak, said, "Go, my child, sell this and buy some loaves and bring them.' And when the child was buying he saw Thecla their neighbor, and was astonished and said, "Thecla, whither art thou going?" And she said, "I have been saved from the fire, and am following Paul." And the child said, "Come, I shall take thee to him; for he is distressed about thee and prays and is fasting already six days."
24. And when she had come to the tomb, where Paul was kneeling and praying, "Father of < ​Jesus> Christ, let not the fire touch Thecla, but stand by her, for she is thine"; she, standing behind him, cried out, "O Father, who hast made the heaven and the earth, Thou the Father of thy beloved Son Jesus Christ I praise thee that thou hast saved me from the fire, that I may see Paul again." And Paul rising up, saw her, and said, "O God, that knowest the heart, Father of [our Lord] Jesus Christ; I praise thee, that thou hast speedily heard my prayer."
25. And there was great love in the tomb, for Paul and Onesiphorus and the others all rejoiced. And they had five loaves, and herbs, and water, and they rejoiced in the holy works of Christ. And Thecla said to Paul, "I will cut my hair off, and I shall follow thee whithersoever thou goest." But he said, "Times are evil, and thou art beautiful. I am afraid lest another temptation come upon thee worse than the first, and that thou withstand it not, but become mad after men." And Thecla said, "Only give me the seal in Christ, and no temptation shall touch me." And Paul said, " Thecla, be patient, thou shalt receive the water [baptism]."
26. And Paul sent away Onesiphorus and all his house to Iconium ; and having taken Thecla, went into Antioch. And as soon as they had arrived a ​certain Syrian, Alexander by name, an influential citizen of Antioch, seeing Thecla, became enamoured of her, and tried to gain over Paul by gifts and presents. But Paul said, "I know not the woman of which thou speakest, nor is she mine." But he, being of great power, openly embraced her in the street. But she would not endure it, but looked about for Paul. And she cried out bitterly, saying, "Do not force the stranger; do not force the maiden of God. I am one of the chief persons of the Iconians, and because I would not marry Thamyris I have been cast out of the city." And taking hold of Alexander, she tore his cloak, and pulled off his crown, and made him a laughingstock.
27. And he, on the one hand loving her, and on the other ashamed of what had happened, led her before the proconsul; and as she confessed that she had done these things, he condemned her to the wild beasts < Alexander arranging the games >. The women of the city cried out beside the tribunal, "Evil judgment! impious judgment!" And Thecla asked the proconsul to be let alone until she shall fight with the wild beasts. And a rich woman [of royal descent] named Tryphaena, whose daughter was dead, took her into keeping and had her for a consolation. ​
28. And when the beasts were exhibited, they bound her to a fierce lioness, and Queen Tryphaena followed her. And the lioness, with Thecla sitting upon her, licked her feet; and all the multitude was astonished. And the charge on her inscription was "Sacrilegious." And the women and children cried out again and again, "O God, outrageous things take place in this city." And after the exhibition Tryphsena received her again. For her dead daughter had said to her in a dream, "Mother, receive this stranger, the forsaken Thecla in my place, that she may pray for me and I come to the place of the just."
29. And when after the exhibition, Tryphsena had received her, she was grieved on the one hand because she had to fight on the following day with the wild beasts, on the other hand she < grieved > very much over her daughter Falconilla, and said: "Thecla, my second child, come, pray for my child, that she may live [in eternity]; for this I saw in my sleep." And without hesitation she lifted up her voice, and said, "My God, thou Son of the Most High, who art in heaven grant her wish that her daughter Falconilla may live in eternity." And when Thecla had thus spoken, Tryphaena grieved very much, considering that such beauty is to be thrown to the wild beasts. ​
30. And when it was dawn Alexander came to her, for it was he who arranged the exhibition of wild beasts—and said, "The proconsul has taken his seat, and the crowd is clamoring; get ready, I will take her that is to fight with the wild beasts." And Tryphsena cried aloud, so that he even fled, saying; " A second mourning for my Falconilla has come upon my house, and there is no one to help; neither child, for she is dead, nor kinsman, for I am a widow. God of Thecla, my child, help Thecla."
31. And the proconsul sent soldiers to bring Thecla. Tryphsena departed not from her, but took her by the hand and led her away, saying, "My daughter Falconilla I took away to the tomb; but thee, Thecla, I take to the wild-beast fight." And Thecla wept bitterly, and sighed to the Lord, "O Lord God, in whom I trust, to whom I have fled for refuge, who didst deliver me from the fire, reward Tryphsena, who has had compassion on thy servant, and because she kept me pure."
32. And there arose a tumult: the wild beasts howled, the people and the women, sitting near by crying, the one saying, " Away with the sacrilegious person!" The others saying, "O that the city would be destroyed on account of this iniquity! Kill us all, proconsul; miserable spectacle, awful judgment!"
33. And Thecla having been taken from the hands of Tryphaena, was stripped, and received an apron and was thrown into the arena. And lions ​and bears were let loose upon her. And a fierce lioness having run up to her feet, lay down. But the multitude of the women cried aloud. And a bear ran upon her; but the lioness went to meet it and tore the bear to pieces. And again a lion that had been trained against men, which belonged to Alexander, ran upon her. And the lioness, encountering the lion, was killed along with him. And the women cried the more, since also the lioness, her protector, was dead.
34. Then they send in many beasts, she standing and stretching forth her hands, and praying. And when she had finished her prayer, she turned around and saw a large ditch full of water, and said, "Now it is time to wash myself." And she threw herself in, saying, "In the name of Jesus Christ I baptize myself on my last day." When the women saw it, and the multitude, they wept and said, "Do not throw thyself into the water!" so that also the governor shed tears, because the seals were to devour such beauty. She then threw herself into the water in the name of Jesus Christ; but the seals having seen the glare of lightning, floated about dead. And there was round her a cloud of fire, so that the beasts could neither touch her, nor could she be seen naked.
35. But the women lamented, when other more fierce animals were let loose, and some threw green herbs, others nard, others cassia, others amomum, ​so that there was an abundance of perfumes. And all the wild beasts were as hypnotized and touched her not. And Alexander said to the proconsul, "I have some terrible bulls, to which we will bind her that is to fight with the beasts." And the proconsul said in a sullen manner, "Do what thou wilt." And they bound her by the feet between the bulls, and put red-hot irons under their privy parts, so that they, being rendered more furious, might kill her. They rushed about, therefore; but the burning flame consumed the ropes, and she was as if she had not been bound.
36. And Tryphaena fainted standing beside the arena, so that the servants said, "Queen Tryphaena is dead." And the proconsul put a stop to the games, and the whole city was in dismay. And Alexander fell down to the feet of the proconsul and cried, "Have mercy upon me and upon the city, and give the woman free, lest the city be also destroyed. For if Caesar hear of these things, he will possibly destroy the city also along with us, because his kinswoman Tryphaena [the Queen], has died beside the circus gate."
37. And the proconsul summoned Thecla out of the midst of the beasts, and said to her, "Who art thou? and what is there about thee, that no one of the wild beasts touch thee?" She answered, "I am a servant of the living God; and as to what there is about me, I have believed in the Son of God, in whom he is well pleased, wherefore not one of the beasts has touched me. For he alone is the goal of ​salvation, and the basis of immortal life. For he is a refuge to the tempest-tossed, a solace to the afflicted, a shelter to the despairing; in a word: whosoever believes not in him shall not live, but be dead forever."
38. When the proconsul heard these things he ordered garments to be brought, and to be put on. And she said, " He that clothed me when I was naked among the beasts, will in the day of judgment clothe me with salvation." And taking the garments, she put them on.
And the proconsul immediately issued an edict, saying, " I release to you the God-fearing Thecla, the servant of God." And the women shouted aloud, and with one mouth praised God: " (There is) one God; who saved Thecla" — so that the whole city was shaken by their voices.
39. And Tryphsena having received the good news, went with the multitude to meet Thecla. Having embraced her, she said, "Now I believe that the dead are raised! Now I believe that my child lives; come within, and all that is mine I shall assign to thee." And Thecla went in along with her, and rested eight days, instructing her in the word of God, so that even some of the maidservants believed. And there was great joy in the house.
40. And Thecla kept seeking Paul. And she was told that he was in Myra. And taking young men and maidens, she girded herself; and having ​sewed the tunic so as to make a man's cloak, she came to Myra, where she found Paul speaking the word of God. And he was astonished at seeing her and her companions, thinking that some new trial was coming upon her. And perceiving this, she said to him, "I have received baptism, O Paul; for He who wrought along with thee for the gospel has wrought in me also for baptism."
41. And Paul, taking her, led her to the house of Hermias and heard everything from her, so that Paul greatly wondered and those who heard were strengthened and prayed for Tryphaena. And Thecla rose up and said to Paul, " I am going to Iconium." Paul answered, " Go, and teach the word of God." And Tryphaena sent her much clothing and gold, so that she could leave many things to Paul for the service of the poor.
42. And having come to Iconium, she went into the house of Onesiphorus, and fell upon the place where Paul used to sit and taught the word of God and she cried and said, " My God and God of this house, where the light did shine upon me, Jesus Christ, Son of God, my help in prison, my help before the proconsuls, my help in the fire, my help among the wild beasts, thou alone art God, and to thee be glory for ever. Amen."
43. And she found Thamyris dead, but her mother alive. And calling her mother, she said, "Theoclia, my mother, canst thou believe that the ​Lord liveth in heaven? For whether thou desirest wealth, the Lord will give it to thee through me ; or thy child, behold, I am standing beside thee."
And having thus testified, she went to Seleucia and enlightened many by the word of God; then she rested in a glorious sleep.
Note. — In some MSS. we read after Seleucia "and dwelt in a cave seventy-two years, living upon herbs and water. And she enlightened many by the word of God. And certain men of the city, being Greeks by religion, and physicians by profession, sent to her insolent young men to destroy (or corrupt) her. For they said: She is a virgin, and serves Artemis, and from this she has virtue in healing. And by the providence of God she entered into the rock alive, and went under ground. And she departed to Rome, to see Paul, and found that he had fallen asleep. And after staying there no long time, she rested in a glorious sleep ; and she is buried about two or three stadia from the tomb of her master Paul.
"She was cast, then, into the fire when seventeen years old, and among the wild beasts when eighteen. And she was an ascetic in the cave, as has been said, seventy-two years, so that all the years of her life were ninety. And having accomplished many cures, she rests in the place of the saints, having fallen asleep on the twenty-fourth of the month of September in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and strength for ever and ever. Amen."
In a more expanded form the end of Thecla is thus described in Grabe's text as given by Lipsius, 1. c. p. 271 ff. : " And a cloud of light guided her. And having come into Seleucia, she went forth outside of the city one stadium. And she was afraid of them also, for they worshipped idols. And it guided her to the mountain called Calaman or Rhodeon; and having found there a cave, she went into it. And she was there many years, and underwent many and grievous trials by the devil, and bore them nobly, being assisted by Christ. And some of the well-born women, having learned about the virgin Thecla, went to her, and ​learned the miracles of God. And many of them bade adieu to the world, and lived an ascetic life with her. And a good report was spread everywhere concerning her, and cures were done by her. All the city, therefore, and country round, having known this, brought their sick to the mountain; and before they came near the door they were speedily released from whatever disease they were afflicted by; and the unclean spirits went out shrieking, and all received their own in health, glorifying God, who had given such grace to the virgin Thecla. The physicians, therefore, of the city of Seleucia were thought nothing of, having lost their trade, and no one any longer had regard to them. Being filled with envy and hatred they plotted against the servant of Christ, what they should do to her. The devil then suggested to them a wicked device; and one day being assembled, and having taken counsel, they consult with each other, saying : this holy virgin has influence upon the great goddess Artemis ; and if she ask anything of her, she hears her being a virgin herself, and all the gods love her. Come, then, let us take men of disorderly lives, and make them drunk with much wine, and let us give them much money, and say to them, If you can corrupt and defile her, we shall give you even more money. The physicians therefore said to themselves, that if they should be able to defile her, neither the gods nor Artemis would listen to her in the case of the sick. They therefore acted accordingly, and the wicked fellows went up to the mountain, and rushed upon the cave like lions and knocked at the door. And the holy martyr Thecla opened, emboldened by the God in whom she trusted; for she knew of their plot beforehand. And she said to them : ' What do you want my children ? ' And they said: 'Is there one here called Thecla?' And she said: ' What do you want with her ? ' They say to her : ' We want to sleep with her/ The blessed Thecla says to them : ' I am a poor old woman, a servant of my Lord Jesus Christ; and even though you want to do something unseemly to me, you cannot.' They say to her : ' By all means, shall we do to thee what we want.' And having said this, they laid fast hold of her, and wished to insult her. But she said to them with mildness: 'Wait my children, that you may see ​the glory of the Lord.' And being laid hold of by them, she looked up into heaven, and said : ' God, terrible and incomparable, and glorious to Thine adversaries, who didst deliver me out of the fire, who didst not give me up to Thamyris, who didst not give me up to Alexander, who didst deliver me from the wild beasts, who didst save me in the abyss, who hast everywhere worked with me, and glorified Thy name in me, now also deliver me from these lawless men, and let them not insult my virginity, which for Thy name's sake I have preserved till now, because I love Thee, and desire Thee, and adore Thee, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost for ever. Amen.' And there came a voice out of the heaven, saying : ' Fear not, Thecla, my true servant, for I am with thee. Look and see where an opening has been made before thee, for there shall be for thee an everlasting house, and there shalt thou obtain shelter.' And looking up around, the blessed Thecla saw the rock opened as far as to allow a man to enter, and she did according to what had been said to her, and courageously fleeing from the lawless ones entered into the rock; and the rock was straightway shut together, so that not even a joining appeared. And they, beholding the extraordinary wonder, became as it were distracted ; and they were not able to detain the servant of God, but only caught hold of her dress, and were able to tear off a certain part; and that by the permission of God for the faith of those seeing the venerable place, and for a blessing in the generations afterwards to those that believe in our Lord Jesus Christ out of a pure heart.
"Thus, then suffered the first martyr of God, and apostle, and virgin, Thecla, who came from Iconium when eighteen years of age. With her journeying, and the going round, and the retirement in the mountain she lived yet seventy-two years more. And when the Lord took her, she was ninety years old. And thus is her consummation. And her holy commemoration is celebrated on the twenty-fourth of the month of September, to the glory of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, now and ever, and to ages of ages. Amen." ​
B. Paul's Correspondence With the Corinthians.
The discovery of the Acta Pauli in the Coptic has fully confirmed the view expressed by La Croze and Zahn, that the apocryphal correspondence with the Corinthians originally formed a part of the Acta Pauli, together with the Acta Theclæ and the "martyrium" of Paul.
Zahn, Geschichte des neutest. Kanons, II, p. 592 ff., 606 ff.
Harnack, Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur, I, 37 ff.; II, 1 p. 493 ff., 506 ff.
Vetter, "Der apokryphe dritte Korintherbrief" (in Theol. Quartalschrift, 1890, 610–639).
"Der apokryphe dritte Korintherbrief" (in Literarische Rundschau, 1892, 193–198), and under the same title, Tübingen, 1894, 13–17.
"Eine rabbinische Quelle des apokryphen dritten Korintherbriefes" (in Theologische Quartalschrift, 1895, 622–633).
Berger-Carriere, "La correspondence apocryphe de S. Paul et des Corinthiens " (in Revue de theol. et de philos., XXIII (1891); see Harnack in Theologische Literaturzeitung, 1892, 2–9; Zahn in Theolog. Literaturblatt, 1892, 185–187.
Bratke, "Ein zweiter lateinischer Text des apokryphen Briefwechsels zwischen dem Apostel Paulus und den Korinthern" (in Theolog. Literaturseitung, 1892, 585–588).
Muretow, "Ueber den apokryphen Briefwechsel des Apostels Paulus mit den Korinthern" (in Theolog. Bote, 1896, July–August).
Berendts, "Zur Christlogie des apokryphen, 3. Korintherbriefes" (in Abhandlungen Alexander von Oettingen gewidmet), Munich 1898, 1–28.
Ehrhard, Die altchristliche Literatur, 1900, 119 f.
Bardenhewer, Geschichte der altkirchlichen Literatur, 1902, Vol. I, 463 f.
Hennecke, Neutestamentliche Apokryphen, 1904, 357 ff. ​
Hennecke, Handbuch zu den neutest. Apokryphen, 1904, 358 ff., 388 ff.
Schmidt, Acta Pauli, 1904, 72 ff.
Harnack, "Untersuchungen ueber den apokryphen Briefwechsel der Korinther mit dem Apostel Paulus" (in Sitzungsberichte der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, January 12, 1905).
Harnack, "Die apokryphen Briefe des Paulus an die Laodicener und Korinther" (in Kleine Texte fuer theologische Vorlesungen und Uebungen, ed. Lietzmann, part 12, Bonn, 1905).
Zahn, Einleitung in des Neue Testament, 3d ed. Vol. I (1906), pp. 178, 193, 380, 386.
Leipoldt, Geschichte des neutestamentlichen Kanons, I (1907), 213 ff.
Bardenhewer, Patrology, p. 11 1 ff .
De Bruyne, "Une nouveau manuscript de la 3, lettre de S. Paule aux Corinthiens" in Revue Bénédictine, 25 Année (1908), no. 4.
In 1823 Prof. Rinck published at Heidelberg: das Sendschreiben der Korinther an den Apostel Paulus und das dritte Sendschreiben Pauli an die Korinther, for which he perused eight manuscripts. His researches made it clear that the correspondence in the Armenian Bible-manuscripts belonged to the body of the Pauline epistles, i.e., was originally counted in the Armenian Church as belonging to the biblical canon, because it stood as third epistle to the Corinthians after the second epistle to the Corinthians and before that to the Galatians. From other indications, Rinck also inferred that the reception of the third Corinthian into the Canon belonged to a time when the Armenian version of the Bible was made and that this was due probably to the influence of the Syriac Bible, in which the epistle must have occupied the same position. In the commentary of Ephræm Syrus on the Pauline epistles, the third Corinthian is ​treated like the other letters of Paul and in the same order which it has in the Armenian Bible manuscripts. And the same Ephræm in his commentary on Tatian's Diatessaron, quotes the 5th verse in Paul's answer as a genuine word of Paul, and before Ephræm his countryman Aphraates besides the fifth quoted also the tenth. Besides in the Armenian, the third epistle to the Corinthians has also been discovered in two Latin MSS., one probably belonging to the 10th cent, and the other to the 13th. In the former the third Corinthian stands after the epistle to the Hebrews, and has the heading: "incipiunt scripta Corinthiorum ad apostolum Paulum" and "incipit resciptum Pauli apostoli ad Corinthios"; the inscription reads: "explicit epistula ad Corinthios tertia." Then follows the so-called letter to the Laodiceans. In the 13th cent. MS. the Corinthian correspondence stands at the end with the following headings: "Petitio Corinthiorum a Paulo apostolo" and "Epistola tertia ad Corinthios quæ authentica non est." At the end the copyist added: "hanc repperi ego in veteri quodam libro, qu [æ] tertia ad Corinthios inscribitur, quamv [is in ca] none non habeatur." Schmidt thinks that the third epistle existed not only in the Syriac version, but also in Greek Bibles which were in use among Greek-speaking congregations in Syria and Palestine. The Greek no doubt formed the basis of the Latin, and since the correspondence as is now proven, formed a part of the Acts of Paul, we can very well understand the existence of Latin versions of the Acts.
The Coptic version, though fragmentary, is an important witness and is a proof that the original text is preserved the purest in the 13th century Latin MS. of Laon found by E. Bratke. This MS. is unhappily also deficient; but with the help of the other Latin MS. edited by Berger-Carriere, the Armenian of Rink, and Ephraem's commentary (ed. Kanajanz-Hübschmann), a translation is made possible.
In the Coptic the correspondence is thus prefaced: "The Corinthians were in great distress on account of Paul, that ​he would die before his time. For men, Simon and Cleobius, had come to Corinth who said: 'there is no resurrection of the flesh, but of the spirit, and that the body of man is not created by God nor the world, that God does not know the world, nor has Jesus Christ been crucified, but only in appearance, and that he was not born of Mary nor of the seed of David.' In a word, they proclaimed (?) many things in Corinth, deceiving [many others and deceiving] themselves. When therefore the Corinthians heard that Paul was at Philippi, they sent a letter to Paul to Macedonia by the hand of Threptus and Eutychus, the deacons. The letter however was of this nature."
[A. LETTER OF THE CORINTHIANS TO THE APOSTLE PAUL.]
I
1. Stephanus and his fellow-presbyters Daphnus and Eubulus and Theophilus and Zeno to Paul, the brother in the Lord—greeting!
2. Two individuals have come to Corinth, named Simon and Cleobius, who overthrow the faith of some through pernicious words.
3. These examine yourself.
4. For we never heard such things, neither from you, nor from the other apostles.
5. But we keep what we have received from thee and from the others.
6. Since the Lord has shown us mercy, that while you are still in the flesh we should hear this from you once more.
7. Come to us.
8. For we believe as it has been revealed to Thenœ that the Lord has delivered thee from the hands of the godless.
9. What they say and teach is as follows:
10. They assert that one must not appeal to the prophets,
11. And that God is not almighty,
12. There is no resurrection of the body,
13. Man has not been made by God, ​
14. Christ has neither come in the flesh, nor was he born of Mary
15. And the world is not the work of God, but of angels.
16. Wherefore, we beseech thee, brother, do thy diligence to come to us, that the Corinthian church remain without stumbling, and the foolishness of those be confounded. Farewell in the Lord!
II
1. The deacons Threptus and Eutychus took the letter to Philippi,
2. So that Paul received it, being himself in prison because of Stratonike, the wife of Apollophanes; and he became very sad
3. And exclaimed saying: "it had been better, had I died and were with the Lord than to abide in the flesh and to hear . . . such words ... so that sorrow comes upon sorrow.
4. "And to be in prison in the face of such great distress and behold such mischief where the wiles of Satan are busy!"
5. And under much affliction Paul wrote the answer to the letter.
B. PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS.]
1. Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, to the brethren at Corinth—greeting.
2. Being in many afflictions, I marvel not, that the teachings of the evil one had such rapid success.
3. For my Lord Jesus Christ will hasten his coming, since he can no longer tolerate the wrong of those who falsify his teaching.
4. For I delivered unto you first of all what I received ​from the apostles before me, who were always with Jesus Christ,
5. That our Lord Jesus Christ was born of Mary of the seed of David, the Father having sent the spirit from heaven into her,
6. That he come into this world and save all flesh by his own flesh and that he raise us in the flesh from the dead, as he has presented himself to us as its type.
7. And that man is created by his Father,
8. Wherefore, also, when being lost, he was sought by him, to become alive by the adoption of sons.
9. For the almighty God, maker of heaven and earth, first sent the prophets to the Jews to deliver them from their sins.
10. For he wished to save the house of Israel; therefore he took from the spirit of Christ and poured it out upon the prophets, who proclaimed the true worship at many times.
11. For the wicked prince, who would be God himself, laid his hands on them and killed them and bound all flesh of man through the lust.
12. But the almighty God, being just, and not wishing to cast off his creature, had mercy.
13. And sent his Spirit into Mary
14. Who believed with all her heart and conceived by the Holy Ghost, that Jesus could come into the world,
15. That the evil one [fettered] by the same flesh, by which he wrought, be convinced. ​
16. For by his own body Jesus Christ saved all flesh,
17. Presenting in his own body a temple of righteousness,
18. Through which we are saved.
19. Know therefore that they who follow them are not children of righteousness, but of wrath, who despise the wisdom of God, and, not believing, assert that heaven and earth, and all that is in them, are not a work of God.
20. [They are therefore children of wrath] they have the accursed belief of the serpent;
21. These remove from you, and keep aloof from their teaching.
22. [For you are not children of disobedience, but children of the beloved Church.
23. On this account the time of the resurrection has been preached by all.]
24. And they who say that there is no resurrection of the flesh, shall have no resurrection,
25. For they believe not that the Dead had thus risen.
26. For they know not, O Corinthians, the seed of wheat or some other grain that it is cast barely into the ground, and which having been dissolved rises up again after the will of God in the same body and clothed.
27. And he dissolves not only the body which is sown, but blesses it manifold.
28. And if one will not take the parable of the seed grains [but from nobler bodies]
29. Let him look at Jonah, the son of Amittai, who, become ​unwilling to preach unto the Ninevites, is swallowed up by the whale.
30. And after three days and three nights God heard the prayer of Jonah out of the deepest hell, and nothing is injured in him, neither the hair nor the eyelid.
31. How much more will he raise you up, who have believed in Christ Jesus, as he himself was raised up.
32. And when by the bones of the prophet Elisha, one of the children of Israel that had been thrown upon them, rose from death in his body, how much more shall ye rise up on that day with a whole body, after ye have been thrown upon the body and bones and Spirit of Christ.
33. [Also Elijah, the prophet; took the son of the widow into his arms, and raised him from the dead; how much more shall Jesus Christ raise you up also on that day with a whole body, as he rose himself from the dead.]
34. If, however, you receive something else, let no man trouble me.
35. For I have these bonds on me, that I may win Christ, and I bear his marks, that I may attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
36. And whoever accepts this rule which we have received by the blessed prophets and the holy gospel, shall receive a reward,
37. But whosoever deviates from this, fire shall be for him and for those who preceded him therein.
38. Who are a generation of vipers,
39. These resist in the power of the Lord,
40. And with you shall be peace. ​
C. The Martyrdom of the Holy Apostle Paul.
Under this title Lipsius published for the first time (Acta Apocrypha, I, 102-117) the Greek text according to an Athos and Patmos manuscript, together with a Latin translation according to three Munich manuscripts. The Coptic (Schmidt, Acta, p. 83-90) is in rather a bad state, only a part is preserved.
1. Luke who had come from Gaul, and Titus who had come from Dalmatia, expected Paul at Rome. When Paul saw them, he rejoiced and rented a barn outside of Rome, where he and the brethren taught the word of truth. He became famous, and many souls were added to the Lord, so that it was noised about in Rome, and a great many from the house of the emperor came to him, and there was much joy.
A certain Patroclus, a cupbearer of the emperor, who had come too late to the barn and could not get near to Paul on account of the throng of the people, sat on a high parapet, and listened how he taught the word of God. As Satan, being bad, became jealous of the love of the brethren, Patroclus fell down from the parapet and died; speedily it was reported to Nero. Paul, however, having learned it by the Spirit, said to his hearers, "Men, dear brethren, the evil one has obtained room, that he may tempt you; go forth and ye will find a boy ​which had fallen down and is about dying. Lift him up and bring him hither." This they did. When the people saw him, they were frightened. Paul said to them, "Now, dear brethren, show your faith. Come, let us cry to our Lord Jesus Christ, that the boy might live and we remain unmolested." When all began to lament, the boy took breath; and having put him on a beast of burden, they sent him away alive with all those which were of the emperor's house.
2. And Nero, having heard of Patroclus's death, became very sad, and as he just came in from his bath, he ordered another one to be appointed for the wine. But his boys said, "Emperor, Patroclus is alive, and stands at the sideboard." When the emperor heard that Patroclus was alive, he was frightened and would not come in. But after having come in, and seeing Patroclus, he cried out, "Patroclus, thou livest?" He answered, "(Yea,) I am alive, Cæsar." Who said, "Who is he that made thee alive?" And the boy, being carried away by a mind of faith, said, "Christ Jesus, the King of the ages." The emperor asked in dismay, "Is he to be King of the ages and destroy all kingdoms?" Says Patroclus to him, "Yea, he destroys all kingdoms under the heaven, and he alone shall remain in all eternity, and there will be no kingdom which escapes him." And he slapped his face, and cried out, "Patroclus, thou also art fighting for that king?" He answered, "Yes, my lord and Caesar, for he has raised me from the dead." ​
And Barrabas Justus the flat-footed, and Urion the Cappadocian, and Festus of Galatia, the first men of Nero, said, "And we, too, fight for him, the King of the world." After they were terribly tortured, he had them imprisoned, whom he greatly loved, and ordered that the soldiers of the great King be sought, and issued an edict that all Christians and soldiers of Christ that were found, should be executed.
3. And in the multitude Paul also was brought in fetters. Those that were imprisoned with him looked at him, so that the emperor knew that he was the leader of the soldiers. And he said to him. "Man of the great King, now my prisoner, what induced thee to come secretly into the Roman empire and to enlist soldiers in my territory?" But Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, said in the presence of all, "Caesar, we enlist soldiers not only in your territory, but in all lands of the earth. For thus we are commanded to exclude none who wishes to fight for my King. If it seemeth good to thee to serve him <thou wilt not regret it. Moreover, think not that> riches or that which glitters in this life will save thee; but if thou becomest his subject and ask him, thou shalt be saved. For on one day he will destroy the world."
Having heard this, Nero commanded to burn all prisoners with fire, but to behead Paul in accordance with the law of the Romans. And Paul was not silent, but communicated the word to Longus the ​prefect and Cestus the centurion. And Nero being instigated by the evil one (raged) at Rome, and had many Christians executed without being judged, so that the Romans stood before the palace and cried, "It is enough, Caesar; these men are ours; thou destroyest the strength of the Romans." Being thus convinced, he desisted < having issued an edict > not to touch any Christian till his case had been investigated.
4. After the issuing of the edict, Paul was brought before him, and he insisted that he should be executed. And Paul said, "Caesar, I live not merely for a short time unto my King; and if thou have me executed, I shall do the following: I will rise again and appear unto thee, for I am not dead, but live unto my King Christ Jesus, who shall come to judge the earth."
And Longus and Cestus said to Paul, "Whence have you this King that you believe on him, without changing your mind unto death?" And Paul answered and said, " Ye men, being ignorant and in error, change your mind and be saved from the fire which comes over the whole earth. For we fight not, as you suppose, for a King who is from the earth, but who is from heaven for the living God, who comes as judge because of the righteousness, which takes place in this world. And blessed is he who will believe on him and live in eternity when he shall come with fire to purge the earth." And ​they besought him and said, "We pray thee, help us and we will release thee." But he answered <with a smiling face> "I am not a deserter of Christ, but a faithful soldier of the living God. If I knew that I should die, I would do it, Longus and Cestus; but since I live to God and love myself, I go to the Lord that I may come (again) with him in the glory of his Father." And they said unto him, "How can we live after thou hast been beheaded?"
5. And while they were speaking Nero sent a certain Parthenius and Pheretas to see whether Paul had already been beheaded. And they found him still alive. He summoned them beside him and said: "Believe in the living God, who will raise me, as well as all those that believe on him, from the dead." But they said, "We will now go to Nero, but when you have died and have been raised up, we will believe in thy God."
But when Longus and Cestus continued to ask about their salvation, he said to them, "In the early dawn come quickly to my grave, and you will find two men at prayer, Titus and Luke; they will give you the seal in the Lord."
And turning toward the east, Paul lifted up his hands to heaven and prayed much; and after having conversed in Hebrew with the fathers during prayer, he bent his neck, without speaking any more. When the lictor cut off his head, milk splashed on the dress ​of the soldier. And the soldier, and all who stood near by, were astonished at this sight and glorified God, who had thus honored Paul. And they went away and reported everything to Caesar.
6. When he heard (of it), he was much amazed, not knowing what to say. While many philosophers and the centurion were assembled with the emperor, Paul came about the ninth hour, and in the presence of all he said, "Caesar behold, here is Paul, the soldier of God; I am not dead, but I live in my God. But upon thee, thou miserable one, many evils and great punishments will come, because thou hast unjustly shed the blood of the righteous, not many days hence." And after having spoken thus, Paul departed from him. When Nero had heard (this), he commanded that the prisoners be released, Patroclus as well as Barsabas with his friends.
7. And as Paul had told them, Longus and Cestus the centurion, came very early to the grave of Paul, trembling. And when they came near, they found two men in prayer and Paul with them, so that they became frightened when beholding the incredible miracle, whilst Titus and Luke, being afraid at the sight of Longus and Cestus, turned to run away.
But the persecutors said to them, "We persecute you not in order to kill you, ye blessed men of God, ​as you suppose, but in order to live, that ye may do unto us as Paul promised to us, whom we have just seen in prayer beside you." Upon hearing this, Titus and Luke gave them joyfully the seal in the Lord, glorifying God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be honor for ever and ever. Amen.
The Coptic has the statement: "the Acts of Paul according to the Apostle," i.e. according to Paul himself. As the fragment which thus concludes is the story of Paul's martyrdom, we have a parallel here to the conclusion of the Pentateuch with the story of Moses' death. Probably the good people of the second century found no more difficulty in attributing the account of his own death to St. Paul than many devout Christians have in attributing Deut. XXXIV to Moses.—
* ↑ The text is also reprinted in Schmidt, Acta Pauli, p. 111.
* ↑ Remains of a sermon of the Apostle at Athens have been discovered in John of Salisbury (about 1156) in his Policraticus IV, 3 (see James, Apocrypha Anecdota in " Texts and Studies" I, 55).
* ↑ See Acts of Paul and Thecla, sect. 40.
* ↑ English translation in Ante-Nicene Library, Vol. XIV (Edinburgh), 1869; another by Chatfield in Pick, Hymns and Poetry of the Eastern Church, N. Y., 1908, p. 27 ff.
* ↑ Migne, Patr. Gr. 35 col., 589.
* ↑ Ibid., 35 col, 1180; 37 col., 639.
* ↑ Ibid., 44 col., 1067.
* ↑ De his qui in fide dormierunt c:9 (Migne, Patr. Gr. 95 col., 253).
* ↑ 9 Ibid., Patr. Lat., II, col., 324.
* ↑ 7 Migne, Patr. Lat., 16, col., 369-370.
* ↑ 8 Ibid., 16 col., 1 198.
* ↑ 9 Dialog, de vita Martini, II, 13, 5, p. 106, ed. Halm.
* ↑ Ad. Eustoch, epist. 22 (Migne, Patr. Lat., 22, col., 424); Chronicum ad annum, 277 de Melania (ibid., 27, col., 608).
* ↑ Peregrinatio S. Silviæ Aquitanæ ad loca sancta, ed. Gamurrini Romæ 1877, pp. 73-74.
* ↑ 12 For a list of such instances see my art. in McClintock Strong, p. 313.
* ↑ See II Tim. IV, 10; Philem. 24, Col. IV, 14; 11 Tim. 1, 15.
* ↑ "Them" omitted in the Coptic and by Grabe.
* ↑ "All" omitted in the Coptic, but in many Greek MSS.
* ↑ The words in brackets are found in the Coptic; the MSS. differ here. As a rule we use where the texts differ; <> means additions to the text; denote explanatory additions of the translator.
* ↑ See II Tim. I, 16.
* ↑ This royal road was abolished in 74 A. D., see Ramsay, p. 30.
* ↑ Matt. V, 8.
* ↑ Comp. I Cor. VI, 18, 19.
* ↑ Comp. Hebr. XI, 5.
* ↑ I Cor. VII, 29, comp. Rom. VIII, 17.
* ↑ Matt. V, 4.
* ↑ I Cor. VII, 31.
* ↑ 1 Cor. VI, 3; comp. Matt. XXV, 34.
* ↑ Matt. V, 7.
* ↑ Heb. XI, 5; comp. Matt. X, 42.
* ↑ Comp. Matt. XI, 29.
* ↑ So the Coptic.
* ↑ So the Coptic.
* ↑ So the Latin and Syriac.
* ↑ So the Coptic.
* ↑ II Tim. II, 18.
* ↑ Not in the Coptic.
* ↑ Not in the Coptic; omitted also in the Syriac and in some MSS.
* ↑ Luke XXIII, 18.
* ↑ The Coptic: upon his holy works.
* ↑ So the Coptic.
* ↑ The Coptic: Father of thy holy Son.
* ↑ "From the fire" omitted by the Coptic; Latin, Syriac.
* ↑ So the Coptic.
* ↑ 31 Omitted in the Coptic.
* ↑ So the Coptic.
* ↑ Not in the Greek, but in the Coptic.
* ↑ Coptic: She.
* ↑ Not in the Coptic.
* ↑ Some MSS. "whose daughter, named Falconilla."
* ↑ "Again and again" not in the Coptic.
* ↑ Not in the Coptic.
* ↑ Not in the Coptic.
* ↑ Coptic: O God of heavens, Son of the Most High.
* ↑ Coptic: heard.
* ↑ Coptic: eternal.
* ↑ The Coptic: come within, my daughter, Thecla.
* ↑ Coptic: Our God.
* ↑ Coptic: O Christ.
* ↑ Opera Ephræmi, III, p. 116 ff. Venice, 1836; German translation in Zahn, Kanon, II, 2,595 ff. Vetter, Theolog. Quartalschrift, 1890, p. 627 ff.
* ↑ Mösinger, Evangelii concordantis expositio, 1876, p. 16.
* ↑ See Homilien des Aphraates, übersetzt von Bert (Texte und Untersuchungen, III, p. 389, hom. 23, p. 105).
* ↑ This: not in the Coptic.
* ↑ Some authorities: come to us or write to us.
* ↑ In the Coptic: the Lord.
* ↑ Some authorities read: of the Virgin Mary.
* ↑ Some authorities : the city of the Corinthians.
* ↑ The Coptic is here defective. I followed Harnack's Greek text. Some authorities like the Armenian and Ephræm read here: so sad that he forgot his bonds and became sorry because of the words which he heard.
* ↑ Vs. 3-5 is greatly amplified. The Coptic is defective.
* ↑ One authority: from the Lord and the apostles before me.
* ↑ Some: with our Lord Jesus Christ.
* ↑ Armenian: of the Virgin Mary.
* ↑ One authority: David after the flesh. Ephræm and Armenian read: David, according to the promises of the Holy Spirit.
* ↑ In the Armenian: God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
* ↑ Ephræm and Armenian: worship and the birth of Christ.
* ↑ One authority: lust to his will, and the consummation of the world hastened the judgment.
* ↑ Six lines are here wanting in the Coptic.
* ↑ Some authorities add: in Galilee.
* ↑ Harnack considers this clause as a later addition and omits it.
* ↑ Some authorities read: convinced, that he is not God.
* ↑ Armenian reads: flesh, and through faith brought it to everlasting life.
* ↑ Armenian and Ephraem: holy temple.
* ↑ Armenian and Ephæm: the work of God, the Father of the universe.
* ↑ So one authority, but not in the Coptic and Harnack.
* ↑ Harnack's reading "from us" is probably only a misprint of a letter.
* ↑ These two verses are not in the Coptic, are omitted also by Harnack; they are found in the Armenian.
* ↑ Coptic: say to you.
* ↑ The Coptic breaks here off.
* ↑ So the Armenian.
* ↑ One authority: raise you up, ye of little faith, and those who have believed.
* ↑ Armenian: in the Lord Jesus Christ.
* ↑ So the Armenian.
* ↑ One authority adds : God shall rise up against you as a witness.
* ↑ Armenian and Ephraem add: in future.
* ↑ Armenian and Ephræm: receive at the resurrection of the dead.
* ↑ Ephræm: reward for it and for his works.
* ↑ Armenian and Ephraem: vipers and basilisks.
* ↑ The Armenian: and the grace of the beloved First-born. Amen.—Another authority reads: peace, grace and love, Amen.
* ↑ Following the Latin.
* ↑ Here endeth the Latin.
* ↑ So Codex Athos.
* ↑ Coptic: asked.
* ↑ Coptic: omits: in the Lord.
* ↑ Coptic omits: thou miserable one and great punishments.
* ↑ Coptic omits: thou miserable one and great punishments.
* ↑ This clause omitted in the Coptic.
* ↑ Coptic omits: ye . . . suppose.
* ↑ Coptic: but that ye give unto us the life.
* ↑ Coptic omits: Titus and Luke.
* ↑ Coptic: glorifying the.