1996, Kok Pharos Publishing House P.O. Box 5016, 8260 GA Kampen, the Netherlands Cover by Geert de Koning, Kampen ISBN 90 390 0152 9 / CIP NUGI 631 All rights resewed. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means. electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Contents
Preface Notes on contributors List of abbreviations
I.
J. Bolldk, The description of Paul in the Acta Pauli
11.
M. Misset-van de Weg, A wealthy woman named Tryphaena: patroness of Thecla of Iconium
111.
J.N. Brernrner, Magic, martyrdom and women's liberation in the Acts of Paul and Thecla
IV.
T. Adarnik, The baptized lion in the Acts of Paul
V.
G. Luttikhuizen, The apocryphal correspondence with the Corinthians and the Acts of Paul
VI.
J. Bolyki, Events aper the martyrdom: missionary transformation of an apocalyptical metaphor in Martyrium Pauli
CONTENTS
VII. I. Czachesz, The Acts of Paul and the Western text of Luke's Acts: Paul between canon and apocrypha VIII. P.J. Lalleman, The resurrection in the Acts of Paul IX.
P. Herczeg, New Testament parallels to the Acta Pauli documents
X.
A. Hilhorst, Tertullian on the Acts of Paul
XI.
M. Pesthy, Thecla in the Fathers of the Church
XII. I. Karasszon, Heroism in the Acts of Paul and in the Bible XIII. P.J. Lalleman and M. Misset-van de Weg, Bibliography of Acts of Paul Index of names, subjects and passages
Preface
After the fall of the Berlin Wall the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen decided to intensify contacts with universities in Eastern Europe. In 1991 the then Head of the Department of Church History, Professor Hans Roldanus, took this opportunity to forge links with the Karoli Gaspar University of Budapest. In the search for a common research project, which would also prove to be attractive to classicists working at the Lorant-Eotvos University of Budapest, it was decided to focus on the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles. This particular choice hardly needs to be defended. The world of early Christianity is currently the recipient of an ever increasing attention from New Testament and patristic scholars, as well as from ancient historians. Various Apocryphal Acts have recently been re-edited or are in the process of being re-edited, but the contents of these Acts are still very much under-researched. It is the object of the Dutch-Hungarian cooperation to study the major Apocryphal Acts in a series of yearly conferences, of which the proceedings are published in the series, Studies in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles. The editors envisage in principle publishing five volumes, but they are open to further suggestions. Whereas the first volume of the new series contained the fruits of the conference on the Acts of John (1995), the present study centres on the Acts of Paul. The first chapters analyse various persons or passages of the Acts: the description of Paul, Queen Tryphaena, Thecla, the baptized lion, the Corinthian correspondence and the martyrdom of Paul. There follow then some analyses of different aspects: the relation of the Acts of Paul to the Western text of the Acts of Luke, the resurrection of the dead and
11
PREFACE
the problem of the New Testament parallels. Thirdly, two studies discuss the still largely unexplored reception of the Acts: its use by Tertullian and the Church Fathers. A final contribution examines the Acts from a certain distance, viz. as one example of the application of narrative techniques of the Old Testament to the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles. The volume is rounded off by a bibliography and an index. The conference which formed the starting-point of this book took place at the KBroli Ghsphr University of Budapest in the autumn of 1995. Our 'theological' colleagues and the classicists of the Lorhnt-Eotvos University made our stay in Hungary a most memorable event through their warm hospitality. During our discussions we greatly profited from the presence of Willy Rordorf, whose new edition of the Acts of Paul is eagerly awaited. For their share in the success of the conference we would also like to thank the then Dean JBnos Phsztor, Bishop Lorhnt Hegediis, Phl NCmeth, who gave an illuminating talk about a contemporary Thecla monastery in Syria. We are also grateful to the Faculty of Theology and Science of Religion of the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen for its financial support towards the conference. Tjalling de Vries of the Computer Department of the Faculty of Arts readily prepared the camera-ready copy of this book. Stijn ten Hoeve, Alasdair MacDonald, Janneke Wayer and, especially, Pieter Lalleman assisted in various ways. Without their generous help it would have been impossible to prepare this volume in such an efficient manner.
Jan N. Bremmer
Groningen, I October 1996
Notes on Contributors
Tamais Adamik b. 1937, is Professor of Latin at the LorlntEotvos University of Budapest. He is the author of the following studies in Hungarian: A Commentary on Catullus (1971), Martial and His Poetry (1979), Aristotle 's Rhetoric (1982), Jerome 's Selected Works (1991), A History of Roman Literature I-IV (199396). He is also the editor of a new Hungarian translation of The Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles (1996). JBnos BolMk b. 1944, is Associate Professor of Latin at the Lorhnt-Eotvos University of Budapest. He is the author of the following studies in Hungarian: Firmicus Maternus: Astrology. The Error of Pagan Religions (1984), co-author of A Commentary on Vergil's Aeneid I-VI (1988) and Philo of Alexandria: The Life of Moses (1995). JBnos Bolyki b. 1931, is Professor of New Testament Studies at the Khroli Ghsphr University of Budapest. He is, in Hungarian, the author of The Questions of the Sciences in the History of Theology in the 20th Century (1970), Faith and Science (1989), Principles and Methods of New Testament Interpretation (1990) and The Table Fellowships of Jesus (1992), and co-author of Codex D in the Book of Acts (1995) Jan N. Bremmer b. 1944, is Professor of History and Science of Religion at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. He is the author of The Early Greek Concept of the Soul (1983) and Greek Religion (1994), co-author of Roman Myth and Mythography (1987), editor
iv
CONTRIBUTORS
of Interpretations of Greek Mythology (1987), From Sappho to de Sade: Moments in the History of Sexuality (1989) and The Apocryphal Acts of John (1995), and co-editor of A Cultural History of Gesture (1991), Between Poverty and the Pyre. Moments in the history of widowhood (1995) and A Cultural History of Humour (1997). Istvin Czachesz b. 1968, teaches Biblical Studies at the School for Diaconal Workers in Budapest and prepares a dissertation on the Books of Acts at the Kiroli Gaspar University of Budapest. He is, in Hungarian, the author of Gaia's Two Faces (1996) and coauthor of Codex D in the Book of Acts (1995). Pi1 Herczeg b. 1939, is Professor of History of Religion at the Karoli Gaspk University. He is the author of the following studies in Hungarian: The History of the New Testament (1979), The Plot of the Theology of the New Testament (1986), "Do you understand what you are reading?" (1990) and History of Religions (1993).
A. Hilhorst b. 1938, is Associate Professor of Early Christian Literature and New Testament Studies at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. He is the author of Skmitismes et latinismes duns le Pasteur dlHermas (1976) and co-author of Apocalypse of Paul: a new critical edition of three long Latin versions (1996), editor of De heiligenverering in de eerste eeuwen van het Christendom (1988), and co-editor of Fructus Centesimus. Me'langes G.JM Bartelink (1989), The Scriptures and the Scrolls. Studies A.S. van der Woude (1992), Early Christian Poety (1993) and Evangelie en beschaving. Studies Hans Roldanus (1995). Istvin Karasszon b. 1955, is Professor of Old Testament Studies at the Karoli Gaspar University of Budapest. He is the author of the following studies in Hungarian: The Methodology of Old Testament Interpretation ( 1 99 l), The History of Ancient Israel (1992) and Religion in Ancient Israel (1995).
CONTRIBUTORS
V
Pieter J. Lalleman b. 1960, is Research Associate at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen and prepares a dissertation on the Acts of John. Magda Misset-van de Weg b. 1943, is Research Associate at the Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht and prepares a dissertation on women as models of faith in I Peter and the Acts of Thecla. Gerard Luttikhuizen b. 1940, is Professor of Early Christian Literature and New Testament Studies at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. He is the author of The Revelation of Elchasai (1985) and Gnostische Geschriften I (1 986). Monika Pesthy b. 1954, is Research Fellow at the Center of Jewish Studies at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. She is the author of the following study in Hungarian: Origen and the Prophets (1995).
List of abbreviations
AAA ANRW Bremmer, AAJ CIL JAC JTS NTA PG PL RAC RE SEG TRE TWNT VigChris ZNW ZPE
Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles Aufitieg und Niedergang der romischen Welt Jan N. Bremmer (ed), The Apocryphal Acts of John (Kampen, 1995) Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum Jahrbuch f i r Antike und Christentum Journal of Theological Studies W. Schneemelcher, New Testament Apocrypha, tr. and ed. R. McL. Wilson, 2 vols (Cambridge, 1992) Patrologia Graeca Patrologia Latina Reallexikon fir Antike und Christentum Realencyclopadie des classischen Altertumswissenschafr Supplementum Epigraphicurn Graecum Theologische Realenzyklopadie Theologisches Worterbuch zum Neuen Testament Vigiliae Christianae Zeitschrifr fir die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft Zeitschrzj? firr Papyrologie und Epigraphik
All translations, if not otherwise indicated, are from NTA I1 (by K. Schaferdiek).
I.
The description of Paul in the Acta Pauli
In one of the first parts of the Acta Pauli (AP), entitled The Acts of Paul and Thecla (AThe), we read that a certain Onesiphorns, when he had heard that Paul would come to Iconium, went to see him with his wife and children. Onesiphorns did not know the apostle personally, but Titus had described to him what Paul was like, so he had to recognize the apostle among the passers-by on the basis of this description. Onesiphorns waited in the street, taking a close look at everyone approaching to see if he was similar to the description given by Titus. Finally he noticed Paul coming towards him: 'a man small of stature, with a bald head and crooked legs, in a good state of body, with eyebrows meeting and nose somewhat hooked, full of friendliness; for now he appeared like a man, and now he had the face of an angel.'' This description of the AP listing eight external features of the apostle is unparalleled in ancient Christian literature. There is no other surviving similarly detailed description of Christ's or his relatives' or the apostles' appearance, either in canonical or in apocryphal writings. An author of the Byzantine period, whose Philopatris has survived among Lucian's works, probably had this description in mind when he described Paul as a bald man from Galilee with a big nose.2 The AP might therefore have offered the
1 AThe 3: &v6pa p l ~ p 6 vrQ p q t e ~ l ,~ I M rfj V KEQ~~ &yci3hov T~, Kvflpal<, E ~ ) E K T ~&VO@PUV, K~V, p l ~ p d5 ~ C ~ P P ~ V~6Lpl't0< OV,
Tctiq
nhiipq' nor2 p2v yap ~ Q ~ ~ V E (Sq T O &vBponoq, npboonov EIXEV. 2 Lucian, Philopatris, 12.
ROT$
66 &yyghou
only authentic description of 'the apostle of the pagans' as early as the Byzantine age. It is therefore understandable that the question of its authenticity has been at the centre of interest practically since the Age of Criti~ism.~ It is natural that the problem of the authenticity of the description arose at the beginning of the critical research on the apocryphal writings. At the end of the last century most scholars considered this part of the AP a genuine picture of the apostle. The source of the author's knowledge was supposed to have been either his personal experience or oral information from living eyewitnesses. Although this idea was hypothetical, it still seemed plausible because the writing was ascribed to apostolic times (the 90-100). By the turn of the cenend of the first century A.D., tury, however, this idea turned out to be groundless, since the AP was proven to be much later than had been supposed: it is from ~ the same time, the the second half of the second ~ e n t u r y .At results of iconographic research on early Christian art not only failed to support but even refuted the existence of a homogeneous tradition relating to the physical features of the apostles. The earliest preserved descriptions of the same apostle - those of Peter and Paul - are essentially different. Therefore, this hypothesis, which had seemed plausible, proved to be false, and had given rise to unreliable guesses without a basis for comparison. At the beginning of this century, researchers attempted to solve the problem in three different, mutually exclusive, ways. One was to approach the problem on the basis of 'ethnic typology', which supposedly already existed in ancient times; the description of Paul was considered to be that of the 'typical Jew'. The second related the description to the fictive character-portraits of ancient
+
3 R.M. Grant, 'The Description of Paul in the Acts of Paul and Thecla', VigChr 36 (1982) 1-4 emphasizes the literary relations (Archilochus); A.J. Malherbe, 'A Physical Description of Paul', Harvard Theol. Rev. 79 (1986) 170-5, repr. in Malherbe, Paul and the Popular Philosophers (Minneapolis, 1989) 165-70; Bremrner, this volume, 38f. 4 E. Pliimacher, 'Apokryphe Apostelakten', in RE Suppl. 15 (Stuttgart, 1978) 26-30; Bremmer, this volume, $ 3.
THE DESCRIPTION OF PAUL
3
novels. Researchers of a third school thought that parallels to the description of Paul could be found in similar descriptions contained in contracts, testaments, warrants for the arrest of escaped slaves and other official documents surviving in Egyptian papyri.' The first of the above mentioned ideas has much more to do with modem journalism and satirical journals than with antique typology. The description in the AP is incompatible with the logic of characterization in ancient novels too. Detailed external characterisation in ancient novels serves to deepen character delineation; the same is true for the epics of Homer: e.g. the coward Thersites, who wants to make his companions return home, is ugly, but the great heroes always have 'divine' features. The importance of harmony between the 'external' and the 'internal characteristics was realized even by ancient rhetorical t h e ~ r y .In~ the AP Paul is a charismatic person, who touches and thrills the imagination of the people around him, especially Thecla. The author himself wanted to characterize the apostle in this way, since, if we can believe Tertullian, the 'love for Paul' made the author write his work.' In spite of this, the description of Paul's externals is absolutely not idealized. 7
Parallels in papyri
It is undoubtedly the third idea which deserves the most attention. The descriptions which can be found in the various contracts and official documents on papyrus are in many respects very similar to each other. To represent their nature I will give some characteristic examples. The first comes from a contract for certifying the sale of
5 C. Schmidt, Acta Pauli (Hamburg, 1936) xvii-xix summarizes the
research to that time. 6 P. Dubois and Y. Winkin, Rhdtorique du corps (Brussels, 1988). 7 Tertullian, De baptism0 17.5: Sciant in Asia presbyterum, qui eam scripturam construxit quasi titufo Paufi suo cumulans convictum atque confasum id se amore Pauli fecisse et loco decessisse. Note the words amore Pauli.
lands in 107 B.C.: Taus, Harpos' daughter is 48 years old, of medium height, with tawny skin, round face, straight nose, a scar on her forehead ... Siephmus, Pachnumis' daughter is 20 years old, with tawny skin, round face, without any distinguishing mark... Kruris, Horns' son is Persian by birth, 45 years old, of medium height or smaller, with dark skin, rather curly hair, longish face, straight nose, a scar on his underlip.... An agreement about the cession o f income of the feasts from 129 B.C. reads: Sennuthis, Horus' daughter is 30 years old, of medium height, with tawny skin, round face, tumed up nose, a scar at the right comer of her mouth, plump-cheeked face; Harsiesis is 35 years old, of medium height, stumpy, with tawny skin, slightly curly hair, wide face, straight nose, big ears standing out from his head ...' And from a 156 B.C. warrant for the arrest of escaped slaves: Hermon is 18 years old, of medium height, without beard, with muscular legs, knotty chin, a birthmark beside his nose on the left, a scar at the left comer of his mouth and two barbaric letters tattooed on his right wrist... Bion is of small height, with wide shoulders, thin legs, smiling look ...I0 In these descriptions there are recurrent and accidental elements. The recurrent ones are age, figure, colour of the skin and shape of the face (oval, round etc.), whereas the accidental ones are hair, legs, nose and shape of the ears. The authors obviously tried to indicate the distinguishing marks, so they mentioned scars, birth-
8 A.S. Hunt and E.C. Edgar, Select Papyri with an English Translation 1-11 (London and New York, 1932-4) 1.27. 9 Eidem, 1.37. 10 W. Schubart, Griechische Papyri (Bielefeld and Leipzig, 1927, repr.
Tiibingen, 1992) 18.
THE DESCRIPTION OF PAUL
5
marks and tattooings and their location. It is true that some of these aspects - figure, hair, shape of the legs and the nose, character of the eyebrows - appear in the description in the AP which may give the impression that the author followed the well-known descriptions of the papyri. This impression might be confirmed by the fact that the aim is after all the same in the Acta as in the papyri: to identify a given person. Though all this is true, we also have to emphasize the important difference between the descriptions in the AP and in the papyri: the descriptions in the papyri concentrate only on the external features, while the last two elements of Paul's description in the AP try to indicate how the apostle's disposition is reflected even in his external appearance. This latter fact has not been noticed at all in research up to now, although, as we will see, it might make the inner logic of the origins of the description clear.
Man and angel The problem is understanding the following sentence: 'For now he appeared like a man, and now he had the face of an angel'." It can hardly be interpreted without proper background knowledge; we can only establish that the character of the description changes at this point. To clarify the meaning of the sentence we need to examine a passage from the Rehtatio by Hippolytus, which relates the ideas of Valentinus about the origin of angels and their relations as well as the connection between the human spirit and body. In his work, Hippolytus recites Valentinus' heresy and mentions, among other things, the ideas of this very influential gnostic preacher about the nature of the world beyond the pleroma, about its origin and relations. Although this representation is quite
''
11 Cf. note 1 above. 12 For the discussion about the origin of gnostic influence on Valentinus see C. Markschies, Valentinus Gnosticus? (Tiibingen, 1992) 392-402; G.P. Luttikhuizen, 'A Gnostic Reading of the Acts of John', in Bremmer, AAJ, 119-52, esp. 126.
incomplete, it tells us that, besides the deformed Sophia, in Valentinus' opinion, angels, human beings and demons belong to the ogdoas. The 'celestial angels' (&yy~hotGxoupctvtot) - alias the '70 logoi' - are the descendants of Sophia. The earthly human being, the 'human of clay' (6 xoiubq &vepwxoq) is the product of the demiurge, who created the human soul from himself, while the human body was formed out of material belonging to the devil. The method of creation is the same as in the second chapter of Genesis.13 This is the so-called 'inner human being' (d Eoo &vepoxoq) to which Paul alludes in his letter to the Ephesians (3.16-8) and who is fragile, imperfect and mortal, since he lives in a material body. This material human being (1Jhtu65 &vepoxoq) is quasi-receptive, and sometimes the home of the spirit itself, sometimes of the spirit and the demons, sometimes of the spirit and the logoi (angels). The logoi descend, dispersing from above, and live together with the spirit in the body made of clay when the demons are absent.I4 I am convinced that the author of the AP based the last element of the description of Paul on this idea assigned to Valentinus. His aim was to prove nothing other than that only an angel (logos) lived in the body of the apostle together with the spirit, whereas evil - the demon - never found a home in it. The author could not have praised his hero, whom he was said to love so much, in any higher way. Physiognomic explanation
In the present case, however, it is not primarily this parallelism of ideas which is important, even though it can contribute to the 13 Hippolytus, Refutatio omnium haeresium 6.34 Marcovich (PG 16.3245-48). 14 Refutatio 6.34.6: Eort 63 odroq 6 dhtcbq Civepono~~ a r adro0q ' O ~ O V EX ~ ' ~ V ~ O X E ~qO KVO I T O L K ~ptov T ~ ROTE pEv ~ I U X q? ~p6vqq, nor3 6& y~vxfjq~ a 6atp6vov, l nor&63 y ~ v ~ f j qat h6yov' olrtvEq ... ~ a r o t KoOvrEq 8v (o6pa)rt X O C K ~ perdl yru~ijq,drav 6afpovEq pfl cmv0 1 ~01 6 T?j W X ~ .
THE DESCRIPTION OF PAUL
7
understanding of the relationship between the AP and gnosis, but rather the notion that the apostle's disposition was discernible from his appearance, more exactly from his face." It is a basic theorem of ancient physiognomy that one's mental characteristics and outward appearance are related, and that the former can be discerned from the latter.I6 Moreover - and this is the other important motif in this respect - the composition and the construction of the whole description meet the requirements of physiognomic literature. This fact entitles us to attempt to explain the other elements of the description on the basis of physiognomy." According to the physiognomists, though every part of the body plays an important role in revealing mental characteristics, the most important indicator is the face - first of all the eyes, then the eyebrows, the forehead, the nose, the mouth and the shape of the head." This idea is widespread in physiognomy; we can find it in Pseudo-Aristoteles' Physiognomonica just as in Adamantius. There were, however, some authors who restricted the number of the physiognomically important parts of the face to those favoured l ~al in the description of Paul: & o m p &V 6+8ahpQv ~ a 6gp6wv btvd5 oxfipart x a p a u ~ f i p t qT ~ V E&yK&0qv~at ~ TOO ~ f j qy u x f j ~ 1 6 t b p a ~ o 5 . 'The ~ fifth, sixth and seventh elements of Paul's description follow this threefold system of the physiognomy of the face. The other comments concerning the figure ( p t ~ p b q r@ p ~ y t B ~ tthe ) , head and generally the hair ( y t h d ~~ f ~j ~ + a h i jthe ),
15 E. Peterson, Friihkirche, Judentum und Gnosis (Rome, Freiburg and Vienna, 1959) 182-208. 16 A. MacC. Amstrong, 'The Methods of the Greek Physiognomists', Greece and Rome 5 (1958) 52-6. 17 The ancient physiognomists Pseudo-Aristoteles, Polemon and Adamantius were edited by R. Foerster, Scriptores physiognomici Graeci et Latini I (Leipzig, 1893). 18 Polemon, Physiognomia 1 . 1 9 ~Narn oculus uterque cordis ianua et adpetituum fodina est vastigia oculorum prementibus superciliis, fronte, naso, ore, genis et capite, quibus post oculum nihil verius dicit aut stabilius testimonium dat de rebus, quae in corde conduntur. 19 Foerster, Scriptores physiognomici 11, 3 15.
legs (&y~\5hoqzaiq ~ v q p a t q )and the thinness or the fatness of ~ K ~ ~physiognomically ) important features, the body ( E ~ E K T contain too. But what kind of mental characteristics do these outward features of the apostle Paul show? * o6vo$pu< ('meeting eyebrows7): irascible, crude, imbecile; not very intelligent.20 * BxCpptvo<: refers to a person whose nose ends in a hook-like curve. Unfortunately, it is only attested in Hippolytus7 Refitatio (4.15), where features are classified on an astrological rather than physiognomic basis. It regards this sort of the nose as a characteristic of people born under the sign of Aries (the Ram). However, according to astrology, each sign of the zodiac is influenced by the dominant constellation; people born under the sign of the Aries are assigned good and bad features alike. One of the basic rules of physiognomy is that deviations from the 'ideal are a negative sign, which is why we probably have to consider the negative features along with the enumerated ones. These are the following: o ~ c i o u s(xepispyo~),sly ( b u h a f q & x o ~ p b $ o y ) , combative ($th6vst~oq),cunning (xot~lhoq),cowardly (6sth65). * E ~ & K ' C ~ K('in ~ < good condition', 'plump'): foolish, imbecile, lazy, ~ l e e p y ; ~ ' * &y~\jhoqtat^<~ v q p a t q ('bandy-legged'): cowardly, weak; immoral, enslaved to wicked desires;22 7
20 Pseudo-Aristotle, Physiognomonica 69 (812b): ol 68 mv6+puaq Gua&vtot' &va+tperat Bnl rqv TOO n&8ouq 6pot6rqra; Adamantius 11, 37: ot 68 a466pa ouv6+pusq &vtapof' np6xe1 y&p a r ) r o i ~fi &v(a; Anonymus Latinus, De physiognomonia, 18: Supercilia cum coeunt, tristem maxime hominern sed parum sapientem significant.
21 Pseudo-Aristotle, Physiognomonica 9 (806b): fi 68 obrpc fi p8v mhqpd. at E ~ E K T ~ +dcr~t K ~ dlvalof3qrov qpafvet. In this case Clvalo8qroq can only have active meaning: 'insensitive, morose' or 'incapable of cognition' i.e. 'foolish'; Pseudo-Polemon 74: $tMnvou o-qpeia ... at E ~ E K ~ OoV& p ~ EXOVTE~. a 22 Polemon, Physiognomia 7 (27v): ... crura ... si mollia, inaequalia et ad curvaturam vergentia sunt, possesori timiditatem et impatientiam ... malos mores et cupiditatem adiudica.
A certain duality runs all through 2 Cor, the letter which contains Paul's answer to charges against him: his personal appearance is not in accordance with the impression which is created in the readers of his letters. Paul himself does not deny this fact, as we can conclude from one of his sentences: 'For I fear that when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found by you such as you would not' (12.20). A trace of this dichotomy, and hence the influence of the Letter, can be found in the AP: the author emphasizes twice that there is a difference between the experience obtained 'from the spirit' and 'that of physical (bodily) reality' (AThe 2 and 7). What kinds of charges and objections are levelled against Paul by his Corinthian adversaries? 'His letters are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech is contemptible' ( a i Bxtorohai pEv ... polpsiat ~ a 2{oxupat, 4 62 x a p o u o l a TOO o b p a r o 5 &oBsvfiq ~ a6ih6yoq 8(ouBsvqp6voq, 10.10); 'he is cunning, who deceives you with contrivance' (fix&pxov xavorjpyoq 6619 Op&5 E h a k v , 12.16); 'face to face he is modest and servile, in his absence he is strict' (65 ~ a r & xp6ooxov p2v raxstvdq 8v \)piv, &xdv 62 BappQ st5 \)p&5, 10.1); there are problems with his intellectual capacity, he is 'foolish' (&+pov, 12.11); he lives 'for his body' ( ~ a r & o & p ~ amptxarQv, 10.2). The latter charge was levelled against him in all probability partly because his companion was a woman (cf. 1 Cor 9.5-6), partly because he expected and accepted decent financial recompense for his work (1 Cor 9.7-14, 2 Cor 11.8). In other words, he was probably accused of sensuality, laziness and greed. As we have assigned the mental characteristics to outward features according to the physiognomic literature, we will now assign the outward characteristics to the features mentioned as charges or strictures in 2 Cor. * To Paul's 'powerless' (&oBevfiq, 2 Cor 10.10; 11.29-30; 12.5, 9-10) would correspond 'short, bald' ( p t ~ p d qr q ~EYEBEI, ythd5 ~ t K&$ahfl). j * The 'cunning, tricky' (xavorjpyoq, 2 Cor 12.16) matches the 'hooked nose' (8xCpptvoq). * 'Living for his body, sensual, lazy' ( K ~ To&& p ~ xsptxarc6vY a 2
THE DESCRIPTION OF PAUL
11
Cor 10.2) fits with 'bandy-legged, bald' ( & y ~ d A zatq o~ ~vqpaiq). * To 'stupid' (&$pov, 2 Cor 12.11, his speech 'in good condition', 11.6; 10.10) matches E ~ E K ' C I K ~ ~ . * With 'humble, timid' ( ' C ~ ~ C E I2V ~Cor S , 10.1) goes 'bandy-legged'. * 'Merciless' (06 $&toopat, 2 Cor 13.2) comes with 'meeting eyebrows' (obvo@puq). To sum up, on the basis of 2 Cor we are able to build up step by step the description of the apostle Paul in the AP. So we arrive at the conclusion that the author drew up the portrait of the apostle with the help of the physiognomic features that are found expressis verbis as well as implicitly in 2 Cor. In one respect he probably even took 1 Cor into consideration. The Letter's train of thought may also explain the fact that in the description negative features exist alongside positive ones and are even more numerous. In the letter Paul does not deny at all, but rather emphasizes, his frailty and weakness in order to stress as much as possible the power and importance of the grace of God, which becomes obvious precisely through his fiailty and weakness, and which is able to compensate for human faults and guilty inclinations. 'My grace is enough for you' (CLp~sioot fl x&ptq pou, 12.9), the Lord has said to Paul, according to the q Letter, and that is why Paul in the A P becomes ~ d p ~ z oxhfipqc,. At this point we return to the question at which part of the apostle's body most of all showed the visible presence of the grace of God. A Hungarian proverb says that 'the spirit has a home in the eyes', and likewise the physiognomists attached decisive importance to the eyes.26 So it was natural that the presence of the power of God in a human being must be reflected above all in the eyes. There is an example of it in Suetonius' biography of Aug~stus:~''He (Augustus) had clear, bright eyes, in which he
26 The largest part of Adamantius' first book deals with the eye and
with the look (cc.4-23). 27 Suetonius, Augustus, 80: Oculos habuit claros et nitidos, quibus etiam existimari volebat inesse quiddam divini vigoris, gaudebatque si quis sib; acrius contuenti quasi ad fulgorem solis vulturn summitteret. On
liked to have it thought that there was a kind of divine power, and it greatly pleased him, whenever he looked keenly at anyone, if he let his face fall as if before the radiance of the sun.' The duality, or rather contradiction, that some outward features do not agree with the real disposition after all, is not inconsistent with the theory and practice of physiognomy. It can be exemplified by a popular anecdote known widely in ancient times about the physiognomist Zopyrus and Socrates. Zopyrus, having examined Socrates, said that the philosopher was foolish, imbecile and, moreover, woman-mad. Socrates answered that all this was true, adding, however, that it would only become a reality if he did not This answer try to conquer his faults by living philo~ophically.~~ is not only an excellent example of Socratic irony, but also shows a possible response to the results and laws of physiognomy: the outward features indicate only the innate inclination to mental characteristics, and by the help of morality these inborn faults can be conquered and eliminated. Cicero brings up the same story in De fato to prove that the elimination of the 'faults existing for natural reasons' (ex naturalibus causis vitia) depends on will, intention and education (id positum ... in voluntate, studio, dis~ i p l i n a ) The . ~ ~ AP differs from the Socratic model in only one respect: grace (xdrpy) replaces morality.
The influence of physiognomy Finally, in order to support our suggested - and by all means
Suetonius' relationship to physiognornics, see J. Couissin, 'SuCtone physiognomiste dans les vies des XI1 CCsars', Revue des ~ t u d e sLatines 3 1 (1953) 234-56.
28 Alexander of Aphrodisias, De fato 6 : oO62v d n ~ v6 Zo~pdrrqq ky~~ljaeat r6v Z ~ ~ U ~fivOyhp V ,&v rotoljro5, daov kxt rij $60~1,&i
pfl 6th rflv 8~ $thoao$fa~brmqotv Olpsfvov r?jq $ 6 0 ~ 0 5kygva~o. 29 Cicero, De fato 5.1 1 : Sed haec ex naturalibus causis vitia nasci pos-
sunt, extirpari autem et funditus tolli, ut is ipse, qui ad ea propensus fuerit, a tantis vitiis avocetur, non est id positum in naturalibus causis, sed in voluntate, studio, disciplina.
13
THE DESCRIPTION OF PAUL
hypothetical - interpretation, we face the question whether physiognomy had any noticeable effect on ancient literature. When in the middle of this century E.C. Evans first argued that its influence was great indeedY3Omost philologists gave her ideas little value and refused to accept them. Since then a great number of studies have been published, and the influence of physiognomy on the on biographical literature of the period of the empire (Pl~tarch),~' some representatives of the novel (Apulei~s),~'ancient drama,33 theatre34 and on works of art (Alexander the Great)35 has been demonstrated. In the imperial period literature and rhetoric became interwoven. These studies point out that the author of one of the physiognomic handbooks in the period of the empire, Polemon, had been a rhetor himself. However, the apocryphal writings do not belong at all to this category of 'higher literature . By all indications, the effect of physiognomy must have been much wider than has been supposed on the basis of modem research. The following two examples may show this. Apollodorus writes about Achilles education: 'Peleus brought the child to Chiron, who received him and fed him on the inwards of lions and wild swine and the marrows of bears, and named him Achilles, because he had not put his lips to the breast; but before 7
7
30 E.C. Evans, 'The Study of Physiognomy in the Second Century A.D.', Trans. Am. Philolol. Ass. 72 (1941) 96-108. 31 E.C. Evans, Physiognomics in the Ancient World (Philadelphia, 1969) 56-8. 32 H.J. Mason, 'Physiognomy in Apuleius' Metamorphoses 2.2', Class. Philol. 79 (1984) 307-9. 33 G. Raina, 'I1 verisimile in Menandro e nella Fisiognomica , in D. Lanza and 0. Longo (eds), I1 meraviglioso e il verisimile trd antichita e medioevo (Florence, 1989) 173-85. 34 G. Krien, 'Der Ausdruck der antiken Theatermasken nach Angaben im Pollux-Katalog und in der pseudo-aristotelischen "Physiognomik"', Jahreshefte des ~sterreichischenArcheologischen lnstituts in Wien 1955, 84-117. 35 B. Kiilerich, 'Physiognomics and the Iconography of Alexander', Symbolae Osloenses 63 (1 988) 5-28. 7
that time his name was L i g y r ~ n ' .Since ~ ~ Apollodorus does not understand the essence of the story, he misinterprets the text, indicating that this part of his book was taken over without reflection from someone else. The author of the story derived Achilles' name from Exo and k b v , i.e. the people of 'leo-type', who according to physiognomy are the most pugnacious, generous and kinglike characters. The name of the hero used to be Ligyron (htyupbq = 'shrill'), which is the mark of effeminacy, of frailty. The eating of meat of animals embodying pugnacity and courage made the originally feminine young man into the person he became later. The idea that characters may be changed in this way belongs to sympathetic magic, but the selection of the species of the animals reflects the influence of physiognomy. Apollodorus of course belongs to the 'erudite' authors, but the mysterious author of the Excidium Troiae, Dares Phrygius, cannot be listed among them. If we examine his rather monotone characterizations of the main heroes of the Trojan War, we get the impression that his work is a physiognomic handb~ok.~' We are insuficiently informed about the social standing and appreciation of the physiognomists. Physiognomy was probably not limited to a specific class of society, since it had both educated and less educated followers (like astrology nowadays). The story of Zopyrus suggests that the members of the intellectual elite did not take physiognomy very seriously, though of course there were famous rhetors among its followers, such as Polemon, although he
36 Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3.13.6: I C O ~ ~ ~6h E L 76v naiba npbq X~fpoval l q h s b ~6 62 hapdv abs6v E T ~ E Q E mh8yxvoy he6v~wv ~ a ml a v dlypfwv ~ a l &' ~ K T O V p u ~ h o i ~ at , O S V ~ ~ ~ G E 'AxthhEa V (np6~spov62 fiv dvopa abr$ h ~ f l p o v )671 T& x ~ t h qpaoroiq ob np0M VEYKE. 37 For a taste of his method, consider these two characterizations in 12.12: Cassandram mediocri statura, ore rotundo, rufam, oculis micantibus, futurorum praesciam. Polyxenam candidam, altam, formosam, collo longo, oculis venustis, capillis jlavis et longis compositam membris, digitis prolixis, cruribus rectis, pedibus opimis, quae forma omnes superaret, animo simplici, largam, dapsilem.
THE DESCRIPTTON OF PAUL
15
belongs to the period of the empire. Yet an epigram from the collection attributed to Theocritus (11) brings us nearer to the author of the AP. The fact that a physiognomist is the subject of the epigram shows that, at least from Hellenistic times onwards, persons like Eusthenes were typical members of the urban community. It is interesting that this physiognomist even seems to be a member of a Dionysiac cult and the author of its hymns.38Therefore we cannot exclude the possibility that physiognomy was known even to a presbyter of similar erudition as Eusthenes in the second century A.D. The author of the AP tried to supplement the missing tradition about his hero's appearance by his own fantasy with the help of physiognomy and his own imagination.
38 J. Boll6k, 'Structure et fond intellectuel de recueil d7Cpigrammes de ThCocrite', Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 36 (1955) 53-71, in particular 64-6.
11. A wealthy woman named Tryphaena: patroness of Thecla of Iconium MAGDA MISSET-VAN DE WEG
And Thecla begged the Governor that she might remain pure until she was to fight with the wild animals. And a wealthy woman, named Tryphaena, whose daughter had died, took her into custody. And she was a comfort to her. (Acts of Paul and Thecla, 27) A n intriguing and puzzling aspect of the Acts of Paul and Thecla (AThe), is the relation between Thecla of Iconium and Queen Tryphaena, a woman who supports and strengthens Thecla.' It has been suggested that Tryphaena adopts Thecla, becomes her 'new mother' and thus incorporates Thecla into a new family: the Christian c ~ m m u n i t y . ~Other explanations are that Tryphaena simply takes a liking to the girl and/or finds in her a substitute for
1 See also Brernmer, this volume, 53. 2 L. Vouaux, Les Actes de Paul et ses lettres apocryphes (Paris, 1913) 221, n. 3: '( ...) aussi adopte-t-elle Thkcle meme lkgalement et pour la possession de ses biens (...)'; R. Albrecht, Das Leben der heiligen Makrina auf dem Hintergrund der Thekla-Traditionen (Diss. ErlangenNiirnberg, 1984) 264: 'In Tryphaina erhalt Thekla, die von ihrer eigenen Mutter verstoaen wurde, eine neue Mutter (...) Nicht nur Thekla erhalt eine neue Mutter, sondern auch Tryphaina eine neue Tochter.'; D.R. MacDonald, The Legend and the Apostle. The Battle for Paul in Story and Canon (Philadelphia, 1983) 51: 'Tryphaena adopts Thecla as her own daughter in place of her deceased natural daughter.' MacDonald does not associate the relation between the two women with patronage, but he does identify Tryphaena as a model for wealthy Christian women. The latter are encouraged to support women who choose celibacy in order to keep them from becoming destitute.
her deceased d a ~ g h t e r .It~ will be the aim of this paper to show that these explanations d o not adequately describe the relationship between the two women and to show that the largesse o f the queen and the reciprocal activities of Thecla reflect an early Christian form of the pervasive cultural phenomenon of patronageY4 which in itself constitutes a rich source for understanding the structure of social relationships in antiquity.'
3 A. Jensen (ed), Thekla - die Apostolin. Ein apokrypher Text neu entdeckt (Freiburg, Base1 and Vienna, 1995) 92: 'Dennoch konnte man hinter der verwitweten Mutter, die ihre eigene Tochter verloren hat und in Theckla gleichsam eine Ersatstochter findet (...)'. 4 Much of the evidence for patronage has survived because one of the expressions of gratitude was a dedication inscribed on stone. A great number of such inscriptions have been found. The bulk of evidence for the Late Republic is constituted by letters, such as Cicero's letters of recommendation. Cf. R.P. Saller, Personal Patronage Under the Early Empire (Cambridge, 1982) 165 and 206, who also observes that statements concerning patron-client relationships are mostly self-conscious and often philosophical, and therefore might be 'unrepresentative of the ideas and expectations of men in everyday life as a sermon preached from a pulpit today' (p. 5). See, however, Ph. Culham, 'Ten Years After Pomeroy: Studies of the Image and Reality of Women in Antiquity', Helios 1312 (1987) 9-30, concerning the problem of 'who is represented by what evidence'. She strongly argues against the primacy of words and texts and text-centered, abstract methodologies, but she also points out that even the most apparently personal documents surviving from antiquity (e.g. the lyric poems) are public statements meant to be generally understood. 5 A. Wallace-Hadrill (ed), Patronage in Ancient Society (London, 1989) 7-8, emphasizes that patronage is not of exclusive importance for understanding social relationships. Patronage was one of a number of alternative and competing systems that coexisted; Saller, Personal Patronage, 208. For a warning that patronage did not solve every social problem see P. Veyne, Le pain et le cirque. Sociologie historique d'un pluralisme politique (Paris, 1967) 218: '(...) un probleme social ne se rCsout pas avec des gestes plus ou moins symboliques; il y faut des remtdes de beaucoup plus grande Cchelle, d'une Cchelle qui est celle de la collectivitC.'
18
MAGDA MISSET-VAN DE WEG
First, a brief outline of patronage will be presented. Special attention will be paid to the ambiguity due to the seemingly positive image of women patrons, resulting from epigraphic evidence, and the traditional view of woman's place known from ~ Tryphaena will be introduced as a model literary s ~ u r c e s .Next, of the Christian benefactress, followed by a few remarks in conclusion.
In the first centuries of the Christian era, patronage permeated Mediterranean society from top to bottom.' It has been identified as a highly complex and hierarchically organized tentacular network which functioned as the prime mechanism in the allocation or chanelling of scarce resources of all sorts and at every level of society. On the level of interpersonal exchange and interaction, it has been defined as an elementary or cell structure of social life with discrete, yet universal, characteristics. In addition, patronage functioned as an important means of controlling and legitimizing the social order and for reproducing the major social institutions of power.g The two levels must be considered against a background
6 This view represents and propagates the image of women as pious,
silent, modest women, who take care of their husband and children. 7 For the origins of patronage, see Veyne, Le pain et le cirque, who
detects in euergetism the reunion of three major 'themes': 'le mhchnat, les largesses plus ou moins symboliques que les hommes politiques font de leur bourse au titre de leur charge (ob honorem), enfin les 1iMralitCs et fondations funkraires' (p.209). Liturgies ob honorem, piety, patriotism, philotimia, and largesse are a few examples of the elements which together constituted as it were the 'school' for euergetism. 8 Saller, Personal Patronage, 194; Veyne, Le pain et le cirque, 271, states that the imperial period was 'incontestablement I'6ge d'or de 1'6verg8tisme1. 9 T. Johnson & Ch. Dandeker, 'Patronage: relation and system', in Wallace-Hadrill, Patronage, 2 10-4 1 , esp. 220- 1; Wallace-Hadrill, Patronage, 5-6, 65, 72, who mentions that courts, elections, and much of the
TRYPHAENA
19
in which the public and the private were inextricably linked and scarcely distinguishable as the complex o f patronage was deepened and extended. l o Patronage was not a well-defined, smoothly operating system following predictable and inevitable rules, but a flexible and dynamic system that could be adapted to changing social circumstances." Core-characteristics o f the patron-client nexus were:I2
senate's mnning of the empire depended on it. An arrangement with which the Romans must have been familiar because it was central to the Roman social system in reality as in ideology; conceived as part of the res publica and the mos maiorum. In fact, the introduction of patronage as a traditional institution was ascribed to Romulus, the founder of the state. For a schematic and idealizing account of the Romulean constitution, describing the rights and obligations of patrons and clients, see Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Antiquitates Romanae 2.9-1 1 . Patronage was not only appreciated in a positive way, but aversion of patronage has been expressed as well. See P. Millet, 'Patronage and its avoidance in classical Athens', in Wallace-Hadrill, Patronage, 15-48, esp. 33, who refers to examples from Aristotle (Nichomachaean Ethics 1127a) and Xenophon (Oeconomicus 11). Aristotle's way of disguising clients as friends is parallelled by the Roman device of preserving appearances by disguising clients as amici, cf Saller, Personal Patronage, 11-5, who quotes from Cicero (Off 2.69): 'some Romans think it as bitter as death to have accepted a patron or to be called clients.' 10 Cf. D. Braund, 'Function and dysfunction: personal patronage in Roman imperialism', in Wallace-Hadrill, Patronage, 140-2. Braund refers, for instance, to Cicero's correspondence which shows 'how a Roman provincial governor was enmeshed in a complex web of personal patronage which reached to Rome itself. Cf. Saller, Personal Patronage, 25-6 and Wallace-Hadrill, Patronage, 5, who argues that the exchange of personal favours and services form part of a wider network and thus of the 'system of patronage' and should not be relegated to the realm of relations between individuals. 1 1 Wallace-Hadrill, Patronage, 71, 78. 12 The characteristics are based on the tripartite definition offered by Boissevain, endorsed by Saller and others, and the complements added by Garnsey & Woolf and Millett. See Wallace-Hadrill, Patronage, 3-4; Millett, 'Patronage and its avoidance', 16.
20
MAGDA MISSET-VAN DE WEG
* Reciprocity, involving exchanges of services over time between two parties. However, at the system level, where a complex network of vertical and cross-cutting ties with wider integrative and social control functions became visible, one-to-one exchanges or immediate reciprocation did not necessarily take place. From a strategic point of view the client's indebtedness and maintaining a structure of power instead of immediate reciprocation might even have been in the patron's interest; l 3 * The relations were personal as opposed to, for example, commercial relationships. This does not necessarily imply an intimate or strict patron-client dyad, but does mean that access to resources was predominantly mediated by personalized relationships.14 * The relations were asymmetrical, i.e. between parties of differentlunequal social status. Vertical over horizontal relations were dominant, connecting patron and client in a hierarchical structure. The relationship was conducted along lines largely determined by the party of superior status, which gave rise to an exploitative tendency in the relationship.I5 * Relations were voluntary, i.e. not legally enforceable or at least not fully legal or contractual. Clients could choose, move from patron to patron, and patrons could compete for clients. However, even if individual relationships were voluntary, there is nothing voluntary about a social system which succeeds in perpetuating inequalities.I6 * The relation was based on solidarity, often closely related to conceptions of personal identity, especially of personal honour and obligations. Some, even if ambivalent, personal 'spiritual' attachment could exist between patron and clients." 13 Johnson & Dandeker, 'Patronage: relation and system', 225. 14 Johnson & Dandeker, 'Patronage: relation and system', 226. 15 Millett, 'Patronage and its avoidance', 16. Cf. S.N. Eisenstadt & L. Roniger, 'Patron-Client Relations as a Model of Structuring Social Exchange', Comparative Studies in Society and History 22 (1980) 42-77, esp. 49-50. 16 Wallace-Hadrill, Patronage, 8. 17 Cf. Eisenstadt & Roniger, 'Patron-Client Relations', 50.
In theory the system of patronage functioned as a two-way street; both subject and object benefitted. The system could create the well-being or even the upward mobility of a client, and also enhance the social status andlor political stature of the patron and his o r her family." Yet, the above mentioned characteristics show that it was also a highly ambiguous system. Patronage presupposes inequality or at least asymmetry and maintains it.'' Inequality and solidarity d o not go together well and the same applies t o coercion and choice, mutual obligations and a voluntary r e l a t i ~ n s h i p . ' ~Even though one might conclude that the euergetic system is for the good of 'the people', who receive real benefits in return for giving honour, the true purpose of giving was not (always) t o receive honour, but (often) t o maintain power and wealth."
18 See, e.g., L.M. White, 'Social Networks: Theoretical Orientation and Historical Applications', Semeia 56 (1992) 23-36. 19 E.R. Wolf, 'Kinship, Friendship, and Patron-Client Relations in Complex Societies,' in M. Banton (ed), The Social Anthropology of Complex Societies (London, 1968) 1-22, esp. 16. 20 Johnson & Dandeker, 'Patronage: relation and system', 231, offer the following explanation for these ambiguities: 'Where choice is sustained yet fides is entrenched, then ambiguity becomes an inherent feature of the system. Tolerance of such ambiguity, of the discrepancy between the ideas and the reality is reflected in individual relations and becomes enshrined in the language itself. Paradoxically, without its 'failures' the system would degenerate. In short, tolerance of ambiguity is an adaptive feature of the system.' 21 Cf. R. Gordon, 'The Veil of Power: emperors, sacrificers and benefactors,' in M. Beard & J. North (eds), Pagan Priests: Religion and Power in the Ancient World (Ithaca NY, 1990) 201-31, esp. 224; Saller, Personal Patronage, 126: 'The most basic premise from which the Romans started was that honor and prestige derived from the power to give what others needed or wanted.' Cf. R. Saller, 'Patronage and friendship in early imperial Rome: drawing the distinction', in WallaceHadrill, Patronage, 124, who states that the exchange of gifts 'with friends and dependents beyond the kinship group served as a reminder and reinforcement of differences of status.' See also Saller, Personal Patronage, who weighs the Marxist against the functionalist critique of
MAGDA MSSET-VAN DE WEG
'Do ut des ' Benefactions might consist of, for example, distribution of food, building of temples, baths, financing of festivals and entertainment. In return the benefactors could receive or secure: senatorial magistracies, public and religious offices,22 privilege^,^^ political support and influence,24 loyalty and honour, which would have a positive influence on their own prestige and that of their family. These examples of that which could be secured (as a reward) through patronage already indicate that different forms of patronage can be identified. Besides 'status-raising' generosity on the level of political patronage, deities, though more and more on a symbolic level, were seen as patrons and in a more or less parallel ' relied to a great extent on the way, so was the E m p e r ~ r . ~Cities
the patronage-ideology. Saller observes that both critiques point to the ideology's covering up of the class structure, which protects the interests of the patrons and helps them to maintain their position at a minimal cost, but conclude that patronage and the patronal ideology provide stability and cohesion. 22 For example, in their capacity as priestess or magistrate, the patronesses underwrote costs of religious festivals or public entertainments, for which they received again public honours, etcetera. 23 Varying from a front seat in the theatre to the right to own land. 24 Patrons could expect support from their clients when standing for election and so could their friends andlor members of their family, see for example White, 'Social Networks', 23-36. 25 See H.S. Versnel, Inconsistencies in Greek and Roman Religion II. Transition and Reversal in Myth and Ritual (Leiden, 1993) 196-7: 'The benefactions, aid and salvation procured by any person naturally raise him to a superior rank: deus est mortali iuvare mortalem (when a mortal helps another mortal, that is god), says Pliny, NH 2, 18 (...) The blessings bestowed by a ruler naturally transcend the level of private and personal assistance. They were described in terms of peace, order and prosperity for all subjects in the realm or the world.' Cf. F. Danker, Benefactor. Epigraphic Study of a Graeco-Roman and New Testament Semantic Field (St. Louis, 1982) a.0. 26, 35-6; Saller, Personal Patronage, 41. For the titles 'benefactor' and 'soter', which became personalized
system o f p a t r ~ n a g e ? ~on the wealthy elite trying 'to outdo each other in lavish benefactions (...) stimulated by an elaborate complex of honours emanating from the city.'" Down the societal ladder the 'poor in antiquity, as in all historical periods, depended to a significant degree on the quality of their relationships with more fortunate members o f their own society (...) for the satisfaction o f vital needs, whether food, clothing and shelter.'28 An apparent ambiguity
Greetings. Whereas the people of Athens led a F'ythian procession to F'ythian Apollo in a grand manner worthy of the god and their particular excellence: the priestess of Athena, Chrysis daughter of Nicetes, also was present with the procession; she made the journey out and the return well, appropriately, and worthily of the people of Athens and of our own city. With good fortune, it was voted by the city of Delphi to praise Chrysis, daughter of Nicetes, and to crown her with the god's crown that is customary among the Delphians. It was voted also to give proxenia to her and to her descendants from the city, and the right to consult the oracle, priority of trial, safe conduct, freedom from taxes, and a front seat at all the contests held by the city, the right to own land and a house and all the other
and regularized epithets of an increasingly divinized Hellenistic royalty, see H. Hendrix, 'BenefactorPatron Networks in the Urban Environment: Evidence from Thessalonica', Semeia 56 (1992) 39-58, esp. 42. 26 According to R. MacMullen, Roman Social Relations: 50 B.C. to A.D. 284 (New Haven and London, 1974) 25-6, the villages probably kept up connections with rich and influential patrons, who could be counted on to pay for a public building or social occasions, but there seems to be little information on the subject. 27 R. van Bremen, 'Women and Wealth', in A. Cameron & A. Kurt (eds), Images of Women in Antiquity, (London, 1983) 224. 28 P. Garnsey & G. Woolf, 'Patronage of the rural poor in the Roman world', in Wallace-Hadrill, Patronage, 153-70, esp. 158. For several other forms of patronage see S.B. Pomeroy, Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves. Women in Classical Antiquity (New York, 1975) 200.
24
MAGDA MISSET-VAN DE WEG
honours customary for proxenoi and benefactors of the city. (Inscriptiones Graecae 112 1 136)" This inscription is but one example of a woman's benefactions and the honour bestowed upon her. Many inscriptions record that women, in return for their largesse, were assigned functions such as arch&, dcmiourgos, gymnasiarchos (in most cases for the provision of oil), ktistria, dekapro'tos, hierophantis, agc?nothett?s. The fact that women held such positions is a striking phenomenon in a world known from literary sources for the traditional view of woman's place and for a strict division between the male and the female domain. How can this ambiguity be explained? To start with, gender was not a determinative factor as far as patronage was concerned, whereas wealth and social class were. It has been argued that women did become visible as patronesses in a period of degeneration of political life and economic decay. Municipal life thereupon started to depend on wealthy women to underwrite the costs of public buildings, festivals, baths and other types of benefaction. As women exercised no actual power, their appointment to various positions was a painless way for cities to gain money and glitter.30 However, wealthy women played a prominent public role in
29 This inscription records honours and privileges bestowed on a priestess of Athena after a procession to Pythian Apollo, Delphi, 2nd century BC. Quoted from R.S. Kraemer, Maenah, Martyrs, Matrons, Monastics: A Sourcebook on Women's Religions in the Greco-Roman World (Philadelphia, 1988) 211. 30 For a survey of, but not agreement with, several theses, see M. T.
Boatwright, 'Plancia Magna of Perge: Women's Roles and Status in Roman Asia Minor', in S.B. Pomeroy (ed), Women's History and Ancient History (Chapel Hill and London, 1991) 249-77, esp. 258-60. Boatwright mentions explanations, such as 0. Braunstein's hypothesis of the survival of 'Mutterrecht', and Sarah Pomeroy's view of crediting women's public visibility to an increase in legal and economic power of women. Cf. also Gordon, 'The Veil of Power', 230, who concludes that euergetic women are symptoms of changes in local inheritance systems and of the pressure of Roman law upon them and refers to the pressure
TRYPHAENA
25
the cities long before the period of d e ~ a y . ~ ' The seemingly positive image of women, resulting from the epigraphic evidence, should not be misinterpreted. The emergence of benefactresses in the striking capacities did not necessarily mean a shift in the social power of women in general, nor in the traditional view of women as such.32 The ideology that perpetuated and justified the political power and social status of an elite ruling-class remained operative. Natal family positions and connections remained an important, if not a determinative factor, in obtaining prestigious priesthoods and public offices, honours and prestige. Women could and did inherit capital, but they were-as were their male relatives-expected to spend it in the service of the city, and thus to enlarge their own and especially their family's prestige and status. The functions women held, seem to be largely ceremonial andlor nominal and lay outside the political or commercial spheres. Furthermore, women are praised for typically female virtues, such as philandria, philoteknia and s6phrosynC (love for a husband, love of one's children and temperance), in carefully constructed language that mirrored the 'traditional' ideas about women in the literary and philosophical sources of the Hellenistic and Roman periods.33
which the obligation to give put upon all wealthy families. See also Veyne, Le pain et le cirque, 357 n. 26 1 : '( ...) les magistratures fbminines s'expliquaient toujours par des raisons d'argent (...)'. 31 Van Bremen, 'Women and Wealth', 233-4. 32 Van Bremen, 'Woman and Wealth', 231-3. See also Gordon, 'The Veil of Power', 230. 33 E.P. Forbis, 'Women's Public Image in Italian Honorary Inscriptions', Am. J. Phil. 1 1 1 (1990) 493-512, esp. 496-7, has pointed out that the Italians commemorated their benefactresses in a different way. They either ignored or minimized the benefactress' domestic duties: 'Not only did the Italians honor aristocratic women for their public munificence, but they also praised them accordingly.' As an example to illustrate this Forbis quotes the inscription to a benefactress from Formiae in the late second century AD (L'Anne'e ~pigraphique 1971.79): 'The citizens of Formiae publicly [give honor to] Cassia Cornelia Prisca, the daughter of Gaius, a woman of senatorial rank, the wife of Aufidius Fronto the
26
MAGDA MISSET-VAN DE WEG
The explanation for the apparent ambiguity can be found in the social and ideological components of Greek urban elites, more specifically in the blurring of the private domestic spheres and the political and public spheres. The city came to be conceptualized as a large family with the elite acting as fathers andlor mothers, sons and daughters. The families of benefactors became an essential element of the dynastic, self-justificatory ideology of the elites.34 Women's private life thus became the centre of attention, but within the existing traditional ideological framework. In conclusion w e can say that on the one hand traditional ideas on women seem t o have changed little in the course of the Hellenistic and Roman period^,^' on the other hand shifts in the system of patronage created conditions that made women's presence increasingly visible and constantly felt. The inscriptions on statues and other memorials or monuments- abundantly present all over the cities-listing the o f i c e s and benefactions, were, moreover, an effective way of affirming the superiority of the ruling class.36 At
consul, pontifex, proconsul of Asia, and patron of our colony, a priestess of the Augusta and of the fatherland, in return for the magnificence of her generosity.' 34 Van Bremen, 'Women and Wealth' 235f. See also S. Wiersma, 'The Ancient Greek Novel and its Heroines: A Female Paradox', Mnemosyne IV 43 (1990) 109-23, esp. 114, for illustrations of the integration of familial attitudes: 'Widely attested, for instance, are impassioned public mournings on the occasion of a death in dynastic families; all citizens seem to have participated (...) Also attested are public thanksgivings on behalf of a member of the ruling families who recuperated from severe illness. Such a happy recuperation could provoke an exchange of acknowledgements: recovered, this person treats the people to a banquet, while they for their part defray the costs of the erection of a statue at the agora.' 35 Van Bremen, 'Women and Wealth', 237. 36 The ordering of space and time of much of municipal life had the same purpose: to feed the collective consciousness of the population with the right 'order', which found expression, for instance, in the positioning during processions and in the celebration of marriages and death of the elite only.
the same time, these conspicuous inscriptions and monuments reminded the inhabitants of the cities constantly of the largesse and activities of many women.37 On several points the hegemonic paradigm was thus breached and the women (and the men) were presented with alternative models of identifi~ation.~'
Patronage in the AThe In the AThe the terminology of patronage is not overtly present, but absence of explicit or stable terminology does not necessarily mean absence of patr~nage.~'In fact, we find the epithet bozthos and references to God as s5tFr (cf. resp. 42, 6, 17, 37, 38) which might reflect an understanding of God and Jesus as benefactor^.^' The ambivalent attitude of the Governors, especially of Castelius, the Governor of Iconium, towards Paul and Thecla, might reflect their embedment in the system of patronage. Castelius is interested in what Paul has to say, he sympathizes with Thecla, as did his colleague from Antioch - they even shed tears - but after having taken council (!), and even though he is extremely vexed, he orders Paul to be flogged and condemns Thecla to be burned (1721). Behind this may lie the actuality of the patronage network. For a steady rise to power within that system it was essential to maintain a good relationship with the Emperor as the supreme patron. To that end governors also needed a good relationship with
37 W. Cotter, 'Women's Authority Roles in Paul's Churches: Countercultural or Conventional?', Novum Testamentum 36 (1994) 350-72, esp. 365, points out that inscriptional evidence shows that 'Romanized women were in a position to gain status and honour for themselves and their families', that these women had their own identity and were not identified by her father, husband or guardian. 38 Cf. Van Bremen, 'Women and Wealth', 236-7 and Boatwright, 'Plancia Magna of Perge', 263. 39 Millett, 'Patronage and its avoidance', 15-6. 40 Cf. S.C. Mott, 'Greek Ethics and Christian Conversion. The Philonic Background of Titus 11.10-14 and 111 3-7', Novum Testamentum 20 (1978) 43-6.
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MAGDA MISSET-VAN DE WEG
the people they governed, including the local elite. The support of local notables could, for example, be needed to protect a Governor from complaints about maladministration which would obstruct their career^.^' Alexander also seems to fit the pattern of the patron. He is introduced as someone (...) 'doing many things in this city during his officeY(26). Later he appears to be crowned, an honour conferred upon a person who was found to be 'fine' and 'noble' and and he is 'the one arranging the 'well-disposed to the beast-hunt' - which could refer to the title ag6nothet~?s(30). The story seems to give his role a twist so that he becomes the model for the wrong kind of benefactor. 'Wrong' in the sense that he provides the city with 'wordly' things and because he uses patronage as a means for revenge and restoration of his honour, of which a woman robbed him. The implicit message could thus be that Christians-or at least the ascetic community-should no longer turn to andlor depend on benefactors like Alexander nor desire his kind of benefactions. In marked contrast with Alexander, Tryphaena seems to represent the right model. She is equally, or even more so, a prominent and wealthy woman-a queen-related to the Emperor. Her benefactions are indeed of a different kind. She takes a 'desolate stranger',43 a handmaiden of the Lord under her 41 Cf. J.K. Chow, Patronage and Power. A Study of Social Networks in Corinth (Sheffield, 1992) 5 1 ff. 42 See, e.g., the Hellenistic Ephesian inscription quoted in B.W. Winter, I St. New Test 34 'The Public Honouring of Christian Benefactors', . (1988) 89-90: '( ...) as it is right and proper for a man who loves his city
and is concerned for honour and good standing among the citizens, the People, being grateful to such and having seen the fine and noble character of the man, have resolved to praise (...) because of the diligence and forethought he has in both sacred and secular affairs and, in addition, resolved by popular decision, and to crown him with a gold crown (...)'. Cf. Veyne, Le pain et le cirque, 276 and 357 n. 261, on stephanEphoros. 43 Even though Tryphaena is not primarily portrayed in this specific role, we may find here an echo of patronage as a mechanism by which newcomers were incorporated, with the patron as sponsor to the new citizen, cf. Wallace-Hadrill, 'Patronage in Roman Society', 76-7.
wings, by taking her in custodia libera (27). By doing so, she guarantees Thecla's 'honour' and this is of extreme importance. Imprisonment of women could and often did mean rape.44 Rape meant an irretrievable loss of honour. Whereas the honour of men could be injured, but also restored, the boundaries of the honour of women coincided with her sexuality. The honour of women could not be gained, only lost.45 The importance of Tryphaena's gesture is emphasized by the words: 'And Thecla begged the Governor that she might remain pure (...) and a wealthy woman named Tryphaena (...) took her into custody' (27), and: 'recompense Tryphaena (...) because she kept me pure' (31). Because these words constitue an inclusio of the episode in Tryphaena's house, they accentuate 'remaining pure' as a main theme.46 Tryphaena also tries to protect Thecla in other waysY4' and offers her hospitality (39), comfort (27), compassion (29), and support (28, 30, 31). Through her feigned death, undoubtedly in
44 See A. Jensen, Gottes selbstbewusste Tochter: Frauenernanzipation im fiiihen Christenturn? (Freiburg, Basel and Vienna, 1992) 185-95. 45 Cf. K.J. Torjesen, 'In Praise of Noble Women: Gender and Honor in Ascetic Texts', Serneia 57 (1993) 41-64, esp. 56. The second part of the AThe is a striking example of how seriously damage to male honour could be taken and what men were allowed to do in order to restore their honour. Thecla is condemned to die in the arena because she has robbed Alexander of his honour and made him a laughing-stock. Subsequent to this Alexander is allowed to indulge in his revenge. The fact that Thecla's honour is damaged is not taken into account, despite the strong protest of the women of Antioch. 46 The words rnisthos, agnos/agneia and tZre6 also link Thecla's wordslrequest with what might ultimately be the main theme in the first part of the story: remaining purelchaste, which will be rewarded with eternal bliss. See the beatitudes, esp. the second and last one in 5 and 6; and see 7, 9 and 12. The close correspondence between 6 and 31 might indicate that remaining pure and helping someone to remain pure are equally important and deserve to be equally rewarded. 47 Cf. AThe 28 - 'took her again'; 30 - 'But Tryphaena cried out so as to make him flee'.
30
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combination with her status, she saves Thecla from the wild animals-including Alexander-and secures Thecla's freedom. By assigning 'all that is hers' to Thecla, she enables Thecla to lead an independent and autonomous life (39). Finally, she sent so much that enough is left to minister to the poor.(41) Consequently, she is not only Thecla's personal benefactress, but the Christian community profits from her benefactions as well. The do ut des principle, or the characteristic of reciprocity, is not absent in the story. In return for Tryphaena's 'favours', Thecla prays for Tryphaena's daughter and for Tryphaena herself: 'recompense Tryphaena' (31). The Christians, gathered in the house of Hermeios remember Tryphaena in their prayers as well (41). Here emerges a shift in the manner in which honour is bestowed on the patron(ess). With regard to the Acts of Peter, it has been concluded that Christian patron(esse)s are 'to give freely in recognition of the spiritual benefits they have received from Christ', without expecting the honour and loyalty which were the normal responses to patronage. The 'gratia due as honor, worship, ' AThe, however, and loyalty' must be directed to C h r i ~ t . ~The show that and how a Christian patroness could be remembered and one might say thus honoured and celebrated. The story may even (partially) function as a monument to a Queen among women.49 48 R. Stoops, 'Christ as Patron in the Acts of Peter', Semeia 56 (1992) 143-57, esp. 152, 154 and 158. 49 Whether or not Christian benefactors always settled for recognition in the form of, for example, remembrance in prayers is an intriguing question, especially when it concerns women. In the following centuries erome lavishes praise on benefactresses such as Melania and Paula. However, Jerome praises them for their private virtues: chastity and humility. Although it is difficult to believe that none of these extremely wealthy ladies, who founded monasteries, did claim a fbnction/religious office in return, a deafening silence reigns. Because 'women's authority was problematic only if it was being exercised in the public arena', it seems a reasonable assumption that these women may have claimed fbnctions in the relatively closed (monastic) communities. Cf. Cotter, 'Women's Authority Roles', 368-9. On the 'silence' surrounding Christian benefactresses, see Torjesen, 'In Praise of Noble Women', 50-3 and
TRYPHAENA
31
The didactic or normative side of this 'remembrance' should not be overlooked: inscriptions and other monuments were (also) meant t o encourage and motivate rich, potential patron(esse)s t o follow a good e ~ a r n p l e . ' ~ Patronage was o f vital importance for Christian communities. Patron(esse)s often provided meeting places in their homes; their money was much needed for the construction of the communities as well as for their charity operations, such as care of the poor and the widows;" and their prestige could be of importance for the strategy to survive and expand in a hostile e n v i r ~ n m e n t . ' ~Eventually the retreat to private space - the homes of benefactors - became a necessity for proscribed Christian g r o u p s / m o ~ e m e n t s . ~ ~
E.A. Clark, 'Piety, Propaganda, and Politics in the Life of Melania the Younger', in E.A. Clark (ed), Ascetic Piety and Women's Faith. Essays on Late Ancient Christianity (Lewiston and Queenston, 1986) 61-94. 50 Cf. Veyne, Le pain et le cirque, 235. 51 Cf. J. Bremmer, 'Why did Early Christianity attract Upper-class Women', in A.A.R. Bastiaensen, A. Hilhorst, C. Kneepkens (eds), Frucfus Centesimus. Mklanges oflerts ci Gerard J. M. Bartelink d! 1'occasion de son soixante-cinqui6me anniversaire, (Steenbrugge and Dordrecht, 1989) 37-47, esp. 41, 47; E.A. Clark, 'Ideology, History, and the Construction of "Woman" in Late Ancient Christianity', Journal of Early Christian Studies 2 (1994) 155-184, esp. 178-9 and I. Bremmer, 'Pauper or Patroness. The Widow in the Early Christian Church', in J. Bremmer and L. van den Bosch (eds), Between Poverty and the Pyre. Moments in the History of Widowhood (London and New York, 1995) 31-57. 52 Stoops, 'Christ as Patron', 151, refers to this specific aspect of patronage which could be of importance to Christian communities: 'Converted patrons could bring a network of clients along with them (...) the ability to incorporate existing household or patronage networks into the community of believers probably contributed to the expansion of the faith'. 53 According to Maier, 'Religious Dissent', 49-52, the retreat to private space, where, e.g., asceticism as well as other ideas were promoted, became for the representatives of the ecclesiastical establishment 'maddeningly uncontrollable'. Maier illustrates how 'In Alexandria in 361, upon the appearance of Athanasius (having emerged from the domestic hiding
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MAGDA MISSET-VAN DE WEG
Tryphaena, mother or patrones?
After having specified the elements in the AThe which point to Tryphaena as patroness, the hypothesis that Tryphaena adopted Thecla as her daughter, will now be problematized. There are indeed some moments in the story which seem to suggest an adoption or a mother-daughter relation between Tryphaena and T h e ~ l a . ' ~An 'adoption' is however open to the following objections which, on the other hand, support the hypothesis that Tryphaena functions as a patroness. Firstly, up and until the 3rd century AD, women could not adopt a child. Tryphaena's statement 'Come into my house, Thecla my child, and I shall transfer to you all that is mine' (39) should therefore not be associated with a d ~ p t i o n . ~ ' Secondly, Thecla is never explicitely called 'daughter' of or by Tryphaena, but always 'child' and Falconilla is always mentioned in the same context. Falconilla is and remains Tryphaena's
place of a female ascetic's cell and having escaped the Arian bishop George's attempts to prosecute him), the Arian community was expelled from the city's basilicas and was forced to gather around its new bishop Lucius in private homes.' 54 AThe 28-30, 39. 55 Y. Thomas, 'The Division of the Sexes in Roman law', in P. Schmitt Pantel (ed), A History of Women in the West. I. From Ancient Goddesses to Christian Saints (Cambridge, Mass. and London, 1992) 83-137, esp. 106 and 128-9: 'It was not until the time of Diocletian, and then again in the sixth century, that the emperor expressly authorized a woman to choose a close relative to be treated as her own child in consolation and as replacement for a lost child of her own. Through the entire classical period, however, no exception was recorded to the principle that women may not adopt. Like the incapacity to designate 'proper' heirs, the incapacity to adopt was a direct consequence of women's lack of authority.' Since the reforms instituted by Augustus and Claudius, women did have a certain degree of autonomy in financial matters, which might explain why Tryphaena could not adopt, but was able to transfer her money to Thecla. Cf. Boatwright, 'Plancia Magna', 259 and Thomas, 'The Division of the Sexes', 133-5.
only daughter. When Falconilla tells her mother in a dream 'you shall have Thecla, the desolate stranger, in my place' (28)' the daughter does not refer to a future adoption, but what is at stake here is the intended purpose: 'that she may pray for me and I may be transferred to the place of the righteous' (28). In the end Tryphaena seems to be certain that this has been achieved: 'now I believe that my child lives' (39). Thirdly, although Tryphaena calls upon the God of Thecla (30) and believes that the dead are raised and Falconilla lives (39), and it could be said that a sort of community takes shape in her house,'= to call Tryphaena the or a mother in a Christian family (community) is an overstatement. The conclusion that Tryphaena, like Onesiphorus and Hermeias, provides a meeting place for Christians- form of Christian patronage-, seems more to the point. A fourth argument is that Thecla returns to her own mother and the story is explicit about the fact that Thecla, as Theokleia's daughter, will provide for her mother if she so desires (43). The story is not conclusive about whether or not the mother, Theokleia, accepts this offer. Perhaps the ascetic framework of the story must be taken into account here. In early Christian ascetic circles, asceticism meant mainly a life of celibacy. The ascetics wanted to be totally free, mentally and physically, in order to be able to ' familial ties were of no importance to serve C h r i ~ t . ~Hence, them. This attitude is expressed in the resistance against existing
56 Thecla teaches the Word of God and there is great joy in the house two elements which are also mentioned in connection with the gathering in the house of Onesiphorus (5). 57 Cf. J.W. Drijvers, 'Virginity and Asceticism in Late Roman Western Elites', in J. Blok and P. Mason (eds), Sexual Asymmetry. Studies in Ancient Sociev (Amsterdam, 1987) 241-274, esp. 242; V. Bums, 'Chastity as Autonomy. Women in the Stories of the Apocryphal Acts', Semeia 38 (1986) 101-17, esp. 117, who concludes: ascetic women 'felt themselves to be united with Christ in a liberating relationship which surpassed and excluded their previous familial and marital relationships.' Cf. also New Testament texts such as Matt 12.48-50 and Luke 14.26, which, e.g., Jerome quotes when propagating an ascetic lifestyle.
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MAGDA MISSET-VAN DE WEG
institutions and cultural claims made by parents, husbands and authorities, in stories such as the he." Finally, the fact that Tryphaena acted as a mother towards Thecla, is in keeping with p a t r ~ n a g e . ' ~ Remarks in conclusion Reading the AThe against the cultural background highlights some aspects of the Graeco-Roman roots of second century Christianity. At the same time such a reading makes manifest that Christianity incorporated the phenomenon of benefactions and adapted it t o their own needs and ideas.60 Christianity recognized the importance of material and mental support, but a major shift takes place towards GodIChrist as the source of all good things. That (wealthy) patron(esse)s were encouraged t o fulfill their duties as
58 Cf. Torjesen, 'In Praise of Noble Women', 58. 59 Kraemer, Her Share, 120-1 and 136. 60 For evidence for endorsement of the cultural phenomenon of patronage and patronesses since New Testament times, see also Luke and Pauline texts. In Luke 8.3 we are told that the women, Joanna, Susanna and many others, who ministered unto them @om their own possession. The manner of identifying Chloe in 1 Cor 1.11 (which are of Chloe) suggests that she is well known and esteemed by the Christian cornrnunity and that she should probably be recognized as a patroness. Phoebe, (Rom 16.1-2) is explicitely identified as a patroness of many. Both women are not identified by male relatives but have their own identity, which suggests that they were financially independent women. Wendy Cotter, 'Women's Authority Roles', 354, 366, points out that Carolyn Whelan has shown that such benefactresses protected their prottgts not only from financial difficulties. They could also act as guardians due to powerful networks of family and friends. Cf. finally, P. Brown, The Cult ofthe Saints. Its Rise and Function in Latin Christianity (London, 1981) 34-5: '( ...) the establishment of Christianity under Constantine made plain that, from the emperor downwards, the overmighty patron had come to stay (...) In Rome, for instance, the Christian church rose to prominence on a slow tide of well-to-do lay patronage'.
benefactors, but as recipients of Christ's patronage, followed from this accentuation. Human benefactors are still honoured and praised, but ultimately the gratia is directed to Christ6' In short, a shift towards a subordination to higher ends seems to be taking place. In the AThe we also detect a glimpse of a patron-client relationship that stood in criticism of the standard assumptions about legitimate power relationships and control over other persons. Especially the women in the second part of the AThe embody the enormous struggle for initiating a way of life in which generosity implies much more than a means of maintaining asymmetrical relationships between social ~ n e q u a l s . ~ ~
61 Stoops, 'Christ as Patron', 152, 154, 157. Cf. Thecla's thanksgiving at the conclusion of the story. 62 I am very grateful to Professors J.N. Bremmer and P.W.van der Horst for their useful comments on an earlier version of this paper.
IV. The baptized lion in the Acts of Paul
TAMAS ADAMIK
'The rhetorician Theon accurately defined a fable as a "fictitious story metaphorically representing the truth", the "truth" in question being a fact of live or human behaviour, more often a piece of worldly wisdom than a "moral" in the ethical sense." Within this worldly wisdom the lion played a big part in the works of both Aesop and Phaedrus. It became the king of animals, and as such it could be either good or bad. In Phaedrus' 1.5 it is bad: A lion, in a royal whim
Took other beasts to hunt with him. A stag entangled in their toil, He into three divides the spoil; Then in these words the lordly beast His humble company addressed: 'This portion I as strongest claim; This, because Lion is my name; And as for the remaining share, To touch it, let me see who dare!'2
In ancient Christian literature the figure of the lion takes a more complex part than in pagan texts. That is why the story of the baptized lion in the Acta Pauli (AP) aroused the interest of ancient
1 The Cambridge History of Classical Literature 1.4: The Hellenistic Period and the Empire (Cambridge, 1989) 140-1. 2 English by Sir Brooke Boothby, cited from M. Grant (ed), Latin Literature. An Anthology (New York, 1989) 285.
THE BAPTIZED LION
61
Christian authors. Carl Schmidt dealt with this subject at great length as early as his book on the A P published in 1905. On the basis of data in Saint Jerome and Nicephorus, he argued that the AP had contained the story of the baptized lion, although the fragments of the Coptic papyrus manuscript did not confirm it.3 In addition, he published the English translation made by E.J. Goodspeed from an Ethiopic text,4 in which the story of the baptized lion is to be found as follows: And Paul departed towards the mountain. And as he walked there, Paul found a lion and his height was twelve cubits and his size as that of a horse. And he met Paul and they saluted each other as though they knew each other. And the lion said to Paul: Well met, Paul, servant of God and apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ! I have one thing, which I ask thee to do unto me. And Paul said unto him: Speak; I will hear. And the lion said: Make me to enter into the great things of the Christians. And Paul took him and made him to enter into the great things of the Christians. And when he had finished the law of the seventh day, then they bade each other farewell. And again Paul retumed to the city.
According to the Ethiopic text, this meeting with the lion happened when Paul had left Caesarea for the mountains. After the event, Paul returned to Caesarea and preached the commandment of the Lord. A woman, whose name was Pelagia, daughter of the king, renounced her husband and followed the exhortation of Paul. The king commanded that Paul should be cast into prison. The story continues as follows: And they set a lion in ambush for Paul in the theater, and they set in ambush the one whose height was twelve cubits and his size as that of a horse, the one that had met Paul, that Paul had made to enter into the great things of the Christians.... And they brought Paul from the prison and they brought him into the theater. And after Paul they
3 C. Schmidt, Acta Pauli aus der Heidefberger koptischen Papyrushandschrifi Nr I (Leipzig, 1905; repr. Hildesheim, 1965) esp. xix-xxi. 4 Ibidem, xxii-iv.
brought the lion into him. And it seemed to them, that he would devour him, and they all said: But this day hath Paul met that which will punish him. And Paul stretched forth his hands and prayed, the lion also prayed after him; and Paul worshiped and the lion also worshiped with him. And when they had finished glorifying and praying, Paul also turned and said to the lion: Well met! And Paul said to the lion: How is it that thou wast caught, who art so great? And the lion also said unto Paul: Thou also, behold thou wast caught, and they brought thee that I might devour thee. Did they not know that we were dear to one another? We are servants of our Lord. And after they had seen him talking with Paul, they all wondered and said: Great is the faith of this man; even the beast of the field obeys him, and the people hearken to him. And they said: Now take Pelagia, but let him go with his lion. And the lion and Paul departed.
According to Schmidt, the compiler of this story used older sources in which the motifs of the speaking and baptized lion were found, but he changed many details. Instead of Ephesus, e.g., he located the plot in Caesarea, and instead of the verb 'to baptize' he used the phrase 'to enter into the great things of the Christians', and so on. The Hamburg Papyrus In 1936 a decisive change took place in research on the AP: Carl Schmidt published the Hamburg papyrus in which - although in a fragmentary state - the story of the baptized lion survived from the original Greek n p 6 c ~ t qlIa6hou.' The surviving text makes it clear that the baptism of the lion took place on Paul's journey from Damascus to Jericho. Later, in Ephesus, Paul met the same lion in the stadium after Hieronyrnus, the governor of Ephesus, had condemned him to death. In the Hamburg Papyrus the story is told as follows:
5 C. Schmidt and W. Schubart, lIpci[etq lIav1ov (Gliickstadt and Harnburg, 1936) 36-9.
THE BAPTIZED LION
63
At dawn there was a cry from the citizens: 'Let us go to the spectacle! Come, let us see the man who possesses God fighting with the beasts!' Hieronymus himself joined them, partly because of his suspicion against his wife, partly because he (Paul) had not fled; he commanded Diophantes and the others slaves to bring Paul into the stadium. He (Paul) was dragged in, saying nothing but bowed down and groaning because he was led in triumph by the city. And when he was brought out he was immediately flung into the stadium, so that all were vexed at Paul's dignity. ... Hieronymus ... ordered a very fierce lion, which had but recently been captured, to be set loose against him. The following text is very imperfect. It deals with the lion's prayer and its conversation with Paul. The people thereupon cry out: 'Away with the sorcerer! Away with the (poisoner!' But the lion) looked at Paul and Paul (at the lion. Then) Paul recognised that this (was the) lion which had come (and) been baptized. (And) bome along by faith Paul said: 'Lion, was it thou whom I baptized?' And the lion in answer said to Paul: 'Yes,' Paul spoke to it again and said: 'And how wast thou captured?' The lion said with one (?) voice: 'Even as thou, Paul.' As Hieronymus sent many beasts, that Paul might be slain, and against the lion archers, that it too might be killed, a violent and exceedingly heavy hail-storm fell from heaven, although the sky was clear, so that many died and all the rest took to flight. But it did not touch Paul or the lion, although the other beasts perished under the weight of the hail, (which was so severe) that Hieronymus' ear was smitted and tom off, and the people cried out as they fled: 'Save us, 0 God, save us, 0 God of the man who fought with the beasts!' And Paul took leave of the lion, without his (i. e. the lion?) saying anything more, and went out of the stadium and down to the harbour and embarked on the ship which was sailing for Macedonia; for there were many who were sailing, as if the city were about to perish. So he embarked too like one of the fugitives, but the lion went away into the mountains as was customary for it. In his comment on this text, Carl Schmidt highlights that Saint Jerome and Nicephorus knew the whole AP, and that the Ethiopian
64
TAMAS
ADAMIK
compiler translated it on the basis of the original Greek text.6 I agree with his opinion, and would simply add that the story o f the speaking and baptized lion in the AP was spread among the Christians. This can be demonstrated by the unpublished Coptic papyrus from which R. Kasser published a small part in translation in NTA. The passage describes the beginning of Paul's stay in Ephesus with the first part of the story of the baptized lion told by Paulus in a sermon on Pentecost as follows: I was walking in the night, meaning to go to Jericho in Phoenicia, and we covered great distances. But when morning came, Lemma and Ammia were behind me, ... There came a great and terrible lion out of the valley of the burying-ground. But we were praying, ... But when we finished praying, the beast had cast himself at my feet. I was filled with the Spirit (and) looked upon him, (and) said to him: 'Lion, what wilt thou?' But he said: 'I wish to be baptized.' I glorified God, who had given speech to the beast and salvation to his servants. Now there was a great river in that place; I went down into it and he followed me... I myself was in fear and wonderment, in that I was on the point of leading the lion like an ox and baptizing him in the water. But I stood on the bank, men and brethren, and cried out, saying: 'Thou who dost dwell in the heights, who didst look upon the humble, who didst give rest to the afflicted(?), who with Daniel didst shut the mouths of the lions, who didst send to me our Lord Jesus Christ, grant that we ... escape (?) the beast, and accomplish the plan which thou hast appointed'. When I had prayed thus, I took (the lion) by his mane (and) in the name of Jesus Christ immersed him three times. But when he came up out of the water he shook out his mane and said to me: 'Grace be with thee!' And I said to him: 'And likewise with thee.' The lion ran off to the country rejoicing (for this was revealed to me in my heart). A lioness met him, and he did not yield himself to her but ... ran off.
These three variants of the story of the baptized lion demonstrate that this story of the AP was very popular among the Christians:
6 Schmidt, I I p o i [ ~ IIcrv?lov, t~ 96-8.
THE BAPTIZED LION
65
they told it to each other in different ways. But it has kindled the interest of modem scholars as well. After Schmidt, B.M. Metzger, W. Schneemelcher and H.J.W. Drijvers have dealt with it.' Metzger translated this story from Greek into English and commented on it in a clever way. His footnote 14 is important because there he calls the attention to the similarity between this story and that of Androclus: 'The popularity of the tale is evidenced by the use which the anonymous Asian presbyter made of it in the Acts of Paul.' Schneemelcher thinks that one can do nothing with the parallel of the Androclus story. He joins Kurfess, who stressed on the basis of Rom 8.19-23 that the author of the AP wanted to show by the baptism of the lion that in the activity of Paul the redemption of creation is realized, that is, God's oikonomia attains its goal. Against Schneemelcher, Drijvers emphasizes that the lion was not converted by Paul but came from the valley of bones. The phrase 'valley of bones' alludes to Ezekiel 37.1-9, where the prophet says: 'The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones.' The dry bones came to life by the word of the Lord. From this, it follows that in the AP life is represented by Jesus Christ and by baptism in his name. On the other hand, the lion symbolizes death because it came from the valley of bones. But in the encratite thoughts of the AP death is closely associated with sexuality, therefore the lion is the symbol of both. So when Paul baptizes the lion, he rescues it from death. In return, the lion rescues him from death in the theatre. Drijvers stresses the symbolic and theological meaning of the story: the lion is the symbol of sexuality, but under the influence of Paul and
7 B.M. Metzger, 'St. Paul and the baptized lion', Princeton Seminary Bulletin 39 (1945) 11-21; W. Schneemelcher, 'Der getaufte Lowe in den Acta Pauli', Mullus. Festschrift Th. Klausner = JAC, Erganmngsband 1 (Miinster, 1964) 316-26, repr. in his Gesammelte Aufsatze zum NT und zum Patristik (Thessaloniki, 1974) 223-39; H.J.W. Drijvers, 'Der getaufte Lowe...', in P. Nagel (ed), Carl-Schmidt-Kolloquium an der Martin-Luther-Universitat 1988 (Halle, 1990) 181-9, repr. in his History and Religion in Late Antique Syria (Aldershot, 1994) ch. X.
66
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baptism it becomes encratite and renounces its sexuality.
Popular views of lions In this section I would like to shed light on the cultural background and motifs which led the author of the A P to construct the story of the baptized lion. Carl Schmidt already drew attention to Paul's report that he had been condemned to an animal fight in Ephesus: 'If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not?' (1 Cor 15.32). And later he mentions Ephesus again and that he escaped a lion: 'Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion' (2 Tim 4.17). Therefore Christians could have known that Paul had fought with a lion in Ephesus and had escaped unharmed.' The importance of this tradition was increased by its association with the biblical story of Daniel and the lions: 'My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, 0 king, have I done no hurt' @an 6.22). Already Hippolytus combined these two stories in his commentary on Daniel written in 202-204 A.D.: 'For if we believe that when Paul was condemned to death, a lion, let loose upon him, fell down and licked his feet, how shall we not believe the things that happened in the case of Daniel?' (3.29).9
8 Cf. D.R. McDonald, 'A Conjectural Emendation of 1 Cor 15:31-32: Or the Case of the Misplaced Lion Fight', Harvard Theol. Rev. 73 (1980) 265-76. 9 Cf. Hippolytus, Commentary on Daniel, ed. G . Bardy and M. Lef2vre (Paris, 1947) 161: 'Quand donc I'ange apparut dans la fosse, les bEtes fkroces s'adoucirent, et lui manifestaient leur joie en secouant leur queue comme si elles voulaient se soumettre B un nouvel Adam. Elles ICchaient les pieds saints de Daniel, se roulaient sur ses pas, dksiraient Etre piktinCes par lui. Si nous croyons que, quand Paul fut condarnnC aux b&tes, le lion qui fut lachC contre lui se prosterna ti ses pieds et le ICcha,
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Pliny the Elder collected popular ideas about lions in book 8 of his Naturalis historia. He stresses the good breeding of lions: Leoni praecipua generositas tunc, cum colla armosque vestiunt iubae; id enim aetate contingit e leone conceptis ... simili mod0 feminae. Magna his libido coitus et ob hoc maribus ira (8.42). This idea confirms the conclusion of Drijvers that the lion in the A P could be a symbol of sexuality; in all variants it is highlighted that the baptized lion was of huge size, and in the unpublished Coptic papyrus the lion has a big mane which is - according to Pliny - the sign of sexuality, and when 'a lioness met him, he did not yield himself to her but ran o f f , that is, it renounced its sexuality. We may note in passing that on the Romanesque cathedrals, the figure of the lion is often to be found as a symbol of body, as the symbol of lechery." Pliny also highlights the clemency of lions: leoni tantum ex feris dementia in supplices ('Among the beasts only the lion pardons the suppliants.') It is animal omnium generosissimum ceterisque imperitans (8.48). Pliny quotes various examples of the clemency of lions: Mentor Syracusanus met a lion with a painful splinter in its foot. The lion went up to Mentor and licked his feet to request his help, and Mentor drew the splinter out of its foot. According to Pliny pictura casum hunc testatur Syracusis ('a picture affirms the veracity of this case at Syracuse', 8.56). Another case told by Pliny is more interesting. Elpis Samius met a
pourquoi ne croirait-on pas semblable miracle pour Daniel.' 10 G. de Champeaux and S. Stercloc, Introduction au monde des symboles (Zodiaque, 1972) 265-7, 275: 'Entre les deux arbres apparait
Daniel, bras ecartts, en orant; les lions qui devaient le dtvorer lui Ikchent les mains comme de bons chiens celles de leur maitre. Jet6 aux lions par les ennemis du wai Dieu, il est la figure du Christ: il a vaincu les puissances de la mort et retrouvk I'accks du paradis. ... Si I'on ajoute que les lions sont un syrnbole fikquent de la luxure (le vice qui dCvore furieusement), on est amen6 B penser que I'artiste a interprttk le ptch6 originel non pas, bien siir, cornme un vulgaire ptch6 de luxure, mais dans sa constquence qui fut d'introduire le trouble et m&me la honte dans un domaine qui ttait sorti tout pur des mains du Crtateur.'
lion on the seashore in Africa, which stood there with jaws agape. Elpis was terrified and climbed into a tree. The lion went to the tree with its open jaws and begged him to have pity (hiatu ... miserationem quaerebat). Its mouth was open because a big bone had gotten stuck in its teeth. Finally, Elpis climbed down and extracted the bone from the lion's mouth, who was so grateful that it offered its prey to him (traduntque, quamdiu navis ea in litore steterit, retulisse gratiam venatus adgerendo, 8.58). Returning home to Samos, Elpis dedicated a temple to Dionysus, who was thereby named 'wide-open Dionysus'.
Androclus and the lion These examples demonstrate that stories about the generosity and gratitude of lions were widespread in antiquity. But the most famous of these stories was told by Apion in his work Aigyptiaka. During the reign of Caligula, Apion came from Alexandria to Rome, where he lived for some years. He described an animal hunt in the circus maximus in the fifth book of his Aigyptiaka. This work does not survive, but in antiquity his lion story was well known; Aulus Gellius translated it from Greek into Latin in the second half of the second century. The story became known as 'Androclus and the lion': 'In the Great Circus', he says, 'a battle with wild beasts on a grand scale was being exhibited to the people. Of the spectacle, since I chanced to be in Rome, I was', he says, 'an eye-witness." There were there many savage wild beasts, b ~ t e sremarkable for their huge size, and all of uncommon appearance or unusual ferocity. But beyond all others', says he, 'did the vast size of the lions excite wonder, and one of these in particular surpassed all the rest. This one lion had drawn to himself the attention and eyes of all because
11 It is strange that Pliny the Elder does not mention the Androclus story; Seneca the Younger refers to it in his De beneficiis 2.19.1: Leonem
in amphitheatro spectavimus, qui unum e bestiariis agnitum, cum quondam eius fuisset magister, protait ab impetu bestiarum.
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of the activity and huge size of his body, his terrific and deep roar, the development of his muscles, and the mane streaming over his shoulders. There was brought in, among many others who had been condemned to fight with the wild beasts, the slave of an ex-consul; the slave's name was Androclus. When that lion saw him from a distance', says Apion, 'he stopped short as if in amazement, and then approached the man slowly and quietly, as if he recognized him. Then, wagging his tail in a mild and caressing way, after the manner and fashion of fawning dogs he came close to the man, who was now half dead from fright, and gently licked his feet and hands. The man Androclus, while submitting to the caresses of so fierce a beast, regained his lost courage and gradually turned his eyes to look at the lion. 'Then', says Apion, 'you might have seen man and lion exchange joyful greetings, as if they had recognized each other.' He says that at this sight, so truly astonishing, the people broke out into mighty shouts; and Gaius Caesar called Androclus to him and inquired the reason why that fiercest of lions had spared him alone. Then Androclus related a strange and surprising story. 'My master,' said he, 'was governing Africa with proconsular authority. While there, I was forced by his undeserved and daily floggings to run away, and that my hiding-places might be safer from my master, the ruler of that country, I took refuge in lonely plains and deserts, intending, if food should fail me, to seek death in some form.' Then said he, 'when the midday sun was fierce and scorching, finding a remote and secluded cavern, I entered it, and hid myself. Not long afterwards this lion came to the same cave with one paw lame and bleeding, making known by groans and moans the torturing pain of his wound.' And then, at the first sight of the approaching lion, Androclus said that his mind was overwhelmed with fear and dread. 'But when the lion', said he, 'had entered what was evidently his own lair, and saw me cowering at a distance, he approached me mildly and gently, and lifting up his foot, was evidently showing it to me and holding it out as if to ask for help. Then', said he, 'I drew out a huge splinter that was embedded in the sole of the foot, squeezed out the pus that had formed in the interior of the wound, wiped away the blood, and dried it thoroughly, being now free from any great feeling of fear. Then, relieved by that attention and treatment of mine, the lion, putting his paw in my hand, lay down and went to sleep, and for three whole years from that day the lion and I lived in the same cave, and on the same food as well. For he used to bring
for me to the cave the choicest parts of the game which he took in hunting, which I, having no means of making a fire, dried in the noonday sun and ate. But', said he, 'after I had finally grown tired of that wild life, I left the cave when the lion had gone off to hunt, and after travelling nearly three days, I was seen and caught by some soldiers and taken from Africa to Rome to my master. He at once had me condemned to death by being thrown to wild beasts. But', said he, 'I perceive that this lion was also captured, after I left him, and that he is now requiting me for my kindness and my cure of him'. Apion records that Androclus told this story, and that when it had been made known to the people by being written out in full on a tablet and carried about the Circus, at the request of all Androclus was freed, acquitted and presented with the lion by vote of the people. 'Afterwards', said he, 'we used to see Androclus with the lion, attached to a slender leash, making the rounds of the shops throughout the city; Androclus was given money, the lion was sprinkled with flowers, and everyone who met them anywhere exclaimed: 'This is the lion that was a man's friend, this is the man who was physician to a lion' (5.14.5-30, tr. J.C. Rolfe, Loeb).
Androclus and Paul The two stories - the baptized lion of Paul and Androclus and the lion - have very much in common. Both have a two-part structure: there is an initial meeting of the man and the lion when they are free, and a second meeting when both are captives in the circus. In both stories the lion asks the man for something, the man gives him the requested help, and the lion is grateful for it. Both stories have a happy ending: Paul and the lion as well as Androclus and the lion can leave freely. In both stories the lion is remarkable for its huge size. Finally, both stories are approximately of the same length. From these common features I draw the conclusion that the author of the AP imitated Apion's story when composing his story
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of the baptized lion." As we have seen, this idea has been suggested by Metzger,13 and I hope to prove it. It is true that there is a big difference between the two stories: in Paul's story the lion speaks and is baptized. In Androclus' story the lion does not speak and is not baptized. But this difference is easy to understand since Paul's story is Christian and Androclus' pagan. Nevertheless, it was easy for the Christian author to make the lion speak because the God of the Christians is omnipotent: he can do what he will. This idea is well illustrated by the Christian poet, Commodian, who writes in his Carmen apologeticum as follows: Et deus est, hominem totidemque se fecit, Et quidquid voluerit faciet, ut muta loquantur (623-4). That is, if God wants it, even the mute animals can speak. In order to demonstrate this statement, he cites three examples: Balaam caedenti asinam s u m conloqui fecit Et canem, ut Simoni diceret: Clamaris a Petro! Paulo praedicanti, discerent ut multi de illo, Leonem populo fecit loqui voce divina. Deinde, quod ipsa non patitur nostra natura, Infantem fecit quinto mense proloqui vulgo (625-30). These examples are of vital importance because they prove that the Apocryphal Acts of Peter and Paul were well known among the Christians in the second half of the third century A.D.'~The speaking dog and the speaking baby of five months are to be found in the Apt and the speaking lion in the AP. But what is
12 G.J.M. Bartelink, 'Androclus en de leeuw. De geschiedenis van een literair motief , Hermeneus 51 (1979) 2-13, collected a lot of variations on Androclus and the lion from world literature. 13 Metzger, 'St. Paul and the baptized lion', 16 n. 15. 14 Commodian, Carmen apologeticum, ed. A. Salvatore (Turin, 1977) 192-3.
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ADAMIK
more interesting for our topic is the first example in Commodian: Balaam's ass. Balaam was riding upon his ass when the angel of the Lord stood in the way, and the ass turned aside. Balaam smote the ass: And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaarn's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff. And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto B a l m : 'What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?' And Balaam said unto the ass, 'Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.' And the ass said to B a l m , 'Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day?' ... Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face (Nu 22.25-3 1).
This example is important for our topic because it demonstrates that if God wishes, even an ass can speak and be wiser than man. Balaam's ass was known to the author of the A P and served as a model for his talking lion. But how could the lion recognize that Paul was a Christian, that is, a servant of God? Alexander the Great's insistence on deification had set a popular trend in emperor-worship: the wild beasts, too, feel the divine power of the emperor. In some epigrams of Martial, e.g., the lions smell the divinity of emperor present in the circus: Aetherias aquila puerum portante per auras inlaesum timidis unguibus haesit onus: nunc sua Caesareos exorat praeda leones tutus et ingenti ludit in ore lepus. Quae maiora putas miracula? summus utrisque auctor adest: haec sunt Caesaris, illa Iovis (1.6) The eagle spares Ganymede because it knows that he belongs to Jupiter. The lion spares the rabbit because it smells the presence of the emperor. Which is the bigger miracle, asks the poet? That is,
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the emperor is equal to Jupiter. According to Otto Weinreich, the idea that beasts sense the divinity of the emperors was a commonplace in Greek and Roman literature from the Hellenistic age onwards." Christian authors transferred this idea to the greatest heroes of Christian values: the saints and apostles.I6 That is why there are so many animals in the AAA which obey the holy apostles. Later this topic was taken up by hagiography: in Jerome's Vita Pauli, e.g., when Antony buries the corpse of Saint Paul, big lions help him dig the grave, and they are very satisfied to receive Antony's blessing." Now I come to the last question: Why does the lion want to be baptized? According to the Dictionnaire des syrnboles, the lion is the symbol of Power, Wisdom, Justice and the opposites of these qualities in world culture. That is why the figure of the lion so often is associated with God in the Bible. For instance, the lion of Judah plays an important symbolic role. In Genesis we read: 'Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stopped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?' (Gen 49.9). In the Apocalypse the figure of the lion of Judah is transformed into the person of Christ: 'And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof (Rev 5.5). The lion is the symbol of Christ, an idea developed in medieval iconography in such a way that the front part of the lion's body denoted the divine nature of Christ, the rear part his human nature." It is obvious that the king of animals, who is the symbol of Power, Wisdom, Justice and Christ, should recognize true values, so that from the early Christian period onwards - according to Christian authors - the lion obeys not the emperors but the saints and apostles. As the wisest animal it realizes that eternal life is the
15 0. Weinreich, Studien zu Martial (Stuttgart, 1928) 74-98. 16 J. Chevalier and A. Gheerbrant, Dictionnaire des Symboles (Paris, 1982) 575-7. 17 Cf. Hieronymus, Vita S. Pauli primi eremitae, 16. 18 Chevalier and Gheerbrant, Dictionaire, 576.
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most important value and that there is only one way to obtain it: by becoming a Christian in baptism. So when on the way to Jericho the lion requests baptism from Paul the Apostle, it is requesting eternal life, and so it returns to him of which it is the symbol: to Christ. From the opposites sexuality-death-Antichrist and encratism-life-Christ, it chooses the better part.
V. The apocryphal correspondence with the Corinthians and the Acts of Paul GERARD LUTTIKHUIZEN
In an essay written in 1905, one year after the publication of the Coptic Heidelberg papyrus, Adolf Harnack claims that the socalled Corinthian correspondence is the most important component of the Acts of Paul (AP), for, he argues, over a long time the relevant letters were valued as authentic by Syrian and Armenian churches and incorporated in their Bible; they were also included in some late medieval Latin New Testament manuscripts.' This judgement by Harnack may provide sufficient reason to draw special attention to the Corinthian correspondence in a volume dealing with the AP. It should be noticed, however, that it is no longer as evident as Harnack assumed (on the basis of the Coptic manuscript) that the correspondence was composed as part of the AP. As we shall see, the publication in 1959 of a third-century Greek text of the two letters (papyrus Bodmer X) brought about a change of opinion with regard to this issue. The correspondence between Paul and the Corinthians consists of a letter allegedly addressed to Paul by Stephanas and the presbyters who are with him, and a letter by Paul in response to this letter (the letter by Paul is commonly referred to as the Third Letter to the Corinthians). In several manuscripts, the two letters are linked by a short report referring to Paul's receipt of the Corinthian letter while he is a prisoner in Philippi and to the frame of mind in which he wrote his reply. This brief narrative connection between the two letters is of central significance for a dis-
1 'Untersuchungen iiber den apokryphen Briefwechsel der Korinther mit dern Apostel Paulus', SB Kon. Preuss. Ak Wiss. 1905, 3-35, esp. p.3.
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GERARD LUTTIKHUIZEN
cussion of the literary history of the Corinthian correspondence. In the letter addressed to Paul, the presbyters indicate that their writing was prompted by the recent activity in Corinth of two heretical teachers, Simon and Cleobius. Paul's response consists mainly of a rejection of these teachers' ideas by referring to his previous teaching in Corinth and also by providing theological argumentation.
1 . The literary history of the Corinthian correspondence Prior to the discovery (in 1897) and the publication (in 1904) of the Coptic Heidelberg papyrus, the Corinthian correspondence was known only through collections of Pauline epistles. In Armenian manuscripts of the New Testament, the correspondence is an integral part of the corpus Paulinum. The two letters are inserted between Paul's second letter to the Corinthians and his letter to the Galatians. The majority of the Armenian manuscripts also include the brief connecting story between the two letters. The letters and the narrative interlude have basically the same canonical value in a commentary on the Pauline epistles by Ephrem the Syrian (preserved in an Armenian version). From this treatment of the correspondence, we may infer that, at least according to some Eastern traditions, the contents of the correspondence are in basic agreement with the doctrine of the apostle (cf. Harnack's statement cited above). In five Latin manuscripts that have come to light since 1891, the Corinthian correspondence is allotted a position after the canonical epistles, sometimes with the explicit note that the correspondence is unauthentic. Two of these manuscripts also include the narrative intermezzo. Even before the publication of the Coptic Heidelberg papyrus, the brief historical note between the two letters induced some
2 Cf. W. Rordorf, 'HtrBsie et orthodoxie selon la Correspondence apocryphe entre les Corinthiens et 17ap8trePaul', in his Lex orandi, lex credendi (Freiburg, 1993) 389-43 1, p. 393 and Appendix 0 on p. 429.
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scholars to surmise that, at an earlier stage, the correspondence had been part of a larger narrative. Because of the protagonist of the correspondence, it was more or less self-evident to consider the fragmentary remains to be a part of the A P . ~ Due to the discovery of the Coptic Heidelberg papyrus, published by Carl Schmidt, this assumption no longer seemed to be hypothetical. In this lacuna1 manuscript, the correspondence is part of the episode of the AP which discusses his stay in P h i l i ~ p i . ~ Here, the narrative connection between the two letters would seem to have its natural place. The Coptic text of the Philippian episode also contains a brief introduction to the correspondence. Unfortunately, the relevant pages of the manuscript, our sole witness to this part of the text, are badly damaged. From the surviving text, it is clear that here - just as in the letter allegedly written by Stephanas and the elders - mention is made of the activity and the heretical ideas of Simon and Cleobius. A more detailed discussion of this introductory narrative follows below (section 2). Schmidt did not doubt that the Coptic text, with its many Greek loanwords, is a translation of a Greek original. Furthermore, he assumed that also in the hypothetical Greek original, the correspondence was an integral part of the AP. This view clearly indicates that the Armenian and Latin versions of the correspondence have their textual base in the Greek AP. (Before that time, it was generally assumed that the correspondence originated in a Syrian environment.) In fact, Schmidt argues that it was only at the end of the fourth century that the correspondence was separated from the AP and became part of an Eastern collection of Pauline epistles. He maintains that since that time the letters were transmitted in two contexts: the supposedly original context of the AP, and the
3 Cf. esp. Th. Zahn, Geschichte des neutestamentlichen Kanons I1 (Erlangen and Leipzig, 1892) 606-11. 4 The order of sequence of the pages of this part of the manuscript is not fully clear. This leaves room for the possibility that the correspondence does not belong to the episode in Philippi (but is a flashback within the context of the episode in Corinth).
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secondary context of the corpus P a u l i n ~ m . ~ We have to bear in mind, however, that the Coptic papyrus was - and still is - the only source in which the correspondence is an integral part of the AP. As we have seen, the correspondence has a different context in the Armenian sources (including an Armenian version of Ephrem's Syriac commentary on the Pauline epistles) and in the Latin manuscripts. Curiously enough, in the Hamburg papyrus, a Greek text that contains parts of the A P , ~the Philippian episode - with the apocryphal Corinthian correspondence - is entirely missing. But what is much more important and probably decisive, is that the connection with the AP is lacking in the only surviving Greek text of the letters, the papyrus Bodmer X, which was published only in 1959. Obviously, this third-century Greek text must be the foundation of any study of the Corinthian correspondence.' In fact, in the papyrus Bodmer, the two letters are conveyed without any direct context (also the short report between the two letters is absent): they are embedded neither in a narrative context reminiscent of the AP nor in a collection of Pauline epistles. In the Greek codex, the two letters are preceded by another early Christian writing, The Nativity of Mary, and both letters have a title: 'The Corinthians to Paul' and 'Paul to the Corinthians about the Flesh'. It will be clear that the discovery of this comparatively early Greek manuscript gave rise - once again - to the question of the relation of the two letters to the AP. Michel Testuz, the editor of the papyrus Bodmer, disputes the view held by Carl Schmidt, Adolf Harnack and others that the two letters were an original component of the AP.' He argues that the two letters were written
5 Cf. C. Schmidt, Acta Pauli (repr. Hildesheim, 1965) 132, 144. 6 The relevant parts of the manuscript were also published by Carl Schmidt, with the collaboration of Wilhelm Schubart, IIPASEIC IMYAOY, Acta Pauli (Gliickstadt and Hamburg, 1936). 7 M. Testuz, Papyrus Bodmer X-XI1 (Geneva, 1959) 9-45. 8 Testuz, 23-25.
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first, independently of the AP; they were incorporated into the Pauline Acts shortly afterwards. But, Testuz explains, the two letters continued to be copied for themselves, separately from the AP.
While I do not deny that, originally, the two letters were written independently, Testuz' argument calls for a critical note. Testuz does not seem to realize that the vast majority of the Armenian Bible manuscripts and Ephrem's commentary also have the short historical note between the two letters. This is not without consequences, since it undermines his claim that de adoption of the correspondence by some Eastern churches is an indication of the independent transmission of the two letters. This short narrative connection strongly suggests that the correspondence was borrowed from the larger story of the AP. I am inclined to assume, in conclusion, that in all those cases where the two letters are connected by the short narrative interlude, the correspondence was adopted from the AP. It may be noted that other parts of the AP, notably AThe and MP, also came into separate c i r c ~ l a t i o n . ~
9 Testuz argues: '( ...) ne trouve-t-on pas extraordinaire que des Eglises comme la Syrienne et l1Arm6nieme aient extrait ces deux lettres des Actes de Paul et qu'elles les aient placees dans leur Nouveau Testament? On devait savoir dans les Eglises d'Orient que I'auteur des Actes de Paul, un pr&tre d'Asie, avait encouru de ses superieurs un bllme sevtre pour cet ouvrage qu'il avait placC, fiauduleusement mais en toute bonne intention, sous le nom de Paul.' Testuz concludes: 'Pour que des Eglises placent donc nos epitres dans leur canon, il fallait que ses lettres eussent circulC h part des Actes de Paul, ouvrage sur lequel pesait une rkprobation gCnCrale'. O.C.,23f (quoted by Rordorf, a.c., 394, without critical comment); Rordorfs conjecture on p.426, n.187, 'pourquoi ne pas supposer qu'elles Ctaient relikes entre elles par cette notice dks leur traduction en syriaque?', does not convince me: it does not explain that the very same connecting story is found in the AP and in Syrian-Amenian and Latin collections of Pauline epistles. Note that, in Testuz' reasoning, the occurrence of the narrative interlude in a Latin MS (the MS of Zurich) indicates that it is borrowed from the AP (ibid., p. 24). But if this argument on the basis of the narrative connection is correct, why does Testuz not apply it to the Armenian MSS, that have the same
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Anyhow, the publication of a third-century Greek text of the two letters without narrative context created a new situation. It is only natural that A.F.J. Klijn, in an article dated 1963, and W. Rordorf, in a more recent study, focus on this earliest extant textual form of the Corinthian correspondence. l o In their examinations, they discuss parallels and discrepancies between the apocryphal letters and the AP but, after having reached the (probably correct) conclusion that the connection with the Pauline Acts is secondary, Klijn and Rordorf direct their attention almost exclusively to the contents of the two letters.'' They do not go into the question why the letters were inserted into the AP." In the present paper, I hope to supplement their studies by giving special attention to the question as to what may have been the function and meaning of the two letters in the narrative context of the Pauline Acts. It may be helpful to conclude this somewhat complicated discussion with my working hypothesis regarding the literary history of the Corinthian correspondence. I agree with Testuz, Klijn and Rordorf that the two letters were written independently of the AP. Rordorf adduces strong reasons to assume that they were composed in the first half of the second century.I3 The AP were composed with the help of various traditions about the apostle, inter alia the two Corinthian letters. On that occasion, the
narrative connection? Testuz assumed that the narrative intermezzo is found in just one Latin MS. For the second witness, the MS of Paris, see above, n.2, and D. de Bruyne, 'Un quatrikme manuscrit latin de la correspondence apocryphe de S. Paul avec les Corinthiens', Revue Bknkdictine 45 (1933) 189-95. 10 A.F.J. Klijn, 'The Apocryphal Correspondence between Paul and the Corinthians', VigChris 17 (1963) 2-23; W. Rordorf, art. cit. (above, n.2). 11 Rordorf, art. cit., 41 If compares the heresy described in the letters with the information about the heresy in the narrative introduction of the letters in the Coptic papyrus. 12 According to Klijn, ibid., 16 (quoted by Rordorf, ibid., 399): 'the correspondence does not fit into the Acts as a whole (...)'. 13 Rordorf, art. cit., 425-8.
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letters were supplied with a narrative context: an opening frame story (only preserved in the Coptic Heidelberg papyrus) and a narrative intermezzo (surviving in several Armenian and two Latin manuscripts as well as in the Coptic manuscript). At the end of the fourth or the beginning of the fifth century, the Corinthian correspondence was transferred from the Pauline Acts (or from an intermediate source?) into the ancient Syrian Bible, and from there into the Armenian canon (cf. above, n.6). In this way, the narrative connection between the two letters in the relevant Eastern MSS can be explained. The occurrence of the short connecting story in two Latin MSS is an indication that this Latin tradition also draws on the AP (directly or through the ancient Syrian Bible).
2. Form and content of the correspondence in the AP As indicated above, the opening frame story, which discusses the circumstances in which the letter of the Corinthians was written, is badly damaged in our sole textual witness, the Coptic Heidelberg papyrus. The surviving parts contain four pieces of information. 1. Carl Schmidt was able to read the Greek loanword ANOMOC preceded by the definite article ('the lawless one') at the top of p.45 (unfortunately, the photograph included in Schmidt's edition, vol. 11, is too blurred to permit a verification of this reading). Note that, according to the letter from the Corinthian presbyters, it was revealed to a woman called Theonoe that the Lord had saved Paul from the hands of 'the lawless one7. It is quite possible that reference was made to this same revelation in the introductory frame story. 2. After a very lacuna1 passage we read: (...) 'the Corinthians were in [great] distress [concerning] Paul that he would leave the world before it was time'. I presume that there was a close connection between these two pieces of information: the revelation granted to Theonoe (it was revealed to her that the Lord had rescued Paul from some kind of serious danger) reassured the Corinthians who were in great distress because they believed that Paul (being in that dangerous situation) would die 'before it was
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time'.I4 3. Subsequently, there is the report about the arrival in Corinth o f Simon and Cleobius and about their heretical ideas (see below). 4. Finally, it is reported in a poorly preserved passage that the presence o f the heretical teachers occasioned the Corinthians (because they had heard that Paul was in Philippi?) to send Threptus and Eutychus to Macedonia. N o doubt, the information relating t o the heretical ideas o f Simon and Cleobius is the most important part o f the opening narrative. This is clear from the fact that the two letters are devoted almost exclusively to these heretical ideas.15 It would
14 Klijn does not pay attention to Schmidt's reading of 'the lawless one' on the top of p.45. This entitles him to point to a discrepancy between the content of the letter by the Corinthian elders and the preceding narrative context in the AP. Klijn writes: 'The discrepancy about the ideas in Corinth with regard to Paul's future [But note that the revelation concerns the past rather than the future: Paul was rescued from the hands of 'the lawless one', G.L.] between the introduction and the correspondence is remarkable. In the introduction we find (p.45, 811): "The Corinthians were in great distress concerning Paul that he would leave the world before it was his time". In the epistle of the Corinthians to Paul we read: "... we believe as has been revealed to Theonoe, that the Lord saved you from the hands of the lawless one". This means that the expectations with regard to Paul's life are quite different.' (Art. cit., 12). Rordorf quotes this interpretation and apparently accepts it, cf. art. cit., 396: 'A.F.J. Klijn ajoute, A juste titre, que mCme dans le papyrus de Heidelberg, il y a une divergence entre I'introduction h la lettre des Corinthiens et cette lettre elle-mtme'.) Unlike Klijn and Rordorf, I am of the opinion that the composer of the AP quite aptly embedded the letters in his narrative. I agree upon the independent origin of the two letters, but I do not see why this should be demonstrated by stressing the differences between the letters and their narrative context in the AP. 15 The (lacunal) Coptic text of the letter by the Corinthian elders in the sixth-century Heidelberg papyrus does not substantially differ from the (much better preserved) Greek text in the third-century Bodmer papyrus. The only conspicuous difference is that in de Coptic version, the Corin-
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seem that in the opening narrative, the ideas of the two teachers are ordered systematically, starting from their rejection of the bodily resurrection. The heretics taught: a. that there is no resurrection of the flesh but only of the spirit. Apparently this view was closely connected with the idea that b. the body of man is not a formation (ITAACIC) of God, and that c. the (physical) world was not made by God and that God does not know the world. Then the consequences of these negative views about the material reality (the human body and the created world) for the understanding of the Christian saviour are mentioned: d. Jesus Christ was not cructjied, but (or: since?) it is an outward appearance (or: a likeness?) that came into existence. l6
thians write that they had never heard such things (i.e. the things taught by Simon and Cleobius) from Paul nor from 'the other apostles', whereas the Bodmer papyrus just mentions 'the other ones'. It is possible that the Greek Bodmer text refers to assistants of Paul rather than to other apostles (Testuz, ox., 31, n.2). The expression 'the other apostles' would imply that Paul considered himself an apostle (as the historical Paul certainly did). But nowhere in the Corinthian correspondence or in the surviving portions of the AP is he called an apostle. On this point the AP are more in line with the canonical Book of Acts which similarly presents Paul as a missionary and a witness to Jesus rather than an apostle. 16 Appearance: Schmidt reconstructs the word C[MA]T, a very common word with a broad range of possible meanings. It can be used to render a variety of Greek words: ~16oq,E ~ ~ C EC L ~ ,K ~popQq, V , bpof~pa, oxqpa, ~ ~ 6 ~ x 6 0x &v.sfruxoq ~0 ~ etc. Which Greek term underlies the (reconstructed) Coptic word is not clear. The second sentence can be understood both in contrast to the belief in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (in that case it means: it is not Jesus Christ who was crucified but his temporary fleshly covering or a body bearing his likeness) and in contrast to the belief in the incarnation and the true humanity of the saviour
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e. He was not born of Mary nor ofthe seed of David. For the time being, we conclude that this summary of the teachings of Simon and Cleobius centres on their negative attitude toward the flesh and the material world. This focus is in agreement with the tenor of Paul's answering letter (and with the title of this letter in the Bodmer papyrus: 'Paul to the Corinthians about the Flesh'). I can be brief about the last piece of information in the frame story and about the opening of the letter by the Corinthians. The report about Threptus and Eutychus bringing the Corinthian letter to Macedonia is continued in the short story between the two letters. Here, the two men are designated as 'deacons'. In the opening of the Corinthian letter, Stephanas is introduced with four Corinthian presbyters. Rordorf assumes that Stephanas had a special position in the community of Corinth. This would entail that, according to the correspondence, the Corinthian community was familiar with three church ofices ('la forme triadique classique', 400, cf. pp. 413, 425): the church leader, presbyters, deacons. " The information about the heretical ideas of Simon and Cleobius in the letter from the Corinthian elders is, in principle, in agreement with the description in the preceding narrative context. Yet there are some divergences (cf. the synopsis in Rordorf's (in this case it means: it is not Jesus Christ who was crucified, for the body that came into existence - when Jesus Christ descended into the world - was an outward appearance). But both interpretations come down to the same idea: Christ bore a material body that was exterior and strange to him (cf. b. the body of man is not a creation of God). 17 Unfortunately, Rordorfs observations function within his argument to the effect that the contents of the correspondence differ from the contents of the AP. It may be recalled that the reference to 'deacons' occurs in the narrative part of the correspondence, which - at least in my opinion - was added during the composition of the AP. Rordorf surmises that this connecting narrative was added during the Syriac translation, art. cit., p. 426, 11.187; cf. my note 10 and the early-second-century parallels adduced by Rordorf, p. 425.
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article, 3960: the report in the letter opens with two ideas which are not mentioned in the narrative frame (but see n.21): 1. (vs.9b) we should not use the prophets; 2. (vs.10) God is not almighty (or: the Almighty One).
The other tenets mentioned have a parallel in the preceding narrative, although there are some differences in the exact definition as well as in the sequence of the ideas: 3 (vs. 11, cf. a) there is no resurrection of the flesh; 4 (vs.12, cf. b) the formation (nh8ot~)of human beings is not
God's (work); 5 (vss.13-14, cf. e) the Lord did not come in the flesh neither was he born of Mary. 6 (vs 15, cf. c) the world is not God's (work) but that of angels.
What is lacking in this report is mainly d. the rejection of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ." Conversely, as indicated above, 1. and 2. are absent in the introductory narrative.lg Elsewhere in the introduction, we do not find the specific idea that the world is (the work) of angels." The letter from the Corinthians concludes with the urgent request to Paul to come to Corinth in order that the community will remain unblemished and that the madness of these men may be unveiled. The brief historical report between the Corinthian letter and Paul's written response is of crucial importance for the recon-
18 It is not improbable that 5. 'Christ did not come in the flesh' (which quite possibly means that the body was just something exterior and strange to Christ), is a variant of the second sentence of d. 'it was an outward appearance that came into existence', cf. above, n.18. 19 But 2. 'God is not almighty' seems to be a variant of (or at least closely related to) the second sentence of c. 'God does not know the world'. 20 But this can easily be reconciled with the first sentence of c.
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struction of the literary history of the apocryphal Corinthian correspondence. (cf. above, section 1.) In this narrative connection, the two Corinthian emissaries are designated as 'deacons' (see above). It is reported that Paul is in prison 'through Stratonice, the wife of Apollophanes', who apparently was in the position to have Paul arrested. The letter from the Corinthian presbyters saddened Paul. The things Paul is supposed to have uttered upon receipt of the letter are quoted in direct speech. Among other things, he states that it would have been better for him to die and to be with the Lord than to remain in the flesh and to hear such teaching^.^' It is in this mood that pseudo-Paul writes his letter. Paul's response (3 Corinthians) focuses on the refutation of the heretical teachings reported in the letter from the C ~ r i n t h i a n s . ~ ~ The body of the letter has the traditional structure of ancient deliberative speech: vv. 2-3: introduction (proem), w. 4-8: review of past facts (narration), ending with the proposition,
w. 9-21; 24-32: argumentation in two headings (proof), w. 34-39: conclusion (epilogue). 23
In the introduction, of which one of the rhetorical functions proem pseudois to arouse the interest and the attention of the Paul writes that he is not amazed about the rapid spread of the teachings of the Evil One (the names of Simon and Cleobius remain unmentioned), since the coming of Christ, the Lord, is
21 The heretical activity of Simon and Cleobius is characterized as 'the devices of the Evil One'. 22 This means that pseudo-Paul does not rehte the heretical denial of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ for, as we have noted, this idea is only reported in the narrative introduction. 23 Cf. G.A. Kennedy, New Testament and Rhetorical Criticism (Chapel Hill and London, 1984) esp. 24. 24 Rordorf, art. cit., 426, who finds in the imminent expectation a reason (in combination with other evidence) to date the letter before the second half of the second century.
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imminent (apparently the activity o f heretical teachers is viewed a s a sign of the imminent parousia). Of course this suggests that the problem in question should be taken very seriously. After the proem, the author gives a retrospective of Paul's earlier preaching in Corinth. H e recalls that "in the beginning" Paul had delivered t o the Corinthians the things h e himself had received from the apostles who, before him, were with Jesus Christ during his lifetime.25 In this review of the past, the author draws attention t o two tenets allegedly taught by Paul in Corinth:
1. Jesus Christ was born of Mary, of the seed of David, the Holy Spirit having been sent to her by the Father from heaven.26 Paul is also said to have explained the purpose of Christ's coming in the flesh: Christ came into the world in order to save all flesh through his own flesh and in order to raise us from the dead in the flesh like he has shown in himself as an e ~ a m p l e . ~ ' 2. Paul had further taught that2' 'man was formed by the Father himself .29 The retrospective ends with what apparently is the
25 Paul is not presented as an apostle (cf. the definition of the NT Acts 1.21-2). 26 This is a refutation of 5 (cf. e; the agreement with e, the report in the introductory narrative, is more complete). 27 Note that it is not the Father, but Christ who raises up the believers; see also Lalleman, this volume, Ch. 8. 28 at 6 r t in v.7 is coordinate to 6 r t in v.5. Rordorf's comment, 'I1 me semble que III,7 ouwe un nouveau chapitre (MalgrB la construction de la phrase avec brt qui la fait dependre de II,4, art. cit., p.417)' does not clarify the (rhetorical) structure of this part of the letter. This structure is also obscured in Schmidt's reconstruction of the Coptic version (Acta Pauli, p.79: 'Weil der Mensch ...'), which seems to be at the basis of Schneemelcher's German translation (NA 11, 1989, p.232). 29 Bodmer papyrus: Kat ort o a v n ~vno zov npq a w o v enhaoeq. The current translation (also the text of the Latin MSS) is: '( ...) man was formed by his (or: His) Father'. This might be a misunderstanding of the Greek a v ~ o v .In any case, the above interpretation matches the relevant heretical teaching: 'the formation of human beings is not God's (work) (5); cf. b: 'the body of man is not a formation of God'.
GERARD LUTIlKHUlZEN
proposition of the letter as a whole: it was for this reason that man was sought (by the Father) when he was lost, in order that he might live again by adoption.30 Pseudo-Paul continues with adducing proof for this proposition. He does so in two headings (vv.9-21 and 24-32). In the first heading, he argues on the base of scriptural evidence. In effect, we have here a concise theology of salvation. In this argument, the author takes the following steps: 1 (v.9a). The almighty God is the creator of Heaven and earth (of course this implies that God created man and the human body). Step 2 is not taken explicitly: man was lost (cf. the formulation of v.8: 'man was sought when he was lost'). 3 (vv.9b-1 I). Initially God sought man by sending his prophets to the house of Israel. But the Prince of Iniquity killed the prophets and tied all flesh to lust (q60vfi). 4 (vv.12-15). Thereupon God sent his Spirit into Mary ('Mary the Galilean') in order that the Evil One be defeated by the same flesh that he tried to subdue. First conclusion (vv.16-18): B y his own body, Christ Jesus saved all flesh in order that a temple of justice be revealed in his body by which we are saved. Second conclusion (v.19): Those who deny that God is the creator of Heaven and earth and all things in them, are not children of Justice but children of Wrath. This part of the proof ends with a final warning: They (the unnamed heretical teachers) are cursed because they follow the teaching of the serpent. The Corinthians are summoned to avoid
30 Cf. Rordorf, art. cit., 417: 'Cette these qui introduit une nouvelle idke, ti savoir celle de la perte de I'homme et de sa recherche par le crkateur, a besoin d'Ctre explicitde. Tout le dkveloppement des v.9-18 sert ti cette fin. I1 s'agit d'un vkritable prkcis d'une theologie de I'histoire du salut'. Also w.24-32 (about the resurrection of the flesh) can be regarded as an elaboration of v.8, esp. of the idea of L;woxo(qoq (making alive), cf. Lampe, ad loc.
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them. For a more detailed study of the theology of this part of the letter, I refer to Rordorf, art. cit., 417-2 1 . I merely wish to add to this highly instructive interpretation that the content of this section of the argument is well attuned to the overall context of the AP.3' For it is stated explicitly that the Evil One tries to rule over man by tying his flesh to lust. Furthermore, there is the strong suggestion that the sin by which man was lost had something to do with This entails that Christian believers should combat the Evil One by distancing themselves from lust, i.e. by asceticism and continence. Indeed the present argument can be read as a theological underpinning of Paul's preaching of continence. This theological argumentation is interlaced with disapproval of the heretical ideas mentioned by the Corinthians in their letter to Paul. In the course of his argument, the author refutes the ideas 2, 4 and 6 (cf. b and c) by stating that God is the God of all things, the Almighty One who did not wish his creation to go astray. Opposing 1, he teaches that God sent prophets to Israel, that He conferred a portion of Christ's own Spirit to the prophets, who repeatedly proclaimed the unerring worship of God. Opposing 5 (cf. e), he expounds that God sent the Spirit into Mary, the Galilean, and that it was God's aim that the Evil One be defeated by the same flesh over which he wished to rule. Only the denial of the resurrection of the flesh (3 = a) is not The second headrefuted in this first part of the arg~rnentation.~~ ing (vv.24-32) is reserved for this issue. The author opens this second argument with a quotation from the disputed teaching: 'And as for those who say to you, "There is no resurrection of the flesh", to them indeed there is no resurrection'. He reasons by
31 I refer to Paul's preaching of continence and asceticism. See e.g. AThe 5 and 12. 32 Compare v.9: the sins of the Jews, with v.11: now the Evil One tied all flesh to lust. 33 As noted above, the denial of the crucifixion of Christ is mentioned
in the narrative introduction to the correspondence (d) but not in the Corinthian letter itself.
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analogy and by references to historical evidence from the Scriptures. The clear suggestion is that those who deny the resurrection seeds that are cast of the flesh do not know the natural bare into the earth are first corrupted but then, by the will of God, they rise again with bodies and are fully ~ l o t h e d . ~Subsequently, ' pseudo-Paul refers to what happened to Jonah and to the dead man who rose after he was cast upon the bones of the prophet Elisha (2 Kgs 13.21). The implicit conclusion is that the heretics do not accept the testimony of the Scriptures. In this connection, our interest is not focused on the possible source(s) used by the author.36 It is more important to see the rhetorical function of this section of the letter: pseudo-Paul rejects the denial of the resurrection, for he wishes to convince his readers that in the resurrection of the flesh, God's purpose to revive his lost creatures (cf. vv.6,8) is fully realized. The letter is concluded in the pathetic style characteristic of the epilogue of deliberative speech. The author summons his readers not to trouble him if they should accept other teachings, for his hands are chained for Christ's sake and he bears (Christ's) marks in his body (cf. Gal. 6.17) so that he may attain the resurrection of the dead. The one who keeps to the rule will be rewarded but the one who does not, shall be punished with fire just as the ones who guided him on this way (the heretical teacher^).^' These guides are called godless people and a gener-
34 The idea to the effect that only the true believers shall rise, is also found in the narrative context of 111 Cor., viz. in AThe 37. 35 Note that Paul himself, in his first letter to the Corinthians, argues that the body of the plant is completely different from that of the grain of seed, and that this also holds true of resurrected body (15.35-50). In contrast, pseudo-Paul assumes that the believer will arise in an intact physical body (v.30: 'no part will be consumed, not even a hair nor an eyelash'). 36 This question is dealt with by Rordorf, art. cit., 421-4. 37 1.e. the rule he received both through the blessed prophets and through the Holy Gospel. Once again, the author refutes the view that the prophets should not be used.
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ation of vipers. The readers are summoned to avoid them. Unlike Rordorf, I doubt whether the ideas attributed by the Corinthians to Simon and Cleobius are specific enough to allow any historical identification." These ideas, with the possible exception of the teaching about the creation of the world by angels,39 were widespread among Christian Gnostics in the second and third centuries. In fact, we may be dealing with a general warning against the invasion of Gnostic ways of thinking into Christianity rather than with the refutation of a specific group of Gnostics active in Corinth or in another local community.40 The author of the apocryphal letter and the preceding letter from the Corinthian presbyters must have been familiar with Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians and his disapproval of the spiritualizing tendency in that community; it is, therefore, not hard to see why this author presented Paul as the principal adversary of Gnostic thought. Nowhere else in the AP (or in the other AAA) do we find a polemical speech, whether oral or written, which could be compared to the Third Letter to the Corinthians. In that sense, the Corinthian correspondence is a singular part of the Pauline Acts. On the other hand, as we have seen, (pseudo-) Paul's theological argument is in basic agreement with the proclamation of continence and resurrection in the AP. The composer of the AP may have inserted the correspondence not only because he endorsed the vehement rejection of Gnostic ideas but also because he appreciated the theological insights attributed to Paul in his apocryphal letter.
38 Rordorf, art. cit., 403-12. 39 Similar ideas are attributed by Irenaeus to Carpocrates and his disciples (Adv.Haer.125.1) and to Basilides (I 24.3-4). 40 A modem analogy might be the ubiquitous appearance, since the sixties, of diverse forms of New Age spirituality. A modem pseudoPaul would probably not address one specific group but the whole phenomenon.
VI. Events after the martyrdom: missionary transformation of an apocalyptical metaphor in Martyrium Pauli
Among the many articles Willy Rordorf has written on the Acta Pauli (AP), there is one which analyses AP from a historical point of view. His detailed analysis of the section of AP that is called Martyrium Pauli ( M P ) is of special interest in this chapter.' Rordorf examines whether we can find data that are relevant in the context of the Neronian persecution of C h r i ~ t i a n s .H~ e holds that we can find such data, because: 1) MP clearly shows a political enmity between the Roman Empire and a Christianity that has just begun;3 2) this enmity is expressed in M P through the language of an apocalyptical Jewish-Christian confession that foretells a death ~ the of fire for those who do not worship the eternal e r n p e r ~ r ;3)
1 For the text of the Martyrion tou hagiou apostolou Paulou see R.A. Lipsius (ed), Acta Petri, Acta Pauli, Acta Petri et Pauli, Acta Pauli et Theclae, Acta Thaddei (Leipzig, 1891) 105-17, tr. NTA 11, 260-3. Note also the first, very small fragment of MP on papyrus: A. L6pez Garcia, 'PLit.Palau Rib 18: Martyrium Pauli, I 18-22', ZPE 110 (1996) 132. 2 W. Rordorf, 'Die neronische Christenverfolgung im Spiegel der Apokryphen Paulusakten', New Test. Stud. 28 (1981-82) 365-74, repr. in his Lex orandi. Lex credendi (Fribourg, 1993) 368-77. 3 Rordorf, 367: later reports of martyrdom no longer represent a political eschatology. On the other hand, H.W. Tajra, The Martyrdom of St. Paul: Historical and Judicial Context, Traditions and Legends (Tiibingen, 1994) 120-1, rightly observes that Paul is a loyal Roman citizen in Acts, whereas in MP he stands up against the Roman Empire and its emperor, Nero. 4 MP 4.10: '...change your mind and be saved from the fire that is coming upon the whole world'; 2.5: 'Christ Jesus, the king of the ages'.
burning of Rome in A.D. 64 and the persecuting of Christians is thus not only attested by Tacitus - and the Christian sources of 1 Clement 5-6 and the Ascension of Isaiah 4 - but also by AP. Consequently, Rordorf uses AP as an indirect argument in illuminating the historical circumstances of the Neronian persecution.' The present paper examines MP - and especially its epilogue not so much from a historical perspective, but rather from a literary viewpoint. Our aim is to understand the literary goal of the author and to find the theological view that stands behind the work and its author - a view shared by the Christian community represented by them. The thesis of this chapter is that the literary tendency and the theological view of the work run parallel to the historical affirmations of Rordorf, but at the same time they can be viewed as a missionary transformation of the apocalyptical metaphor that is stressed by him. I shall attempt to support the above thesis in the following ways: 1) I shall analyse the structure and motifs of the epilogue of MP, i.e. those of the events after the martyrdom; 2) I shall compare this work with other novels of the same genre; 3) I shall examine the persons - characters - of the writing; 4) I shall give a short exposition of the text; 5) I shall make an attempt to understand the literary and theological tendency of the author.
Epilogue Because of practical reasons I limit my examination to the events after the martyrdom. These I call the Epilogue. An analysis of the whole martyr story would be too long. In order to better understand the Epilogue, however, I shall give a short overview of the whole martyr story. I)
Paul arrives in Rome. He hires a barn where he teaches. Patroclus, Caesar's young cup-bearer, falls from a high window. The apostle Paul brings him back from death.
5 Rordorf, 'Die neronische Christenverfolgung', 370-1.
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11) Patroclus bears witness to Christ in front of Nero. Caesar issues a decree against the 'Christians and the soldiers of Christ' (MP 2.5). 111) Paul is among the many Christian prisoners. In a sermon he stands up against Caesar. Nero commands all the prisoners to be burned with fire and Paul to be beheaded. IV) Paul - convicted to be executed - promises that after his martyrdom he shall appear to Caesar. The prefect Longus and the centurion Cestus are impressed by Paul's preaching. Va) Longus and Cestus want to become Christians. Paul tells them to appear at his tomb after his execution. Then they can be baptized. Vb) Paul's execution is followed by the epilogue (which is to be given here in more detail). W e may summarise the Epilogue as
follow^:^
The effect of the martyrdom upon those present ( 5 , lines 16-21). From the beheaded body of Paul milk spurts upon the soldier's clothing. The soldier and those who stood by are amazed, and they glorify God who had given Paul such glory. They go to report to Caesar what had happened. 2 ) The martyr appears to his enemies (6). Caesar contemplates the events in the company of many philosophers and the centurion. Around 3 p.m. Paul, who is dead, appears. He introduces himself as God's soldier. He says that he is alive in (or to) God. He proclaims the punishment of God upon Caesar, because he unjustly shed the blood of the righteous. Then Paul departs. Caesar - greatly troubled commands the prisoners to be set free. 3) The baptism of the prefect Longus and of the centurion Cestus at the tomb of Paul. The maryr appears to his disciples (7). As Paul directed, at dawn Longus and Cestus go to the tomb of Paul. There they can see two men praying (Titus and Luke), and Paul himself between them. Longus and Cestus are astounded. Titus and Luke are seized with fear and flee. The two catechumens run after them and explain that they are not pursuing them, but expect God's seal from them, as Paul had promised. Titus and Luke give Longus and Cestus 1)
6 The text of the report which we call Epilogue, which describes the events after the martyrdom, can be found in Lipsius, 115-7, from point V, line 16 to point VII, line 8, tr. NTA 11, 262-3.
the seal, i.e. they baptize them. They glorify God together. We may list the following motifs of the epilogue - motifs that occur during the events after the martyrdom -: (1) the effects of the martyrdom upon those present; (2) the appearance of the dead martyr to his enemies and (3) to his disciples. A comparison of this epilogue with other martyr stories may yield interesting results. Let us turn to this inquiry.
The epilogue of MP and other novels of the same genre The epilogue of M P can be placed in the line that begins with the biblical martyrologies and virtually ends with the martyrdom acts that were produced in the middle of the 4th century. The Apocryphal Acts (AAA) - those of the second and third centuries - are in the middle of that line. A common characteristic of this whole series of works is that they all belong to the genre of martyrology. I shall focus on analysing the motifs that belong to the endings of this genre, the epilogues, i.e. the endings that contain the events after the martyrdoms, but first I shall give a list of them: The effect of the death of the martyr upon the eye-witnesses Miraculous transformations of the dead body of the martyr The respecthl gathering of the earthly remains of the martyr The careful burial of the martyr by his disciples Appearance(s) of the martyr before his enemies andlor his disciples The founding of the cult of the martyr Closing lines of the author in a personal voice (first person singular or plural) Doxology
It is a matter of course that although the above list includes all the possible motifs, yet not every motif is there in each martyr story. The list has been put together on the basis of the following works: 1)
Passio sanctorum apostolorum Petri et Pauli (MPtP) from the 7th century, which can be viewed as a late development of the martyr
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stories of the apocryphal acts.' 2) From the (legendary) Christian martyr acts: the Martyrdoms of Ignatius; Clement,9 Pioniuslo and ~olycarp." 3) From the AAA: the endings of the Acts of Andrew,I2 Acts of Peter" and Acts of Thomas. l 4 4) From the New Testament: the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7.54-8.3) and the beheading of John the Baptist (Mk 6.14-29). From among the deutero-canonical books of the Old Testament: the Maccabean martyr stories (1 Macc 1.41-64; 2 Macc 6.1-12.7).
Ad I) I discuss the motifs of the epilogues of the martyr stories starting from the latest and moving back to older traditions. The youngest work is W t P , which contains a cult legend that locates Peter's burial in the Vatican.I5 Here we not only find that the martyrs are honoured as saints, but we also find Peter's connection to the Vatican. Ad 2) From the Christian acta martyrurn, the martyrdom of Ignatius (Mart. Ign. 6-7) occurred in the midst of beasts. The bones of the martyr who was tom apart were brought as relics to Antioch. On 13 January (in our calendar this is 10 December), on
7 Lipsius, 118-77; within this the epilogue: 171-7. 8 Mart. Ign. 6-7, cf. J.B. Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers 11.1 (London, 1885) 363-536 (text), 571-84 (translation); F.X. Funk, Patres Apostolici I1 (Tiibingen, 1901) XLIII and 218-45 (text). 9 Mart. Clem. 23-4, cf. J.B. Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers I (London, 18902),85-91; Funk, Patres Apostolici 11, IX and 28-45 (text). 10 Mart. Pionii 21-3, cf. L. Robert, Le martyre de Pionios, pr&tre de Smyrne (Washington D.C., 1994). 11 Mart. Polycarpi 15-22, cf. A.A.R. Bastiaensen et al., Atti e passioni dei martiri (Milan, 1987) 3-31, 371-83. 12 Acta Andreae 63-5, in D.R. MacDonald, The Acts ofAndrew (Atlanta, 1990), 434-41. 13 Mart. Petri 11-2, in Lipsius, 98-103. 14 Mart. Thomae = ATh 168-70, cf. NTA 11, 372. 15 MPtP 63,15: etheekan auto hypo teen terebinthon pleesion tou naumaxiou eis topon kaloumenon Batikanon. For a terebinth tree as a place of burial see also 1 Sam 31.13.
the day of the martyrdom, Ignatius appeared before his disciples at this point the narrative turns into the first person plural - and arranged the founding of his cult. The martyrdom of Clement (Mart. Clem. 23-24) narrates that the emperor Trajan ordered that an iron anchor should be fixed to the neck of this saint and that he should be thrown into the sea lest his relics could be honoured by his believers. In other words, the pagan emperor opposed the cult of relics. However, the prayer of the people caused the sea to be withdrawn for 3.000 miles, and there was a marble temple at the place of the martyrdom. Clement lay in the temple. From this point in time onwards the sea withdrew for seven days at every anniversary of the martyrdom so that the cult of the martyr would not be hindered. Pionius was crucified and burned (Mart. Pionii 21-3). However, in a miraculous way his body remained intact. He was like an athlete in his strength, his hair and beard remained in order, and his ears did not shrunk in the fire. His shining face brought awe to the unbelievers and strength to the Christians. The epilogue fixes the date of the martyrdom for the sake of the yearly cult. Polycarp was sentenced to be burned at the stake (Mart. Pol. 15-7), but the fire was not able to consume him, so he was pierced by a sword (16). His remains were gathered by his disciples. The epilogue finishes with a paraenesis in the first person plural, the naming of the writer, and the description of the transmission of the tradition. Ad 3) Let us now turn to the epilogues of the martyr stories of the M . It is likely that ATh (3rd century) is the latest among them. According to the epilogue of its martyr story, the apostle Thomas - having been pierced through by four soldiers - is laid in beautiful clothing into a king's tomb. At the tomb, the apostle appears first to his followers who buried him. He sends them back to their homes, but he mentions that they shall gather again at his tomb (is this perhaps the anticipation of a cult?). Secondly, he appears to converted, noble women and he helps them keep to their abstinence from sexual life with their husbands. This corresponds to the gnostic-encratic spirit of ATh. Thirdly, Thomas appears to his enemy, the king, and he heals his son. The king
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then joins the Christians. In the martyr epilogue of AA, the 'we' source (first person plural) begins already at the crucifixion of Andrew.I6 He is buried at the sea shore, not far from his former prison. Maximilla, the wife of proconsul Aegeates, leaves her husband because of the effect of Andrew's martyrdom upon her (sexual enkrateia). Stratocles, the brother of Aegeates refuses the inheritance of the proconsul who committed suicide (social enkrateia). The author speaks in first person singular in the closing lines. He says a prayer for the readers, and finishes his work with a doxology. Cc.40-1 of Apt narrate the death of Peter, and how he was taken from the cross and buried by Mar~ellus.'~ Then follows an interesting scene. Peter appears in the dream of Marcellus and rebukes him for the expensive funeralla - with a reference to Mt 8.22: 'Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead' (RSV). Then someone appears to Nero in a dream (it is not clear whether Peter himself or somebody else). As an effect of this vision, Caesar stops persecuting the Christians. Ad 4) In the New Testament we find the martyrdom of John the Baptist (Mk 6.14-29) and that of Stephen (Acts 7.54-8.3). In the former we meet the characteristic of Jewish martyr stories, according to which martyrdom is the consequence of faithfulness to the Law (John had warned Herod not to live with the wife of his brother).I9 Mk 6.29 narrates the simple burial by John's disciples - this being part of the events after the martyrdom. However, w. 14b and 16 - partly in the first person singular - refer to John's being alive in the bad conscience of Herod Agrippa. There
16 See MacDonald, The Acts of Andrew, 436 n. 198 and 437 n. 146. 17 Marcellus appears in AJ 18, as someone whose wife belonged to the circle of John, but by that time he was no longer alive. According to Apt he buried Peter in his own tomb (40), cf. 0.Cullmann, Petrus. Jiinger. Apostel. Marfyrer (Berlin, 1961) 176. According to MPtP 63 he buried Peter in the Vatican. 18 It is a beautiful apophthegm (1 1.8-9): Ekeina oun ha pareschou eis ton nekron, apoolesas.
19 J. Gnilka, Das Evangelium nach Markus (Ziirich, 1978) 246-9.
is no mentioning of an appearance of the martyr John, nor do we read about a miracle out of revenge. These motifs are not to be found in Stephen's martyr story either. Here we find the following events after the martyrdom: the dead body is cleared away, the deceased is wept over, Saul persecutes the Church. There is no mentioning of an extra burial, of appearances, of miracles of any kind. We know, however, that as an effect of Stephen's death Christian mission spread: partly because of the dispersion of the Christians, partly as a consequence of Saul's conversion. On the basis of this overview we can make the following comparing remarks about the epilogue of MP: 1) The epilogue of MP lacks many of the motifs of later martyr stories: the divine transparency of the dead body; a luxury burial with balm; the strengthening of enkrateia; the beginnings of the cult of the saint; the miracles of punishment. 2) In the epilogue of AP we find two motifs that are not found elsewhere: the releasing of the Christian prisoners and the receiving of the baptism at Paul's tomb." Both special motifs are consequences of the missionary interest of the text. 3) All this means that from the points of view of chronological order and of the motifs that occur in the genre of martyrdom the epilogue of M P is nearer to MPtP and to the biblical martyr stories than to the others. This supports the view of Rordorf who holds that the roots of the tradition contained in MP go back to the first half of the second ~ e n t u r y . ~ '
The function of the characters porn the point of view of understanding the text It stands out that six auxiliary characters appear in pairs. Each pair
20 We may compare that in MPtP 41.12 Nero stops persecuting the Christians. However, there is no mentioning of him releasing the prisoners. 21 Rordorf, 366: 'zumindest Teile davon konnten auch schon in der 1. Halfte dieses (= 2.) Jahrhunderts verfasst sein'.
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fulfils an important role in the mission. The pairs complement one another, but they are also distinct from each other. Titus and Luke already expect Paul in the beginning of MP (I), since they are his co-workers of old. At the end of MP they baptize the first catechumens after the death of Paul - and in this way they continue ~ ~ young the mission of the martyred apostle.22 P a t r ~ c l u s , the , ~ ~ flat feet', represent Gencup-bearer, and Barsabas J u ~ t u s 'with tile and Jewish Christianity respectively. They had converted already before the martyrdom of Paul, but Nero threw them into prison because of their faith, although they belonged to the court of Caesar. As an effect of the appearing of the martyr Paul - and as an effect of Paul's words - Nero releases them both. The text mentions that there arose a kernel of Christian congregation around the figure of Barsabas Ju~tus.~'The prefect Longus and the centurion Cestus is the next pair of characters, whom the author never lets speak separately, but always together. They represent the civil government and the army respectively. As catechumens before the martyrdom of the apostle they were touched by the preached word, but they did not receive baptism which they longed for. They receive the seal only after the death
22 R. Bauckham, 'The Acts of Paul as a sequel to Acts', in B.W. Winter and A.D. Clarke (eds), The Book of Acts in its First Century Setting: Ancient Literary Setting (Grand Rapids, 1993) 105-52, esp. 117. 23 His role reminds one of that of young Eutychus in Acts 20.7-12, who fell out of the window, died and then was raised miraculously by Paul. He also reminds one of the cup-bearer of Pharaoh in Gen 40. However, while the cup-bearer forgets about freeing the man of God (Joseph), in MP the man of God (Paul) frees the cup-bearer of Caesar. 24 According to MP 2.14, Barsabas Justus belongs to the first men (prootoi) of Caesar. His other name is platy-pous ('having flat feet'). Bauckham (op.cit. 110-1) holds that it seems rather doubtful that this Barsabas would be the same as the apostle designate in Acts 1.23. Eus. HE. 3.39.9 notes about him - following a tradition from Papias - that although he drank deadly poison, out of the grace of God he suffered no illness. 25 Nero commands the prisoners and Patroclus to be released, and also Barsabas and his group.
of the apostle - among miraculous (and partly humorous) circumstances. There is one important auxiliary character who is not named in the story: the soldier.26 It is not his name that is important, but his life-style. The term 'soldier' and cognate words occur 14 times in MP. Terms as 'king', 'great king', 'eternal king' occur 12 times. This is no accident. These are references to the army-related metaphor system of the writing which we have already mentioned. The philosophers and the centurion who gather around the emperor represent wisdom and power respectively.*' The two main characters are the two lonely ones who oppose one another: Caesar Nero and the apostle Paul. At first sight they seem to be representatives of two opposing realities: the Roman Empire and the Church. In my view, we can see something more here: the opposition between the transitional-human and the eternal-divine powers.28 A short exposition of the epilogue of MP Having discussed the specific elements of the text and the function of the characters, I shall focus here upon those ideas that have not been emphasized yet. milk spurts 5.16-1 8a: When the executioner beheads upon the soldier's clothing from the body of the apostle. Milk here
26 He reports the events to Caesar (MP 5.17-8). It is significant that also Paul calls himself the soldier of God when - as a dead martyr - he appears to Caesar. 27 The text does not tell us whether or not this centurion is Cestus himself, or another person. As he usually appears together with Longus and since the name usually precedes the rank -, it does not seem likely that the two centurions were one and the same person. 28 The eschatological metaphor reaches its climax here. As we shall see, from now on it will be transformed in the direction of the mission. 29 We do not find the usual term apokefalizoo here, as in the case of John the Baptist (Mk 6.27), but the euphemism of apotinassoo, which means to shake off (in Lk 9.5 the dust; in Acts 28.3-5 the viper).
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is mentioned with a symbolic meaning.30 Its opposite is solid food. Both refer to the apostolic teaching: milk signifies the basic elements of the Christian message; solid food nourishes those who are advanced in faith.3' We may recall that in Jn 19.34 blood and water poured out of the body of Jesus. This has a sacramental significance in the Fourth Gospel, but hardly in M P . Here we can rather think of the missionary preaching (the kerygma) as nourishment for beginners. 5.18b-21: The ordinary soldiers have the role of witnesses at the death of Paul, just as the centurion was the witness at the death of Jesus (Mk 15.39). The centurion and the bystanders (Mk 15.35,39; Jn 19.26) think of the events as a miracle. They praise God who gave Paul such glory. There is no trace of the worship of saints. Rather we can see the idea of Soli Deo Gloria; and only within this there is a mentioning of the glory given to Paul. Phrases in this scene - that relate to reflecting on the miracle, for example, when they saw it, the soldier and all who stood by were amazed, and glorified God who had given Paul such glory remind one of the motifs of the closing chorus in the miracle
30 It would be interesting - but in our view a mistaken interpretation to refer to Isa 9.4: instead of a garment rolled in blood the soldier has milk on his coat. 31 In 1 Cor 3.2 Paul writes: 'I fed you with milk, not solid food'. In the context, the nourishment for beginners is the kerygma; more advanced Christians have wisdom (sophia) or knowledge (gnoosis) as solid food (brooma). Heb 5.12-3 presents the teaching of the elements (stoicheia) as parallel with being nourished by milk - which is the characteristic of someone who is a minor. 1 Pet 2.2 uses the language of mystery religions when he speaks of the pure spiritual milk, cf. Schlier, 'gala', TWNT I. 644-5. In A J 45 the apostle John tells the Ephesians that he would not leave them until they have stopped being fed on milk and stand on solid rock; note also Odes of Solomon 8.16. Tajra, The Martyrdom of St. Paul, 130 affirms that milk is a sign of immortality. 32 Cf. G. Theissen, Urchristliche Wundergeschichten (Giitersloh, 1987') 1 lff, who differentiates between simple statement, demonstration and admiration. All of these occur also in our story. The verbs thaumazoo
6.1-8: The place of this scene is the court of Nero. Receiving the news about Paul's death, the court is troubled and uncertain. The term used here (diaporeoo) occurs in the New Testament in relation to Herod who is perplexed after the execution of John the Baptist. It also expresses the trouble of the overseers in the temple when they find out that the apostles had disappeared from prison (Lk 9.7; Acts 5.24). The word indicates the troubled mind of those in power when they perceive that those who were convicted by them are no longer under their authority. The martyr Paul comes (not: appears) to the court of Caesar at nine o'clock (3 p.m. in our counting).33 He says: 'Caesar, here I am - Paul, God's soldier'. I am not dead, but alive in my God. What the apostle - already before his execution (4.3-5) promised toward Caesar, has been fulfilled: Caesar, it is not for a short time that I live for my king.34 And if thou behead me, this will I do: I will arise and appear to thee (in proof) that I am not dead, but alive to my Lord Christ Jesus. The thought reminds one of Ps 118.17 (LXX 117.17): 'I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord'. 6.9-12: Paul predicts a divine punishment for C a e ~ a r . ~He ' calls the emperor an unhappy man (athlios). This is again a picture taken fiom the life of the soldier. Nero is the struggling soldier who is defeated; Paul is the victorious one. The sin of Caesar is that he unjustly shed the blood of the righteous.36 The punishment will occur not many days hence (cf. Acts 1.5). Nero, greatly troubled, releases the Christian prisoners who had been imprisoned
and dobazoo are also important (cf. Mk 2.12, 5.20; Lk 5.26). 33 It would be interesting to know whether the ninth hour (3 p.m.) has a symbolic meaning, but we do not want to speculate in this respect. 34 Also here we can note the opposition between transitory human power and the eternal divine power that overcomes even death. 35 In the New Testament kolasis refers to bad conscience (1 Jn 4.14) and to the punishment of damnation (Mt 25.46). 36 The opposition between the noun and the adverb - both coming from the same *dik-stem - may be regarded as a play on words: dikaioon haima adikoos ekvecheas, cf. Mt 27.4, 24.
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according to 2.20." The consequence of Paul's appearance, then, is amnesty. 7.1-14: At dawn, Longus and Cestus go to Paul's tomb - as the apostle had directed them.38 Up to this point there was no mentioning of Paul's burial - unlike in the case of the other martyr acts and AAA. Arriving at the tomb, Longus and Cestus can see two men praying, and the dead Paul between them. Longus and Cestus were astounded because of the miracle that contradicts . ~ ~ and Luke, the human experience (to paradohon t h a ~ r n a )Titus men praying, were seized with human fear,40 because they knew that Longus and Cestus belonged to Caesar's court. Here follows an ironic-humorous scene: Titus and Luke flee from the men of the emperor. The latter run after them, because they long for the ' clarified the circurnseal in the Lord, i.e. b a p t i ~ m . ~Having stances, Longus and Cestus are baptized. Catechumens and catechetes start to praise God.42 The author joins in the doxology - in first person singular - as is expected from a Christian writer who follows the customs of the closing of this genre.
37 Cf. Acts 4.21. For those listed by names see note 25. 38 His tomb is a taphos, and not one carved in a rock, mneemeion. 39 Ehpleessoo ('to be out of oneself); in the New Testament the word usually refers to the effect of Jesus' teaching or to that of his miracles, e.g. Mt 7.28; Mk 7.37. 40 The expression contains an element of rebuking: having been Christians for a long time, Titus and Luke should not have been overcome by human fear. 41 AP uses the original term for baptism (to baptismos) only in relation to the lion (in the scene in Ephesus). Otherwise AP always refers to the baptism as a seal (sphragis). Thecla administers this seal to herself (AThe 34). In Myra, Hermocrates receives the seal of the Lord as baptism (AP, PHeid p.28). The term is first used with the meaning of baptism in Hermas' Shepherd (VIII.2.3ff, IX.16.3-7 and 14.4), cf. G. Fitzer, 'sphragis', TWNT VII, 939-54, esp. 952-3. 42 Previously, in MP 2.7, Patroclus calls God the King of the Aeons, cf. 1 Tim 1.17.
Literary tendency and theological view in the epilogue of MP We recall Rordoffs affirmation that in MP we find enmity between the Roman Empire and the early Church. The language is that of Jewish-Christian apocalyptic. All this fits into the historical data that we know from Tacitus and other sources about the Neronian persecution of the Christians. We have verified his thesis from a literary viewpoint and with the methods of literary criticism. We have also evaluated the text from a theological viewpoint. We have added to Rordorfs thesis that the political-eschatological metaphors in the epilogue of MP have been transformed into categories that express the victory of the mission. We can now summarise our conclusions in four points:
1. The political enmity between Christianity and the Roman Empire in M P points to the biblical eschatological conviction according to which all political power is transitory and is judged and replaced by the eternal power of God.43 2. We find in MP - in addition to the Jewish and Jewish-Christian apocalyptical language - a system of Roman military metaphors that is known also from the canonical Pastoral epistle^.^^
43 Cf. the opposition between Jesus and Pilate in Jn 18.36; between the three young men and the Babylonian king in Dan 3.17; between Yahweh and the idols in Ps 97.7b. Tajra, The Martyrdom of St. Paul, 120-1 describes the changes in the picture of Paul in the Christian tradition. In the canonical Acts of Luke Paul is a loyal subject, although he repeatedly has to defend himself in front of local authorities because of charges brought against him. In the Pastoral Epistles we meet an old man waiting patiently for his death. Finally, AP (or rather, MP) portrays a dynamic apostle who is prepared for martyrdom when he stands up against Nero and the Roman Empire. 44 1 Tim 1.18, 6.12; 2 Tim 2.3-4. Here Paul calls Timothy a good soldier of Christ, who fights the good fight of the faith. J. Jeremias, Die Briefe an Timotheus und Titus (Gottingen, 1963) 15, affirms: 'Es entspricht dem mannlichen Christentum des Paulus, dass er das Bild vom Kriegsdienst liebt, wenn er vor allem als Amtstrager (vgl. 2 Tim 2.3-4; 1 Cor 9.7) als Kriegsmann Jesu Christi bezeichnet, der gleicherweise zum
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3. In this system of metaphors the apostle Paul calls himself the soldier of Christ ( M P 7.6). Thus his martyrdom is a hero's death.45 4 . However, the tendency of MP is primarily not an eschatological but a missionary one. The use of the military metaphor suggests that the conversion of the characters is like the desertion from an earthly ruler into the army o f the eternal king.46 The apostle's death is not only a hero's death, but a death that brings about victory. His appearing after his martyrdom expresses that from that point on he fights from an eternal dimension - with the weaponry of immortality - for the victory of the Christian m i ~ s i o n . ~ '
Kampf wie zum Leben genistet sein muss'. As is well known, the metaphor of the spiritual weaponry in Eph 6.10-7 describes the armour of a Roman legionary. 45 2 Tim 4.6-8 first uses pictures taken from sport-life, but it turns to the language of the gladiators. The reference to the execution by the sword (the execution of Roman citizens) is taken with a cultic meaning by the author and applied to the sacrifice. 46 In MP 3.4-5 Nero brings the charge against Paul that he comes secretly into the Roman Empire and recruits soldiers for himself from among the subjects of Caesar. Paul answers in his missionary zeal: Caesar, not only from thy province (eparchia) do we enlist soldiers, but from the whole world (oikumenee), i.e. also from outside the Roman Empire. Paul even calls upon Nero to serve the King of Paul. 47 Whereas in A J the goal of the mission is to Christianize only one city, Ephesus, in AP - and what is our concern here: in MP - we find a missionary strategy that overarches the Roman Empire and even the whole of humanity.
VII. The Acts of Paul and the western text of Luke's Acts: Paul between canon and apocrypha
There must have been an exciting discussion about the person and life of the apostle Paul in the Early Church. W. Bauer quotes some characteristic reflections on Paul in two groups.' On the one hand, in the Jewish Christian tradition he is designated as a pagan who converted to Judaism so that he could many the high priest's daughter. He is claimed not to have seen the Lord, and is identified with Simon the magician, who was rebuked by Peter and John in Acts 8. On the other hand, Jerome argues that Paul was born in Galilee. In other sources the resurrected Jesus himself explains Paul's future role to the disciples, the apostle's name appears among the twelve, and he is given the 'divine' epithet. Finally, the apocryphal Acts of Paul (AP) itself presents a tradition in which the apostle seems to have stood in high esteem.' In this study I will read the AP against the backdrop of three other documents in order to understand better how the canonical and orthodox image of the apostle is related to the apocryphal and legendary traditions about him. The first of these texts is the commentary of Ephrem Syrus on Acts. I find this collation promising because Ephrem's commentary on the letters of Paul is an
1 W. Bauer, 'Das Apostelbild in der altchristlichen iiberliefemng: Nachrichten', in E. Hennecke and W. Schneemelcher (eds), Neutestamentliche Apokryphen I1 (Tiibingen, 1964') 1 1-41. 2 I intend to talk about 'popular tradition' following W. Schneemelcher and K. Schaferdiek, 'Apostelgeschichten des 2. und 3. Jahrhunderts: Einleitung', in NeuTA 11, 111; see also Karasszon, this volume, Ch. 12.
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important witness of the Corinthian correspondence of the AP.' Another text is provided by the peculiar readings of the Lukan Acts in Codex Bezae (D). Ephrem seems to have known the text of D, or at least there is a common tradition behind them. Finally, I will use the Armenian catena which contains mainly comments by Chrysostom and Ephrem on the same book.4 Since the Bezaean version of Acts differs considerably from the text in other manuscripts, I intend to regard it as a writing between the biblical canon and the apocrypha.' C.K. Barrett seems to support this view, and his essay will be dealt with in more detail later.6 First I will seek the signs of direct textual interdependence between the A P and the other sources, then the possible theological similarities will be examined, and finally I will attempt to schematize the relations between the sources. Textual evidence
Now I turn to the analysis of the textual evidence of the connect-
3 F.C. Conybeare, 'The commentary of Ephrem on Acts', in J.H. Ropes, The Text of Acts, Vol. 111 of F.J. Foakes Jackson and K. Lake (eds), The Beginnings of Christianity (London, 1926) 373-453. The commentary survived in an Armenian translation, which Conybeare rendered into Latin. Witness: Schneemelcher, 'Paulusakten ', in NeuTA 11, 217. 4 Trans. by Conybeare, 'The commentary'. 5 However, I will not touch most traditional problems of Codex D., e.g. the question of the priority of the Bezaean version over the 'Alexandrian ', or the ever renewed theory of a double edition of Acts by Luke. A classical survey is in B. M. Metzger, A textual commentary on the Greek New Testament (London, 1975) 259-72. For a recent summary see P.M. Head, 'Acts and the problem of its texts', in B.W. Winter and A.D. Clarke (eds), The Book of Acts in its Ancient Literary Setting (Grand Rapids and Carlisle, 1993) 415-44. 6 C.K. Barrett, 'Is there a theological tendency in Codex Bezae? ', in E. Best and R.McL. Wilson (eds), Text and Interpretation (Cambridge, 1979) 15-27. Also Head, 'Acts', 438 writes: 'the western text might stand part-way along the road to the non-canonical Acts.'
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109
ion between the AP and the other three sources. I will follow the conduct of the story as reconstructed by W. Schneemelcher, and seek textual parallels with the peculiar readings of either Ephrem, the catena, or D. A. Paul's conversion The story of Paul's conversion seems a key feature of his biography in the canonical Acts. As is superfluous to say, the episode is narrated in detail three times within the book, which is unparalleled in the Bible. The entire passage is not preserved either in D or in the AP. But we do have some fragments of the latter, on which basis C. Schmidt has reconstructed the scene, and ample material in Ephrem, which allow us to make some observations. First, we learn from the AP is that Paul received a command after his conversion to go to Damascus and Jerusalem. Acts 9:6 indeed is a command: 'but rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you must do'. But neither is the command preceded by Paul's conversion, nor is a specific place like Damascus or Jerusalem mentioned. The problem is partially solved if we look at the two other accounts in Acts 22 and 26. In Acts 22.10 Paul is sent into Damascus - which is also obvious from the context -, and in 26.16-8 he is commissioned to 'open the eyes of the nations'. The commentary of Ephrem combines and amplifies these passages resourcefully, setting up a lengthy conversation between Paul and Jesus: Jesus asks: 'Why do you persecute me?' Paul faints in his mind, and thinks: 'I for the sake of the heavens persecute, can it be that I persecute him whose dwelling is in the heavens?' He says: 'Who are you, my Lord, who in the heavens from persecution suffer? For I persecute Jesus, who is among the dead, along with his disciples.' The Lord answers: 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.' Then Ephrem minutely describes Saul's fear that he would receive great punishment. Finally he says: 'What do you want me to do? For whatever I have done until now, I did ignorantly. Therefore, I have accepted your messenger together with the message, so that I pay the penalty for my persecution,
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which my persecution accumulated for me.' Paul's last sentence sounds quite obscure. Nevertheless there are three main emphases in the dialogue: (1) Paul acted out of ignorance; (2) He confessed his sins; (3) He accepted Jesus' message, and perhaps the task of proclaiming it. Whether the last sentence contains the act of commissioning, cannot be decided with certainty here. I will discuss this issue later. Then Ephrem argues that the reason why Paul was not healed on the spot was that all Damascus might gather and see 'the threatening sign which was put on him, because he dared to persecute the perfect and immaculate body of the Church.' He also explains why the other men did not see the light and were not blinded: (1) Because God had mercy on them; (2) Because it was Saul, who had asked for the letter of the priests; (3) Because it was he that was elected for the preaching and the apostleship. So far we can conclude that in Ephrem's text the events on the Damascus road contain Paul's confession, atonement, and apostolic calling. This process is accomplished, and there is no need for the mediation of Ananias. In Ephrem, Ananias is mentioned briefly as the 'physician'. In its basic ideas Ephrem's account corresponds to the brief summary Schmidt reconstructed in the AP. In other words, Ephrem offers an expanded version of the latter. Earlier I pondered over the meaning of Paul's obscure words in Ephrem about the 'messenger' and the 'message' which he accepted in his confession. Paul's account of his conversion in the appendix of the A P provides an interesting solution to the problem. There the apostle talks about the Spirit, which fell upon him and preached to him the Gospel of his Son. This episode may explain what Paul meant in Ephrem: the 'messenger' is no one else than the Spirit, and the 'message' is the Gospel of God's Son. Moreover, in the Coptic papyrus the word 'Gospel' is expressed by the infinitive ~\iayy~hf
See Kasser's footnote, in NeuTA 11, 269 n. 1.
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tent, but also the action of the proclamation. When he is taught about the Gospel, at the same time he is charged with the Gospel. This seems an important connotation of the word in both Ephrem's commentary and the AP. Further evidence is supplied by Ephrem's paraphrase of Acts 20.26-7. There he writes about Paul's bearing tribulations for 'the gospel which he gospels' (we will discuss the passage below). The question could be settled with more clarity by consulting the original Armenian and Coptic texts. Then, according to the AP, Paul went 'with great joy' to Damascus, where he found the congregation fasting. Although fast is equally important for Luke, he does not speak about 'great joy', and makes Paul stay in the street called 'Straight' for several days before joining the disciples. What is the case in Ephrem? Here we find the interesting claim that while Saul was brought to Damascus, he was proceeding with 'great pride'. No textual witness allows this reading in the biblical text. There are only two possibilities: either Ephrem knew the AP, or there was a common tradition on which both the author of the AP and Ephrem drew. Considering the textual evidence in Paul's conversion story, I suggest that there is a definite link between the text of the AP and Ephrem's commentary on Acts. If we had the entire passage in the AP and the readings of D in Acts 9, they would certainly provide further surprising details. My hypothesis is that Ephrem's text, especially the curious dialogue between Paul and Jesus, supplies information about the contents of the lost chapter in the AP and D.
B. Paul in Sidon Skipping several episodes in the AP, we come to Paul's sojourn in Sidon. In Acts 27.3 we read about a short visit of Paul to Sidon on his journey to Rome, but that hardly provided the basis for the present narrative.' Unfortunately the text of the AP again survived here only fragmentarily, as was the case with the conversion story. Still we find some interesting matches between this passage and the readings of Ephrem and D in Acts 15.36-16.40, that is, the beginning of Paul's second missionary journey and his stay in 8 Schneemelcher, 'Paulusakten', 224.
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Philippi. It stands out quite clearly that Paul's and Silas' miraculous rescue from the prison in Philippi served as a model for the miracle in the Apollo temple. In Philippi, Paul and Silas are thrown into prison; in Sidon, Paul and his companions are thrown into the temple of Apollo. In both cases, their intensive prayers cause the building to partially cave in around midnight. Now I will examine whether the relevant sections in Ephrem and D reveal likeness to the Sidon episode in the AP. According to the AP, Paul delivered a sermon in Sidon in which he tried to retain the people of the city from doing something evil. Only a short fragment of this sermon survives, in which Paul brings up the example of Sodom and Gomorrah: 'Have you not heard of that which happened, which God brought upon Sodom and Gomorrah?' The phrase 'Sodom and Gomorrah' appears in rebukes in a few instances in apocryphal texts,9 and probably draws on Rom 9.29, where in turn Paul quotes Isaiah 1.9. Nevertheless, Rom 9.29 is the only place where Paul quotes the phrase in the Bible, and it does not occur at all in Acts. It is the more surprising that Ephrem, when he comments on Paul and Barnabas setting out on their second missionary journey, and dividing on the issue of John Mark's participation, refers to the very example of Sodom and Gomorrah. Ephrem reads: 'There is a cause why they separated to go and preach in different regions, following the example of Abraham parting from Lot, so that he become a teacher among the Canaanites, and Lot be found among the Sodomites following this example.' Although Ephrem does not mention Gomorrah, he writes about 'Barnabas, who parted from Paul', which implies that the former is going to the Canaanites like Abraham, and that the latter is going to Sodom like Lot. It is also clear that in Gen 13 Abraham and Lot separated simply because 'the land could not support both of them living together.' So when Ephrem calls Lot the teacher of 9
The Ascension of Isaiah 3.10; 5Ezra 2.8; The Apocalypse of Paul 39.
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the Sodomites, he refers to his righteousness against the wickedness of the city. Further, in Gen 13.9 the sinful city is Sodom alone, and Gomorrah appears only as Sodom's political ally. In sum, Ephrem interprets the departing of Abraham and Lot in the light of the 'Sodom and Gomorrah' tradition. At the beginning of his second missionary journey he presents Paul as Lot, the righteous one, going to sinful Sodom, which recalls the example of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was hardly possible for Ephrem to evoke the image of Lot in Sodom independently from the entire story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Since this argument never occurs in the Lukan Acts, and since in the AP it appears in a missionary context similar to Acts 15, right before the temple episode, which is analogous with the prison story, I conclude that Ephrem depends on the tradition of the AP. The climax of both the Sidon and Philippi narratives comes when the intensive prayer of Paul and his companions causes the building to collapse partially around midnight. In Acts 16 the conversion of the jailer follows, while in the morning the magistrates appear on the scene in both stories. In addition to this, the AP gives a detailed account of people's reaction to the event. This element is lacking in the Bible, but not so in Ephrem and D. Ephrem comments on Acts 16: 'The magistrates of the city were appalled and terrified by the earthquake, and learning the truth they knew that this earthquake was really on their account, but they did not choose to admit that.' D even knows that the magistrates 'gathered on the marketplace and recalled the earthquake'. Especially the latter version is similar to the AP: 'They went away and proclaimed in the city. And all the inhabitants of the city ran to the temple, and saw Paul and those who were with him.' It is clear that Ephrem and especially D intend to show that the accident was not simply a private exchange between the jailer, the magistrates, and the apostles, but that its effects reached the public life and caused an upheaval in the city. And this is argued also in the AP.
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C. Paul in Ephesus The next parallels worth consideration occur in the versions of the Ephesus scene. The outline of the story is similar in the AP and Acts 19: In his sermon Paul attacks the paganism of the city, which brings about an uproar against him, and he almost ends up lynched by the mob. Again we are looking for readings which reveal a connection between the AP and either Ephrem or D. In Acts 19, before the conflict with paganism is told, Paul preaches to John's disciples, who are then baptized. D explains that they were baptized 'for the forgiveness of sins' (CIS & . 4 ~ o t v a p a p ~ t Q v ) .The expression occurs altogether five times in Acts; in only two cases it is connected with Paul's ministry. The word 'sins' itself occurs three more times. Although the insertion of the term can be explained from the biblical context, I wish to point out a parallel in the sermon of the AP: 'the Lord wishes us to live in God ... and not to die in sins' (PHamburg 1.16). In Acts 19.24 we read that the controversy in Ephesus was initiated by a certain Demetrius, who was a silversmith making silver shrines of Artemis. Interestingly, when Ephrem comments on the scene, he follows the biblical text almost word for word: 'In that time great persecution was made because of the way, which came from Demetrius, the goldsmith who was dealing with silver.' The catena takes over Ephrem's reading. Why did Ephrem, who cited the biblical passage otherwise faithfully, call Demetrius a goldsmith? No biblical manuscript, not even D, supports his text. There is a solution at hand in the AP. There the crowd wants to bum Paul, but then it is the 'goldsmiths' who shout: 'To the beasts with the man!' (PHamburg 1.28). This nuance must be taken seriously if we want to decide about the relation of Ephrem and the AP. Since Ephrem generally seems to draw on the readings of D, it is important that this time the text of D is extant, and it does not support Ephrem. We cannot even maintain that he quotes a Christian 'topos', or commonplace, which would probably be arguable in the case of 'Sodom and Gomorrah' or the 'baptism for the forgiveness of sins'. The only possible solution is that Ephrem was influenced by the tradition of the AP.
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One more detail is worth mentioning. This time it is a sentence in the catena attributed to Chrysostom which says that Demetrius 'set forth the pains of indigence, and disturbed the whole city'.'' Although this is a legitimate interpretation of the events, we cannot exclude its dependence on D, which reads: 'and the whole city was upset by shame'. It can be excluded that the word 'shame' resulted from a scribal error. The words can be perceived as a gloss, but even then this kind of emotional response is quite unlikely on the basis of the biblical text, where anger dominates the scene. The description applies much better to the situation after the animal fight in the AP. The inhabitants of Ephesus fled from the hail-storm, praying to the God of Paul that he would rescue (oq<siv) them (PHamburg 5.12). As in many other cases, it is difficult to explain the reading of D. Even if we regard it as a commentary to the text, D proves quite inconsistent with the content of the passage. In turn, the AP describes a situation which offers a suitable background for such a gloss. Altogether I do not argue that there is a direct interdependence between the two texts, but I suggest that there is a common tradition behind them. D. Paul's martyrdom In the final part of our analysis of direct textual evidence we will examine three more passages. They are found in the last chapters of the AP, and relate to the martyrdom of Paul in Rome. With Paul's stay in Corinth the author of the AP is already steering towards the conclusion of the work." Therefore, the scene provides a transition to the martyrdom in Rome. The situation is very similar to the farewell from the Ephesian elders in Miletus (Acts 20.17-38). However, there is a definite move beyond the content of Paul's testimony in the Lukan Acts. While in the Lukan episode Paul talks about his journey to Jerusalem and the persecutions waiting for him there (Acts 20.220, in the AP Cleobius speaks directly of Paul's 'death' and 'depart out of this 10 Conybeare, 'The commentary', 441. 1 1 Schneemelcher, 'Paulusakten ', 229.
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world' (PHamburg 6.32). Commenting on Acts 20.26-7, Ephrem paraphrases Paul's words: 'Up to this day I am clean from the blood of you all, for all tribulations I have borne for the sake of the gospel which I gospel unto you. For I am not sent to disturb you, neither I came with any other plan, but only for the reason that in death and life I would preach to you indicating your advantage. ' The introductory words 'up to this day' are clearly taken from D ( & ~ p oljv t zqq ( ~ f i p ~ p oqpepaq). v However, the further additions are not supported by the codex. This is Ephrem's interpretation of Paul's journey, an interpretation very similar to what we read in the AP. It is not only the word 'death' which connects the two texts. In Ephrem Paul talks about God's 'plan' or 'design' (consilium), and also in the AP we read twice about God's 'dispensation' (oiuovopla, PHamburg 6.26 and 29) concerning Paul. What both wordings mean is that Paul has an important part in God's plan ('plan of salvation' or Heilsplan), and that his death and life serve to the advantage of the brethren. While Luke is reluctant to say anything about Paul's death, Ephrem interprets it as a contribution to the salvation of the Ephesians. We can assume that in this interpretation the Ephesian elders stand for the whole of Gentile Christianity. Finally, the idea is very similar to the Corinthian Cleobius' interpretation of Paul's death in the AP. In both cases Paul appears as the tool of the salvation of the Gentiles. Another interesting episode occurs in the section narrating Paul's journey from Corinth to Italy. The name of the apostle Peter appears in the story, and the narrative contains allusions to the Acts of Peter (Apt). After landing in Italy, Paul preaches in the house of a certain Claudius. In the final part of the text, which is extant in the Coptic PHeid, Paul relates a dialogue between Jesus and Peter. In this dialogue Jesus teaches about 'the work' which is greater than 'the raising of the dead and the feeding of a crowd'. Peter and later Philip ask Jesus about this work. Unfortunately Jesus' answer is missing. Although we cannot reconstruct what Paul actually said about Peter in that sermon, it is evident that the AP compared his calling,
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ministry and death to that of Peter.'' Schneemelcher's hint that this composition may draw on Paul's farewell speech in Acts 20 directed my attention again to Ephrem's commentary on the Miletus scene.I3 And indeed there I found an interesting allusion to Peter. Ephrem says: 'And he (Paul) called them shepherds ordained by the Spirit, like the Lord Peter.' Although such comparison is not totally unexpected in a (fourth century) commentary, it is still a fact that Peter literally disappears from the Lukan Acts after ch. 12, except for delivering a short address at the 'apostolic council' in ch. 15. Luke himself seems to follow the Pauline tradition of the 'gentlemen's agreement' in Gal 2, carefully marking off the domains of the two apostles. Conflating the traditions about Paul and Peter is characteristic of the AAA. Therefore, it is likely that Ephrem was influenced by this apocryphal tradition when justifying Paul's testimony to the Ephesian elders with Jesus' testimony to Peter. Finally, R.I. Pervo finds examples in D for 'intensifying the parallelism of Paul and Peter'.14 Two readings in Acts 15-6 may demonstrate his argumentation: In the letter of the apostles D stresses Bamabas and Paul' merits of risking their lives adding 'in every temptation' (EIS n 6 v ~ anstpaop6v, Acts 15.26). Somewhat later Bamabas and Paul set out on their second missionary journey, and instead of simply 'delivering the decisions of the apostles', D claims they 'proclaimed and delivered to them with full boldness the Lord Jesus Christ, and also the orders of the apostles and elders' (16.4). Altogether the parallel characterization of Peter and Paul is perhaps 'intensified' by D; it is an inevitable tendency in the AP; and finally Ephrem emphasizes such parallelism quoting the name of Peter directly in the context of Paul's farewell speech, to which the Corinthian episode of the A P may have given him occasion.
12 R.McL. Wilson, 'Apokryphen 11', TRE 3 (1978) 316-62, esp. 343. 13 Schneemelcher, 'Paulusakten ', 230. 14 R.I. Pewo, 'Social and religious aspects of the 'western' text', in D.E. Groh and R. Jewett (eds), The Living Text (Lanham MD, 1985) 229-41, esp. 234.
The first surviving sentence of the actual 'martyrdom' in the AP claims 'there were awaiting Paul at Rome Luke from Gaul and Titus from Dalmatia'. This is surprising if we consider that Luke is traditionally identified with the 'we source' of act^,'^ appearing first in 16.10, and returning also in the journey narrative in 27.1-28.16. Interestingly there is some ambiguity about the identification of this 'we' in each of D, Ephrem, and the AP. D makes the 'we source' appear as early as in 11.28, inserting a lengthy clause: 'and there was great joy, and when we gathered ... ' (fjv 62 7cohhr) &yaAAiaoy' o v v ~ o r p a p p E v o v66 qpQv ...). This suggests that the voice of 'we' was affiliated with the Antiochene church, but its absence in 13.1-3, 14.26-8, and 15.30-5 seems to contradict this. Commenting on Acts 12.25, Ephrem clearly identifies Luke with Lucius of Cyrene (13.1), talking about 'Lucas Cyrenaicus' accompanying Barnabas, Saul and John Mark from Jerusalem to Antioch. Another 'we' passage has been considered less problematic. Hitherto, the text of Acts 20.13 seemed unchallenged: 'but after going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos'. It is the more surprising what we read in Ephrem: 'I, Luke, and those with me, having entered a ship, bore up to Assos'. Perhaps the commentator wanted to stress that this time 'we' does not mean 'Paul and 1', because Paul was waiting is Assos.I6 The catena, however, reads 'Luke and those with me', separating Luke from the voice of 'we'. Altogether I assume that in these readings 'Luke' is handled as an actual hero of Acts, rather than an eyewitness in the background. This suggestion is supported by one more passage in the catena which is attributed to Ephrem. Commenting on Paul's activity in Rome, it says 'Luke in turn recorded also about the work and labour of his hands.' Who is 'we', who is '1', and who is 'Luke'? It seems that in the tradition the identification of the voice of 'we' with Luke stimulated a growing interest for his person and what he actually
15 I.H. Marshall, The Acts of the Apostles (Sheffield, 1992) 38. 16 See Conybeare, 'The commentary ', 443 n. 1.
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did as an agent in Acts. This is expressed by the mentions of his name in Ephrem as well as in the Martyrdom. Luke even speaks in the first person singular, and is eventually separated from the voice of 'we'. Interestingly, his name is cited at Paul's arrival in Rome in both sources, and his appearance is connected with Paul's hiring a house and teaching there. MP: 'When Paul saw them he was glad, so that he hired a barn outside Rome, where with the brethren he taught the word of truth' (1). Ephrem: 'Luke in turn recorded also about the works and labor of his hands, which he gave as the hire of his house for a two year's space; and how he ceased not to converse about Christ with Jews and gentiles, who came out from and went in to him.' The question of theological tendency After examining some textual parallels between the AP, Ephrem's commentary, and D, we will discuss whether our sources also exhibit theological similarities. Although there have been attempts to associate the AP with theological tendencies like Spirit-christology, encratism, 'esoteric symbolism', Montanism, and gnosticism,I7 we have to consider also the warnings against such categorization. For example, encratic tendencies were 'widespread in the Early Church', and generally speaking the 'boundaries between 'orthodoxy' and 'heresy' were still flexible .'* Further, 'the AP is not a theological treatise, but a religious tract', which was 'intended in the first instance for the edifying and entertainment of the comrn~nity'.'~ Interestingly enough, opinions concerning Codex Bezae seem to develop in a very similar direction. After considering theological tendencies like Montanism, universalism, anti-feminism, or anti-Judaism, many scholars find that neither of them gives an 7
17 Cf. Schneemelcher, 'Paulusakten', 233f., and Wilson, 'Apokryphen', 345. 18 Wilson, 'Apokryphen ', 345. 19 Schneemelcher, 'Paulusakten ', 233.
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adequate explanation of the Bezaean readings.*' Barrett argues that 'the author of Acts undoubtedly manifests a number of tendencies', including those that are usually attributed to D. The tendency in D is 'to emphasize whatever is to be found in the underlying text'. D is fond of increasing interest, heightening tension, and making descriptions more vivid. There is a general tendency in D 'to explain and simplify, to emphasize and often to exaggerate, what is already to be found in other forms of the text'. Finally, Barrett finds that the Western text of Luke's Acts does 'in a relatively innocent and undeveloped way' the same as the early apocryphal Acts (AAA), which present us with 'brighter and better accounts of the apostle^'.^' Is it relevant after all to seek theological tendencies in the AP? Even if no single theological tendency is to be attributed to the AP, the author 'certainly binds up with it certain definite ecclesiastical and theological purposes'.22 I will briefly discuss three theological issues that seem characteristic of each of our texts. A. Paul the champion 'It has been a well recognized feature of the Western textual tradition that it tends to emphasize the wisdom, authority, and power of the apostolic figures.'23 We have already referred to Bezaean readings in Acts 15-6 which tend to describe Paul as the champion of faith. This section is especially rich in long arnplifications in both D and Ephrem. Already the first sentence is used to present Paul as God's righteous one. D remarks that the teachers from Judea were 'from the party of the pharisees', thus evoking their attacks against and condemnation of Jesus and later Stephen.
20 Cf. Barrett, 'Tendency '; E. Grasser, 'Acta-Forschung seit 1960', ThRundschau 41 (1976) 141-94, or J. Bolyki, 'A D szovegknek sdndeka (tendencihja)', in idem (ed), Az Apostofok Cselekedetei a D-kbdexben (Budapest, 1995) 159-70. 21 Barrett, 'Tendency ', 19ff. 22 Schneemelcher, 'Paulusakten ', 233. 23 Head, 'Acts', 436.
1
I
I
I
I
I
1
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In 15.2 D goes on defending Paul's position: 'For Paul argued that everyone should remain in what strongly (611o~uptt;6p~voq) one believed'. Ephrem is not content with this and adds that 'those from Judea saw that those belonging to Paul were in great grief, and they agreed neither to observe the law nor to reject itY. The catena in turn, quoting Chrysostom, claims 'Paul was a better expert in the law than they, but did not suffer this in himself .24 That Paul is the champion of faith in the AP needs no special verification. We have already discussed Barrett's thesis that D tends to intensify the similarities between Paul and Peter, which is also evident in the AP, and is supported by textual evidence in Ephrem. We have to notice however that Luke's Acts itself displays exaggerating tendencies in describing the activity of the apostles. The story of Ananias and Sapphira, Peter and John's healing with his shadow (ch. 4), or Paul's healing with handkerchiefs (19.12) would fit excellently into any of the AAA. Although this tendency can be regarded as an accommodation to Hellenistic culture,25 it is also to be noted that in the Jewish tradition similar miracles are told about the prophets (e.g. the Elisha-Elijah narratives). B. The working of the Spirit We have seen already that the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit is emphasized throughout the text of the AP and the Bezaean readings. Again, this is a feature well known from old in connection with Luke's Acts. If there is such tendency in our sources it means nothing else than applying this Lukan idea much o a list of western referenlike quoting a commonplace. P e ~ gives ces to the Spirit in Acts, and concludes that they 'like to link the Spirit to baptism, see it as a charisma of officials, and tone down any tendency towards charismatic display'.26 In the AP an interesting reference to the Spirit is made in
24 Cf. Conybeare, 'The commentary ', 421 n. 2. 25 So Schneemelcher, 'Zur Entstehung pseudoapostolischer Literatur ', in NeuTA 11, 8. 26 Pervo, 'Social and religious aspects', 233.
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Kasser's appendix, in which Paul relates that the Spirit fell upon him on the Damascus road. I have already discussed the possible connection of this with the conversion story in Ephrem's text. On the one hand this may mean that Paul was baptized already on the Damascus road. On the other hand it falls in line with the Pentecost experience of the disciples in Acts 2, and further verifies the apostleship of Paul. The reference to the Spirit does not contradict the Lukan usage, but relying on it and utilizing it validates the position of Pad2' C. The role of women The role of women both in D and the AP has been widely discussed in previous scholarship. Without entering the ongoing discussion I would like to remark that the position of women, notwithstanding the previously handled issues, seems to be most different in D and the AP. While the latter displays an extreme interest in the role of women in the Pauline ministry and in the life of Paul himself, embracing also the probably independent Theclatradition, the former seems to eliminate the role of women in Luke's Acts. Pervo argues that D and others 'wished to obliterate the notion that Jesus had women disciples and remove them from the chain of '~itnesses".~'For example, in Acts 17.4 instead of 'among the leading women' ( y u v a t ~ f i vzs zQv npbzov), D reads s ~ xp6zov). 'women of the leading citizens' ( y u v a i ~ zQv If Pewo is right, then 'this posture is the mirror image of that found in the AAA, where leading women are featured convert^':^ and displays a basic difference between the two contemporary documents.
Conclusion After examining a number of textual and theological parallels in
27 See NeuTA 11, 268-70. 28 Ibidem, 235. 29 Ibidem, 238.
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the four sources, I am left with the task of briefly characterizing the relation of these sources to each other, especially the relation between the AP and the other three texts. The most interesting aspect of the Bezaean Acts and the AP is that they are contemporaries. Although there is much controversy about the origin of D, we can assume that both texts date back to the second century, the Bezaean version being somewhat older than the AP." The relatively small number of places where we found signs of textual interdependence between Bezaean readings and the AP is due to three factors: (1) Being contemporaries, it is likely that the author (reviser) of neither one knew the other text. (2) the AP was not written as a correction or substitute to Luke's Acts, but rather as a supplement to it:' while the primary goal of D was to correct the canonical Acts, although it also added some supplementary material to it. (3) As a consequence of the supplementary character of the AP, the scenes of Luke's Acts play relatively little role in it, and in the few places where they do (conversion story, journey to Rome) D has lacunae. I will have to come back to the latter phenomenon. Still in a couple of instances we have been able to find similar pieces of tradition worked into similar episodes of the two writings: (1) lively public reaction when the prisonltemple of Apollo collapses at Paul's prayer; (2) the mention of the 'forgiveness of sins' in Paul's mission in Ephesus; (3) some kind of guilty conscience of the people in Ephesus. In addition we also found peculiar tendencies in common: (1) the emphasis on the similarity between Paul and Peter; (2) special interest in the identity of the voice of 'we', i.e., the person and role of Luke; (3) attention paid to the role of the Spirit; (4) tackling the problem of the role of
30 Opinions about the exact dates of origin of both texts differ widely. Grasser, 'Acta-Forschung ', 179, proposes AD 140-160 for D, Schneemelcher, 'Paulusakten', 235, AD 185-195 for AP; see also Bremmer, this volume, 57. 31 Schneemelcher & Schaferdiek, NeuTA 11, 11 1; see now also R. Bauckham, 'The Acts of Paul as a Sequel to Acts', in Winter and Clarke. Book of Acts, 105-52, esp. 1 11.
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women in the Church. On the latter issue the two texts seem to be sharply divided. I find it interesting that it is precisely the beginning and final chapters of Paul's missionary biography which are missing from D. Is it possible that these chapters contained more of the tradition worked into the AP at about the same time when the D revision of Acts was made? If so, is it not imaginable that these chapters were removed from the manuscript for the very reason that they contained such apocryphal supplements? The extant textual evidence certainly does not allow a final decision on this issue. Another circle of problems concerns the relation of Ephrem's commentary to the AP. The textual parallels we have found here include: (1) references to preaching the gospel as the content of Paul's 'catechism' on the Damascus road; (2) Paul's 'great joy' when he was led to Damascus; (3) reference to Sodom (and Gomorrah) as an analogy to Paul's mission; (4) appearance of the goldsmith(s) opposing Paul in Ephesus; (5) interpretation of Paul's death as the part of God's plan of salvation in the farewell-scene; ( 6 ) quoting the example of Peter in the farewell episode; (7) mention of Luke at Paul's arrival at Rome. Other parallel interests include Paul's heroic persistence, and the person of Luke. Ephrem, writing at the end of the fourth century, is in the position to select material frorn multiple written sources. Evidently he relies on Bezaean readings as well as apocryphal traditions. He makes however a clear distinction between the two kinds of sources. While readings of D are abundant in the commentary, the apocryphal material occurs more sporadically, and is 'demythologized'. For example, 'Sodom and Gomorrah' is quoted as a parallel, and not as the actual content of Paul's preaching. The same thing happens to Peter in the farewell speech: instead of Paul preaching about him, he is evoked by Ephrem as an example. On the other hand Ephrem seems to have known the apocryphal tradition very well. Expressions like 'Paul's joy' or 'the goldsmith' in his commentary look like internalized readings frorn the apocryphal text. Altogether Ephrem displays substantial knowledge of non-canonical traditions, out of which readings of D prevail against the AP.
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A special problem regards Paul's conversion story, where neither D or the A P is extant. Excluding the possibility that Ephrem used a totally different source, his version of this intriguing dialogue probably reflects the lost content of both texts. I prefer D as the immediate source of the episode in Ephrem for three reasons. (1) Ephrem does not use excessive passages of the AP. He rather picks up single words or ideas from the apocryphal tradition, and inserts them into his own conduct of thought. (2) Although the surviving parts of D never supply additions as long as the dialogue between Jesus and Paul in Ephrem, the material in the Bezaean Acts may have been divided among the three accounts in chs. 9, 22 and 26. (3) The first and the last accounts are missing from D, and the second has a lacuna just in the middle of the conversion story. If these lacunae originally contained the dialogue in question, then my hypothesis about the parts of D displaying excessively apocryphal character having been intentionally removed from the codex applies excellently. The missing verses in Acts 22.10-20 are especially interesting, since Paul had two visions in this version of the story. However, papyrological investigations may provide more certainty in this issue.
VIII. The resurrection in the Acts of Paul PIETER J. LALLEMAN
Professor W.C. van Unnik died in 1978, a few months before I started my studies of Theology in Utrecht University. It is he who called the resurrection 'almost an articulus stantis aut cadentis ecclesiae in the second century.' He also said that the doctrine of the resurrection had been part and parcel of the teaching of the Church from the very beginning and that this doctrine is expressly stated or presupposed in all the books of the NT. In the third century the dispute died down, but in the second century the resurrection was the main topic of polemics within and without the church.' It is indicative of the diversity of opinion in the study of the New Testament that Van Unnik's view is not undisputed. For example, James Robinson thinks that at least two views on the resurrection existed side by side from the very beginning of Christianity. In his view, there were already some in the first century who denied a future resurrection, as attested in 1 Cor 15.12 and 2 Tim 2.18. Robinson gives us an interesting picture of the branch of Christianity that denied a future resurrection, but his efforts to find this trajectory in and behind the NT are hardly convincing; his best witnesses are second-century texts which supposedly preserve older traditions. It is not until the second century that the debate over the resurrection comes to the fore, and it is the second century with which we deal in this paper. From this
1 W.C. van Unnik, Sparsa Collecta 111 (Leiden, 1983) 244-72 ('The newly discovered Gnostic Epistle to Rheginos on the resurrection', J. Eccl. Hist. 15, 1964, 141-67), esp. 246, 258.
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period stem Robinson's favourite witnesses, such as the Epistle to Rheginos (EpRh) and the Gospel of Philip.2 In this contribution we will sometimes compare the points of view of EpRh with those of the Acts of Paul (AP). The EpRh is a Valentinian text, careful not to deny ecclesiastical standpoints but to interpret them in a way that is acceptable for G n o ~ t i c s . ~
The Acts of Paul The AP reflects the vividness of the debate concerning the resurrection in the second century. It is best seen as a composite text, of which the resurrection is a theme in the most important parts, the Acts of Paul and Thecla (AThe 3), the Corinthian correspondence (8) and the Martyrium Pauli (MP 1 In the MP it occurs twice: initially, Paul heals Nero's servant Patroklos; later he himself appears after death.5 There are also stories about miraculous resurrections in the papyrus fragments, but they are too fragmentary to be useful here.6 Had the author of the AP lived in our
2 M.J. Edwards, 'The Epistle to Rheginus: Valentinianism in fourth century', NT 37 (1995) 76-91, suggests the fourth century, but see J.N. Bremmer, 'The Resurrection between Zarathustra and Jonathan Z. Smith', Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift SO (1996) 89-107, esp. 102. 3 J.M. Robinson, 'Jesus from Easter to Valentinus (or to the Apostles' Creed)', J. Bibl. Lit. 101 (1983) 5-37. 4 See L. van Kampen, Apostelverhalen (Diss. Utrecht, 1990) 90-3. The original unity of the text is upheld by R.J. Bauckham, 'The Acts of Paul as a Sequel to Acts' in B.W. Winter & A.D. Clarke (eds), The Book of Acts in Its Ancient Literary Setting (Grand Rapids and Carlisle, 1993), 113 n. 20, 131-9. W. Rordorf (who prepares the CCSA edition of the text) and P.W. Dunn (in his forthcoming dissertation The Acts of Paul and the Pauline Legaq in the Second Century) think that only 3 Cor predates the composition of AP. 5 See also Bolyki, this volume, Ch. 6. 6 In the preaching of Paul in Italy (10) reference is made to the fact that Jesus raised up the dead, but this is marginal. Miracle stories: the very fragmentary episode in Antioch (2), the (lacunose) episode in Myra
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time, he would have sided with Van Unnik against Robinson. The A P is a typical example of the novelistic genre of the AAA, even in the way in which it deals with the resurrection, so that it can scarcely be compared with treatises which work with many arguments and counter-arguments like Justin's De resurrectione, Tertullian's De camis resurrectione, and others. The (fictional) Corinthian correspondence is qua form unique within the AAA, being the only explicit treatment of a doctrinal problem.' Its form is less ingenious than that of EpRh, which does not need a separate letter from Rheginos in order to let his questions resound in the answers. The resurrection of Christ We will first look at the resurrection of Christ. In the first paragraph of the AThe we are told that Paul preached 'all the words of the Lord, of the doctrine and of the interpretation of the Gospel,' both of the birth and of the resurrection of the B e l ~ v e d . ' ~The summary of Paul's preaching includes sayings (logia) of the Lord as well as narratives about the major events of his life, which for our author are his birth and resurrection. The Corinthian correspondence in its initial summary of Paul's reply states that the Lord Jesus saves 'all flesh through his own flesh' and that he will 'raise us bodily from the death after his own example' (typos, 111.6). These words imply that the Lord arose bodily and that this resurrection is influential for the believers, no doubt because of his special role as the divine where Paul cures Hermocrates and raises his son Dion (4), and the episode at Philippi where Pauls raises Frontina (8). 7 Van Karnpen, Apostelverhalen, 93. 8 The text here is uncertain in that both the clauses 'of the doctrine' and 'of the interpretation of the Gospel' are absent in manuscripts, but this is immaterial for our present question. 9 Irenaeus uses the word 'beloved' in the creed-like passage Ah. Haer. 1.10.1: 'the incarnate assumption into the heavens of the beloved (fiyaxqptvou) Christ Jesus'.
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example (111.16-1 7). The line of argument is clearly anti-docetic. The use of the word 'example' is interesting in that it suggests the same corporeality for the Lord and for man, both now and in the world to come. The mentioning of the Lord's body and resurrection is not complemented by attention to his suffering and death. As in the other parts of the AP, this aspect of the message of the New Testament is more in the background. lo It is remarkable that it is absent in EpRh. The resurrection of Christ is mentioned explicitly in 111.25 as the first proof of the resurrection of all, and again in the conclusion of the chain of arguments for the resurrection (III.31). In the first case a form of the verb anistemi is used, in the second a form of egeiro. We note that just the bare fact of the resurrection of Christ is mentioned, without any additions from gospels or legends. Even the terms 'after three days' and 'on the third day' are absent, though the first occurs in connection with Jonah (111.30). 111.15-18 lays great stress on the reality of the body of the incarnate Lord. The resurrection of Christ is absent from the miracle stories and also from the MP, though it is part of the background of those texts. The resurrection of the believers
Now we turn to the resurrection of the believers, a theme which receives far more stress in the AThe than Christ's resurrection. Paul's message, given in the form of beatitudes, is summarized as 'the word of God concerning continence and the resurrection' (5)" We may say that the main theme of this novella is chastity,
10 It occurs in the episode of the sea voyage to Italy (10) in which the Lord says to Paul that he will be crucified again, in the preface to the Corinthian correspondence, and in the final lines of Paul's letter which mention the stigmata of Christ (111.35). 11 Cf. Peter preaching to women 'concerning chastity and all the words of the Lord', Apt 33 (4).
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but that it is closely linked with resurrection. When 'the pure in heart' are promised that 'they shall see God', this must refer to their future life after the resurrection. The final beatitude, blessed are the bodies of the virgins, for they shall be well pleasing to God, and shall not lose the reward of their purity. For the word of the Father shall be for them a work of salvation in the day of his Son, and they shall have rest for ever and ever (6), contains a similar promise for the life hereafter. And such is the case with all beatitudes. This implies that the eschatological resurrection functions as the gate to all these blessings to come. Paul's message, as the narrator has it voiced by his adversaries Demas and Hermogenes, is along similar lines:" There is resurrection in the sense of future salvation only for those who live chaste (l2).I3 The implication of these words is that sinners will be eternally dead; this implication is indeed voiced by Thecla (37) as well as by Paul himself when in Ephesus (7, PH p.1). Thecla also states that she will be clothed with salvation in the day of judgement (38); these words explain what the resurrection involves. It is probably not God but his Son, Christ, who clothes Thecla, although our author would have found this distinction irrelevant. The baptism of Thecla is not connected with her resurrection. l4 On hearing that Thecla has been saved from death, Queen Tryphaena who until then was not a believer, says: 'Now I believe that the dead are raised up! Now I believe that my child lives'
12 Van Kampen, Apostelverhalen, 298 n.120, hesitates if the words really mirror Paul's view, but his scepticism is unfounded, cf. C. Schmidt, Acta Pauli (Leipzig, 1905, repr. Hildesheim, 1965) 195; C.F.M. Deeleman, 'Acta Pauli et Theclae', Theologische Studien 26 (1908) 273301, esp. 283. 13 I will not discuss the question what chastity implies. P.W. Dunn in a paper given at Dole 1994 defends the thesis that the AP are not encratic. 14 Thecla's mention of Jesus as the basis (hypostasis) of eternal life (37) merits more attention than is possible now.
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(39). The child is her daughter Falconilla who has been mentioned frequently (27-31), the beloved only child of the widowed Queen. Tryphaena had asked Thecla to intervene for her daughter with the Lord that she might live eternally (29). The Queen believes that her daughter who died as a heathen has been saved unto eternal life by the intercessory prayer of Thecla. That Thecla has been given back to her from the certain death in the arena assures her of the fact that Falconilla has been restored to life in a similar way. l5 We see that in the AThe chastity is linked with resurrection in that the first is a prerequisite for the second. In the EpRh 49 the situation is different: we find chastity both as a consequence of the and as a command, in a paraenesis already growing res~rrection'~ full of tension between the already and the not yet. The miracle stories as far as we have them do not contain general statements about believers, nor even about the exact condition of those whom Paul brings to life, but the Corinthian correspondence makes up for this. The Corinthians in their letter tell Paul that the new teachers say that there is no resurrection of the flesh (1.1 I), which in the context marks this idea as a heresy. The author wants us to believe in that very resurrection (III.31-32), which on the conceptual level is closely linked with the creation and the redemption of men as beings of flesh and blood. It is remarkable that it is Christ, not the Father, who will raise the believers (111.6, 16-18). In the letter from Paul we find four arguments for the resurrection: the example of Christ who rose from the dead, the analogy of seed which goes into the earth naked and comes up clothed, the precedent of Jonah, and the precedent of an episode from the life
15 In a private letter P.W.Dunn states that she 'is translated to the resting place of the living who await the resurrection of the bodylflesh (cf. Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham, Luke 16.23)'. See also Bremrner, this volume, 54. 16 B. Layton, The Gnostic Scriptures (Garden City NY, 1987) 317 aptly uses the word 'process' about the resurrection in EpRh and speaks of its 'beginning'.
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of Elisha (III.25-30, 32-33). But, despite all this, Third Corinthians is cautious about the salvation of the readers: it is a reward for those who behave well (III.36). This caution cannot be separated from the absense of the idea of justification in our text. In contrast to the AThe, here the desired behaviour is not formulated in terms of asceticism. The Paul of the A P is not the Paul of the epistles to the Romans and Galatians who is so popular with Protestant theologians. It is very interesting that Paul himself serves as an illustration of the teaching of the A P in their final episode. Paul's appearance after his execution is explicitly presented as a proof of the resurrection of the dead in general. Before his death Paul announces to Nero that he will return: 'I will arise and appear to thee (in proof) that I am not dead, but alive to my Lord Christ Jesus' (1 1.4). We can compare this to the reference in the EpRh (48.7-9) to the appearance of Moses and Elijah on the mount of transfiguration, which also serves as a kind of proof. Paul also pronounces another beatitude: 'And blessed is that man who shall believe in him, and live for ever, when he comes to burn the world till it is pure.' ,To Parthenius and Pheretas, the persons sent by Nero to hasten his execution, Paul repeats his conviction that not only he but all believers will be raised from the dead (11.5). The two Romans willingly reply that they will believe in Paul's God if Paul indeed dies and rises. It is a flaw on the narrative level that we hear no more from these imperial messengers, Parthenius and Pheretas. Has part of the text of the M P been lost? As for Paul, he indeed appears to the emperor after his death saying: 'I am not dead, but alive in my God' (11.6). To modem readers the narrator has in the meantime weakened the persuasive power of this appearance by the insertion of a miracle which distinguishes Paul and his death from the normal: when he is beheaded it is milk rather than blood that splashes out of him (1 1.5).17 Contrary to the AThe, in the MP it is faith that is the prerequisite for the resurrection, not chastity. It appears that in most other parts 17 Bolyki, this volume, 103f.
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of the AP the believers' good works are a necessary addition to faith in gaining the resurrection." Among these works, chastity is the most important. The resurrection of the believers cannot be separated from that of Christ. We already saw this point in the Corinthian letters and more specifically in the word 'example' (typos, 111.6). When does the resurrection take place? If we ask when exactly the dead believers are raised, a question suggested by the rejection of the idea that the resurrection has already taken place, we are faced with the same ambiguity that can be found in the NT. On the one hand, two persons who die start their blessed life at once. The simplest case is that of Paul himself, who appears to Nero and others shortly after his violent death. The other person is Falconilla in the AThe, who has died as an unbeliever; but as soon as Thecla's prayer for her has been answered she is said to be alive (39). The intercession of the living believer - in this case the woman Thecla - is so effective that it procures the transposition of Falconilla from the abode of the dead to the sphere of the living. On the other hand, in all parts of the AP the resurrection is connected with the return of Christ and the final judgement (e.g. 11.4), an idea that is absent from the EpRh and rejected in the Gospel of Philip 73.1-5. The example of the seed that resides in the earth also suggests a future resurrection.I9 The beatitudes in the AThe reserve the promised blessings for the eschatological resurrection. To the Corinthians, 'Paul' writes that they shall rise up on that day (111.32). The addition in some manuscripts of a verse which contains the words 'at the sound of the trumpet'
18 L. Vouaux, Les Actes de Paul et ses lettres apocryphes (Paris, 1913) 77. For the MP see Van Karnpen, Apostelverhalen, 88-9. 19 That the image is Jewish is shown by G. Rolffs in E. Hennecke (ed), Handbuch zu den Neutestamentlichen Apokryphen (Tiibingen, 1904) 393.
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(III.33) serves to highlight our interpretation. The question of the moment of resurrection is one on which the author of the A P evidently has not reflected; we therefore refrain from harmonizing his thoughts. The adversaries So far for the positive teaching. We will now look at the other side, where we find three groups of adversaries that should be dealt with, one group in each of the major parts of our text. In the AThe, the adversaries are Demas and Hermogenes. We will first look at their behaviour and then at their teaching. As we already saw, the narrator first uses them to voice Paul's message (12). These men, who arrived in the city in Paul's company (I), later openly distance themselves from Christianity and become advisors to Tharnyris, Thecla's disappointed fiancd, who asks them what Paul has taught (13). They do not give an answer: 'But Demas and Hermogenes said: "Bring him before the governor Castellius, on the ground that he is seducing the crowds to the new doctrine of the Christians"' (14). When Paul is indeed brought before the governor, Tharnyris wants to hear him explain what he teaches. But Demas and Hermogenes have a short cut: 'Say that he is a Christian, and so thou wilt destroy him' (16). After this episode they are no longer heard of in the narrative. By creating the image of the two adversaries as people who arrived with Paul but are essentially outsiders, the author places not only them but also their teachings outside the church, although in reality they were current within it. He thus performs a kind of excommunication in narrative form, which indicates that his book is meant for an orthodox Christian public.20 At first sight, the teaching of these heretics is in two parts: the resurrection 'has already taken place in the children whom we
20 See on this episode also Bremrner, this volume, 47.
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have',2' and 'we are risen again in that we have come to know the true God' (14). The authenticity of the second of these statements is disputed for several reasons: it is absent from the Syriac and Latin traditions; it is an alternative and rather superfluous explanation, and it is a commonplace of Gnostic thinking.22 When we look at the first part, that the resurrection has already taken place in the children, we immediately see that it resembles the false teaching combated in 2 Tim 2.18, but with the addition of the words 'in the children we have'. The combination of the resurrection with having children is so peculiar that we seriously question the accuracy of this picture of the adversaries. It is not Gnostic, for Gnostics believed that their resurrection was a result of their gaining knowledge of God, of the world and especially of themselves. This gnosis was acquired during their lifetime, and it is never related to having children or to the fate of their ~hildren.~'Thus Irenaeus tells about the early Gnostic Menander: 'His disciples are able to receive resurrection through baptism into him; they can no longer die but remain ageless and immortal.'24 The description of the false teachers in 1 Tim 4.1-3 shows that
21 J.K. Elliott, The Apocryphal New Testament (Oxford, 1993) 367
leaves out the last three words. 22 Van Unnik, 'Epistle to Rheginos', 263, who depends on Zahn, cf. Bauckham, 'The Acts of Paul', 128 with n.63. P.W. Dunn informs me that Rordorf's forthcoming edition in CCSA retains the phrase. 23 See for the opposition of the Gnostics to matrimony P. Nagel, Die Motivierung der ~ s k e s e in der alten Kirche und der Ursprung des Monchtums (Berlin, 1966); N. Brox, Die Pastoralbriefe (Regensburg, 1969) 36-8, 248; G. Stroumsa, Savoir et salut (Paris, 1992) 145-62. The ascetic attitude of gnosticism is underlined by K. Koschorke, Die Polemik der Gnostiker gegen das kirchliche Christentum (Leiden, 1978) 123-9
I.
24 Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. 1.23.5: Resurrectionem enim per id quod est in eum [sc. Menandrum] baptisma accipere eius discipulos et ultra non posse mori, sed perseverare non senescentar et immortales, tr. R.M. Grant, Gnosticism (New York, 1961) 30, who comments: 'His interpre-
tation of baptism looks like a distortion of the Pauline teaching about dying and rising with Christ.'
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they too forbade marriage. But neither could the combination of resurrection and children be derived from the teaching of Jesus. Had not the Lord himself said that in the heavenly condition men would not many but be as angels in heaven (Matt 22.30)? Our author's addition of children seems to create an absurd picture. Is it a caricature?25 Misunderstanding Could the link of resurrection and children be the result of a misunderstanding, instead of a caricature? This question merits a digression. It has been suggested that this view is Jewish, more specifically Sadducean, with reference to Sir 11.28 (LXX) and 30.1ff.26 But the Hebrew text of Sir knows no resurrection, and the LXX version only says that the memory of a father is preserved by what his son, his image, does. Indeed, Sir 11.28a explicitly says 'Call no one happy before his deathY, which excludes any idea of a present certainty of the future. We are all familiar with the fact that the Sadducees denied the re~urrection.~' Yet Van Unnik refers to the fact that in his Refirtatio, Hippolytus introduces the word 'resurrection' when Having said that the Essenes beliedealing with the Sadd~cees.~' ve the doctrine of the resurrection, and that the Pharisees do the same (IX.28.5), he notes that the Sadducees deny it. He continues
25 Bauckham, 'Sequel',
128, suggests that it is occasioned by the reference to Demas' love of the world in 2 Tim 4.10. 26 W. Lock, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles (Edinburgh, 1924) ad 2 Tim 2:18. 27 Recently A.J. Saldarini, Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees in Palestinian Society (Edinburgh, 1989) 304-7; E. Puech, La croyance des Esskniens en la vie future: immortalite', rksurrection, vie kternelle?, 2 vols (Paris, 1993) 753. 28 Van Unnik, 'Epistle to Rheginos', 263 n.82. C . Burchard, 'Die Essenen bei Hippolyt', J. St. Judaism 8 (1977) 1-41 shows that Hippolytus draws on Josephus. Against Puech's criticism of this position (La croyance, 714-26, 753-60) see now Bremrner, 'The Resurrection', 91-6.
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that they hold 'that it is on account of this existence here that man has been created. However, that the notion of the resurrection has been fully realized by the circumstance, that we close our days after having left children upon earth.'29 A little later Hippolytus himself repeats this in the words, '... saying that one ought so to live, that he may conduct himself virtuously, and leave children behind him on earth.'30 In this repetition the word 'resurrection' is absent; its introduction in the first quoted sentence is peculiar. The attentive reader will have noticed that it results in a connection between resurrection and children! Hippolytus ascribes to the Sadducees views that resemble those of Ben Sira, viz. that men live on in their children. But the use of the word 'resurrection' stems from Hippolytus or his source. Hippolytus is later than the AThe which has the same combination. It is unlikely that he uses the AP here because the AP do not mention Jews. There must be a common source behind Hippolytus and the AP which contained information about Jewish idea^.^' We conclude that the AThe depict the adversaries as Jews.32
29 Ref: IX.27.1: 6 & v a o r & o a o ~h6yo~.I quote from the most recent edition: Hippolytus, Refitatio omnium haeresium, ed. M. Marcovich (Berlin and New York, 1986); IX.29.1: &vbrorao~v66 06 p6vov &pvoSvrat a a p ~ 6 ~&hh& , at yuxTjv pq 61apEvstv vopfrqxhqpofioeat r6v r q d~t v a o r d o a o ~h6yov, Bv r@ ~arahatI+favra<5> Bni yilq [rdl] ~EIcvarsh~urdiv(the crucial part of the sentence). 30 Ref: IX.29.4, quoted from Hippolytus, The Refutation of All Heresies, tr. J.H. MacMahon (Edinburgh, 1887) 361. 31 Studies into the method and sources of Hippolytus such as C. Scholten, RAC 15 (1990) 492-551 and J. Mansfeld, Heresiography in Context: Hippolytus"Elenchos'
as a Source for Greek Philosophy
(Leiden, 1992) are silent on this point. 32 Puech suggests that Hippolytus' source was Jewish, first century and from Rome, see above n. 27. This question may be reopened in the light of its use by the AThe. Taking 'children' to mean disciples, P.W. Dunn paraphrases thus: 'They consider the resurrection to happen to their disciples through gnosis (cf. Menander).' The same interpretation is reflected in A. Hilhorst's Dutch translation 'to our children', in A.F.J. Klijn (ed),
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Having looked at the origin of the phrase 'in the children whom we have', we now digress on its reception. In his commentary on 2 Tim in the ICC series, W. Lock states that the idea that men live on in their posteriority is attested in AThe and in several patristic commentaries on the epistle, viz. Ambrosiaster, Pelagius, Theodore of Mopsuestia, and Theodoretus, all between 370 and 450.33 With the exception of Theodore these commentaries are brief. Theodoretus of Cyrus just says that the heretics called children 'res~rrection'.~~ Pelagius is ambivalent: first he notes 'in the children' and then he refers to the prophecies of Ezechiel about the resurrected bones.35 Theodore of Mopsuestia states that the false teachers said that the resurrection consisted in our children.36 Very interesting is what Ambrosiaster, an independent commentator with a good name,37 says: 'Another passage of Scripture teaches that they said that the resurrection happens in the children.')' As there is no other passage in the canonical books which teaches thus, nor a variant reading in 2 Tim itself, it appears that Ambrosiaster here refers to the AThe as Scripture! It is likely that the other three commentators are, directly or not, dependent on
Apokiefen van het Nieuwe Testament I (Kampen, 1984) 162. 33 Lock, Pastoral Epistles, 100, cf. xlii. 34 Theodoretus Cyrus, PG 82, ad 2 Tim 2.18: r h k~ ~ xatGonotCa5 6ta6o~dl<&vdrcmaotv oi Guobvupot npoqyd p&uov ('successiones quae per liberorum Punt procreationem, resurrectionem infelices appellarunt'). 35 Pelagius, ed. A. Souter, Texts and Studies 9.2 (Cambridge, 1926) ad 2 Tim 2.1 8: In filiis. Sive: Ossa vivzficata in [Hliezecihel Istarhelis interpretantur de captivitate collectum quasi a mortuis surrexisse. 36 Theodori episcopi Mopsuesteni in epistolas b[eati] Pauli commentarii, ed. H.B.Swete, 2 vols (Cambridge, 1880-2, repr. Farnborough 1969) ad 2 Tim 2.18: aliam quandam resurrectionem somniantur, quam et in successionem aiunt nostrum constare. 37 A. Souter, A Study ofAmbrosiaster (Cambridge, 1905) 1, 6-8. 38 Arnbrosiaster, PL 17, ad 2 T i 2.18: hi autem, sicut ex alia Scriptura docemur, in filiis fieri resurrectionem dicebant. Cf. Vouaux, Actes de Paul, 4 1.
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him.39 This implies that Ambrosiaster treated the words from the AP as Scripture and thus put them on one line with the words from 2 Tim."' He also found no problem in the fact that 2 Tim mentions Hymenaeus and Philetus as adversaries, whereas in the AP the names are Demas and Hennogenes. Patristic commentaries thus painted a mistaken picture of Gnosticism based on a dubious testimony. We may add that Ambrosiaster, writing about 370, is by no means the only Father to have a high regard for the AP. Earlier in the fourth century, they were included in a list of the scriptures which is preserved in the sixth century Codex Claromontanus. At the end of the list we find Barnabas, Revelation, Acts of Apostles, Hennas, the AP and the Apocalypse of Peter.4' In the first half of the third century Origen in the East and Hippolytus in the West treat the AP as nearly equal to the scripture^.^^ Eusebius (Historia Ecclesiastics 3.25.4) mentions them first in his list of valuable writings that just failed to enter the canon (v68a),followed by Hennas' Shepherd, the Apocalypse of Peter, Barnabas and the Didache. A catechetical book written in Gaul early in the fifth century implicitly treats the AP as ~ c r i p t u r e On . ~ ~the other hand, Jerome was very critical of our text.44 Adversaries in other parts We return to the views of the adversaries in the AP and come to the Corinthian correspondence, in which the false teachers are
39 Swete in his edition merely says that Ambrosiaster is earlier (Ixxviii). 40 Schmidt, Acta Pauli, 157-8; Vouaux, Actes de Paul; both also refer to Ambrosiaster's commentary on 2 Tim 1.15 and 4.14. 41 Schmidt, Acta Pauli, 110. 42 See for details Schmidt, Acta Pauli, 108-12; Vouaux, Actes de Paul, 24-9. 43 The Caena Cypriani, see Schmidt, Acta Pauli, 159-60. 44 De vir. ill. 7: Igitur xept66ooq Pauli et Theclae et totam baptizati
leonis fabulam inter apocryphas scripfuras computamus.
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called Simon and Cleobius. Among their ideas the editorial introduction mentions in the first place: 'There is no resurrection of the flesh but only of the spirit.' In the actual letter from Corinth the heretical idea 'there is no resurrection of the flesh (a&pc)' is the third to be mentioned (I.12). In Paul's letter it comes last (111.2433). From the other ideas of the adversaries it is clear that they are Christians with Gnostic ideas.45 The author counters not by discussing the background of their ideas but by juxtaposing his arguments. Because the heretics are still part of the church, it is necessary to demand their isolation (III.21). In the wording the frequent repetition of the words 'flesh' and 'body' is remarkable, especially as they are absent from the other parts of the text; the polemic is sharper here than in the AThe and the MP. The EpRh does not deny a corporeal aspect to the resurrection, but seems to deny identity between the present fleshly body and the future spiritual body.46 In 3 Cor on the other hand we find no indi'cation that the author differentiates between the earthly body and the resurrected body. The phrase that the believer will rise up 'with your flesh whole' (III.32)47 seems to imply a restitution of the body. This stress on continuity at the expense of change is a result of the anti-docetic stress on the reality of the body of Christ even after his resurrection. The letter reacts sharply against the dualistic reasoning of the Gnostics. The issues raised in the Corinthian correspondence were real in the church, but the answers 'Paul' gives will have appealed more to church members than to those combatted. In the M P we do better not to speak of adversaries of the belief in the resurrection, but of a willing audience. Paul's appearance after his death - apparently unchanged - so impresses Nero that he commands the release of the Christians who are still in prison (1 1.6). The two officers who had held long talks with Paul during
45 See esp. 111.15: the evil one (= the Demiurg) needs to be convinced that he is not God. 46 EpRh 45.39 - 46.2, 47.4-8; see M.L. Peel, Gnosis und Auferstehung (Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1974) 154-7. 47 Latin: integram / sanam carnem habentes.
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his imprisonment are converted and receive baptism as a result of the appearance of Paul, so that Paul's resurrection has led to the conviction of two persons and even to improvement in Nero's behaviour. 48
Summary and conclusion The question of the resurrection is explicitly dealt with twice in the AP. It also plays a role in the MP and in miracle stories. All this indicates its importance for our author and for the sources he used. The A P battles at three fronts: unbelieving outsiders, Jews, and Gnostic heretics in the church. They represent the adversaries as disputing the resurrection of believers or resurrection in general, not the resurrection of Christ. The AP tries to be fair to the New Testament books, but its popular theology sometimes remarkably resembles that of the moderate gnostic behind the EpRh. These facts suggest that our author did not understand the Gnostics very well, which in turn may be the reason why we do not find his contribution very impressive. The writings of the Apologists show that the objections to the resurrection of the body were often voiced as logical arguments. Of the consequent discussions we find no traces in the AP, possibly because our text was addressed to another, wider group of readers.49
48 See also Bolyki, this volume, 102. 49 I wish to thank dr. A. Hilhorst (Groningen) and Mr. Peter W. Dunn
(Canada) for their critical comments on an earlier version of this paper.
IX. New Testament parallels to the apocryphal Acta Pauli documents P A L HERCZEG
As the title demonstrates, I hesitate to speak of quotations from the New Testament in these documents. The different recensions of the text do not give us a coherent and consistent picture which would enable us to view any of the documents as independent or as a complete unit. For example, Carl Schmidt's bilingual Greek and German edition of 1936 excludes the Acts of Paul and Thekla On ' the other hand, we (AThe) and the Martyrdom of Paul (AD'). can find as a separate document the letters of Paul to the Corinthians, on the basis of the Bodmer Papyrus published in a Greek and French edition by Michael Testuz in 1959.' In this chapter, I am concerned with the following documents: Paul in Antioch (PHeid 1-6), AThe, Paul in Myra (PHeid 28-35), Paul in Sidon (PHeid 35-9), Paul in Ephesus (PH 1-5), Paul in Philippi (PHeid, including the letter of the Corinthians to Paul and his response, 3 Cor), Paul in Corinth (PH 6-7; PHeid 44-3, 51-2), his journey from Corinth to Italy (PH 7-8), and M P. There is a problem in reconciling the relationship of the events documented concerning Paul's life in the AP with his known biography. His life story as told in Acts (though it can from time to time be corrected from his letters) is a continuous narration which stops at his imprisonment in Rome at chapter 28 - there is no further canonized continuation of his life story. His life story, however, according to the apocryphal documents does not match
1 Carl Schmidt, Acta Pauli (Gliickstadt and Hamburg, 1936). 2 M. Testuz, Papyrus Bodrner X-XI1 (Geneva, 1959) 9-45; Luttikhuizen, this volume, Ch. 5.
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the events known from the canonical texts at any point. There is perhaps one exception, namely 3 Cor, which is very similar to the texts of Rom and Gal. As the words differ, we cannot speak about direct literary relationships. Accordingly, the events described by A P must be dated after Paul's assumed liberation from Roman captivity. Remarkably, though the locations are similar to those in the canonical text, there are no historical, sociological, or cultural references to these locations unlike in the canonical Acts and the letters of Paul. The names of the cities and the societies represent merely a vague background behind the events. One can find only a few canonical names, too: Hermogenes (AThe 1, 2 Tim 1.15) and Demas (AThe 1, Col 4.14, 2 Tim 4.10 and Phlm 24), but Artemas at Titus 3.12 may not be the same as Artemon (Paul's journey from Corinth to Italy). M P 1 mentions Luke who travelled through Gallia (in the Latin text 'Gallilia') to Rome and Titus who came fiom Dalmatia to Rome (2 Tim 4.10) and met there with Paul. From this we can see that the apocryphal material is later than the canonical stories about Paul. Our initial hesitation is justified by the absence of references not only to geographical events and historical places, but also to the canonical text. Although various editions suggest parallels and even quotations, it is mostly a matter of a few words and short expressions which may not amount to quotations, especially given the lack of connection between these texts and the canonical texts or their contents. There is even an instance where the alleged quotation represents the exact opposite of the original. The assumed 55 parallels (according to one edition of the text) are distributed among the canonical texts as follows: Matt 8, Mark 6, Luke 2, Acts 16, 1 Cor 4, 2 Cor 2, Gal 2, 1 Tim 3, 2 Tim 5; only 1 in Rom, Phlm, Eph, 1 and 2 Thess, 2 Pet and Rev. It is remarkable that Luke and John are hardly quoted or alluded to; and from the letters of Paul only the pastoral material is referred to significantly. The single quotation from Rom is also remarkable. It is natural, however, that Acts is so well represented; like the pastoral material, Acts represents Hellenistic characteristics. At the same time, the two letters which have a Hellenistic theological basis, Eph and Gal, are hardly mentioned.
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From the content of AP one can draw the following conclusions. In drawing the personality of the apostle, every text uses the Hellenistic theios aner characteristics. In other words, the personality of Paul has only positive characteristics. All his acts are benevolent acts and there is no realistic portrayal of him based on historical events as in the canonical Acts. His enemies are evil people who can only relate to the apostle with anger and falsehood. They misinterpret his good deeds. Examples of this are the history of Kermippus and Dion, Paul in Myra, the fainting of Artemilla, Paul in Ephesus, and the death of Patroclus in MP. The climax of the theios aner characteristics comes when Paul is beheaded and milk is spilled over the bystanders (MP 5).3 I now turn to those quotations, parallels and allusions where some sort of relationship can be assumed between the New Testament and AP. 1. In the following examples, one can assume that the writer of AP knew (and used?) the New Testament books. A. doxa eis tous aionas ton aionon, amen - this Hellenistic Jewish doxology can be found in MP 7 and in 1 Tim 1.17. However, because this formula was in common use among Hellenized Jews, this might be the source of both texts. B. Paulos ho desmios Khristou Iesou - 'Paul, prisoner of Jesus Christ' - can be found in 3 Cor 1 as well as in Eph 3.1 and Phlm 1, cf. Eph 4.1, Phil 1.7, Col 4.18, 2 Tim 1.8, 2.9. C. ta stigmata en toi somati mou - 'his wounds in my body' occurs in 3 Cor 35 and in Gal 6.17. D. katakausei puri asbestoi - 'bum it with unquenchable fire' occurs in Paul in Ephesus (PH 1) and in Matt 3.12. These are the words of John the Baptist, obviously well known in the Christian church, but the literary relationship is questionable. E. en hoi dei sothenai - 'by which salvation should occur' occurs in Paul in Ephesus (PH 2) and Acts 4.12. But there is a considerable difference: in the first instance one will be saved by the sun and in the second by the name of Jesus.
3 See also Bolyki, this volume, 103f.
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F . poiesas ton ouranon kai ten gen - 'who created the heaven and the earth' - occurs in AThe 24 and Acts 4.24, cf. 14.15. This also occurs in the Old Testament at 2 Kgs 19.15, verbatim in the LXX, as well as other Old Testament passages. G . aitia tes epigrafes - 'document of accusation' - occurs in the AThe 28 and Mark 15.26 (with some differences). H. thlibomenois anesis - 'to the oppressed relief - occurs in AThe 37, and 2 Thess 1.7. 2. The following are parallel expressions which consist of so few words that one cannot use them as proof of a relationship. A. stratiotai Khristou - 'soldiers of Christ' - Travel to Italy (PH 8), M P 2, and 2 Tim 2.3. B. pletheis pneumatos hagiou - 'filled with the Holy Spirit' M P 3 and Acts 4.8, 9.17, 13.9. C. ten oikoumenen krinai - 'to judge the world' - MP 3 and Acts 17.31 (in different order). D. ou meta pollas hemeras tautas - 'not many days hence' MP 6 and Acts 1.5. These instances are in my view simple usages which occurred often in both the popular language and Scriptures. 3. The following quotations represent the exact opposites or significant variantions of the canonical texts. From this, one must assume that the writers did know these or that the phrases also occurred outside canonical texts. A. Paul in Ephesus (PH 1) ekheis exousian kat' emou ei me eis mou to soma, ten de psykhen me apokteneis - 'you have power over me but only over my body, you cannot kill my soul' - Matt 10.28 me fobeisthe apo ton apoktennonton to soma, ten de psykhen me dynamenon apokteinai - 'do not be afraid of those who kill the body because they cannot kill the soul.' B. Ibidem : metanoetai kai pisteuete hoti heis theos kai heis Khristos Iesous - 'repent and believe that there is one God and one Christ Jesus' - Mark 1.15 metanoeite kai pisteuete en toi euaggelioi - 'repent and believe in the gospel.' The first half of the sentence appears to be a common usage.
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C. Travel to Italy (PH 8) hoi en skoteia thanatou kathemenoi 'those who sit in the shadow of death' - Matt 4.16 kathemenois en ... skia thanatou - 'to those who sit in the shadow of death.' This is a verbatim quotation from Isa 9.2 LXX. The writer of AP probably remembered the words but changed the word skoteia. D. Ibidem: nekrous egeiron kai nosous therapeuon h i leprous katharidzon, tujlous therapeuon - 'raising the dead, healing the sick, cleaning the lepers, restoring the blind' - Matt 4.24 daimonidzomenous, seleniadzornenous h i paralutikous, kai etherrapeusen autous - '(they brought to him) people possessed by demons, lunatics and lames and he healed them.' Also Matt 11.5: tujloi anablepousin, kholol peripatousin, leproi katharidzontai kai kofoi akouousin, h i nekroi egeirontai - 'the blind see, lames walk, lepers cleansed, deaf hear, and the deaths are raised up' (Isa 61.1). E. AThe 14: hen legei houtos anastasin genesthai, hoti ede gegonen ef hois ekhomen teknois - '... concerning the resurrection which he says is to come, that it has already taken place in the children whom we have' - 2 Tim 2.18 Iegontes anastasin ede gegonetai - 'saying that the resurrection has already occured.' Here, however, 2 Tim speaks about something other than children. F . MP 1 : tou de ponerou diabolou dzelountos ten agapen ton adelfon, epesen ho Patroklos apo tes thuridos - 'But since the wicked devil was envious of the love of the brethren, Patroclus fell from the window' - Acts 20.9 epi tes thuridos ... katenekhtheis apo tou hupnou epesen ... h i erthe nekros - 'because he fell asleep he fell out of the window and died.' The addition here in the previous quotation is the devil's attempt against the love of the brothers. The structure of the text is different, but the content shows similarities. G. 3 Cor 24: hoi de humin legousin anastasis ouk estin sarkos ekeinois ouk estin anastasis - 'As for those who tell you that there is no resurrection of the flesh, for them there is no resurrection' 1 Cor 15.12 pos Iegousin en humin tines hoti anastasis nekron ouk estin - 'how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?' The difference is not only between resurrection of the flesh (sarx) and resurrection of the dead - in 1 Cor 15 Paul speaks about the resurrection of the soma.
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H. 3 Cor 36 kai tou hagiou euaggeliou menei misthon lempsetai - '(whoever abides by) the holy Gospel, he shall receive a reward' - 1 Cor 3.14: ei tinos to ergon menei ho epoikodomesen, misthon lempsethai - 'if the work which any man has built on the foundation survives he will receive a reward.' In the first instance reward is due to one who stays faithful to the Gospel, in the other the importance is the permanency of the work. I. 3 Cor 26 oute gar ... oidasei ton epei tou purou sporon e ton allon spermaton hoti gumna ballete ies ten gen - 'they do not know about the sowing of wheat or the other seeds, that they are cast naked into the ground' - 1 Cor 15.37: alla gumnon k o b n ei tukhoi sitou e tinos ton loipon - 'but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain'. Once again the words are quite different. Only the content connects the texts. 4. Beatitudes. In AThe 5 there is great joy in the house of Onesiphorus over the visit of Paul; they bow their knees, break the bread and Paul proclaims the word of God concerning continence and the resurrection. After that, like a sermon, come the 13 Beatitudes, many of which display close correspondences with the canonical ones: 1 . Word for word agreement with Matt 5. 2. 'Blessed are they who have kept the flesh pure, for they shall become a temple of God.' This reminds us of 2 Clem 8.6. The word naos also occurs in 1 Cor 6.19 but in a different context where our bodies are the temple of God. 3. 'Blessed are the continent, for to them will God speak'. Some refer to 1 Cor 7.29, but this text is only of significance regarding Beatitude 5. 5. 'Blessed are they who have wives as if they had them not, for they shall be heirs to God'. The first half of the sentence is reminiscent of 1 Cor 7.29, the second half of Matt 5.5 where the meek will inherit the earth. 7. 'Blessed are they who tremble at the words of God, for they shall be comforted'. The second half of the sentence refers to Matt 5.4. 8. 'Blessed are they who have received (the) wisdom of Jesus
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Christ, for they shall be called sons of the Most High'. Once again, the second half of the sentence is the same as Matt 5.9, except that not theos but hupsistos can be found in AThe. 9. 'Blessed are they who have kept their baptism secure, for they shall rest with the Father and the Son.' The same thought occurs in 2 Clem 6.9. 11. 'Blessed are they who through love of God have departed from the form of this world, for they shall judge angels and at the right hand of the Father they shall be blessed'. Cf. 1 Cor 6.3, 'we shall judge angels'. 12. 'Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy, and shall not see the bitter day of judgement'. The first part of the sentence agrees verbatim with Matt 5.7, the latter part of the sentence expands on it. Evidently, the parallels demonstrate that the writer of AP knew the canonical Beatitudes, since there is one verbatim quotation and many fragments from the Beatitudes. However, the meaning of these texts is quite different: presumably, one should assume purposeful alteration. Let us summarize these differences: A. Every apocryphal Beatitude is formulated in the future tense. In Luke, however, the emphasis is on the opposition between the present and the past, in Matt on now and forever. In other words, the statements of Jesus speak to the present and the eternity without condition or time. B. The apocryphal texts greatly emphasize the purity of living: 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 13. C. The rejection of the world is stressed: 4, 11. D. The fear of God represents genuine fear: 6, 7. E. Wisdom and knowledge are stressed: 8, 10. These characteristics distinguish AThe from Matt. 'Blessed are those whose hearts are pure' is the only Beatitude which demonstrates a partial ethical requirement; in the others the basis is more important. What is characteristic of the life of single individuals? In this regard we can take one more step. Almost without exception, in AThe the emphasis is on the rewards for human activities like continence and asceticism. The reward is emphasized here more than in Matt.
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On the basis of these facts it is my opinion that the caution I expressed at the beginning of this chapter is justified. We need to be careful before turning to definite ideas and assertions about the widespread usage from the end of the first century of those documents which later became canonized and about how they were read and copied. It is quite certain, though, that the most important parts, like creeds and substantial conclusions, were quoted verbatim. The same happens when in the canonical texts the apostle Paul refers to documents known to him. The recognized literary connection of Jude with 2 Pet and the correction in 2 Pet demonstrate that already in the second century earlier documents were used; the inclusive tendency of codex D from the second century points in the same direction. The fact that the AP do not refer to Corinthian, Ephesian or Athenian events and that they do not quote the important words of Paul from Rom or do not think about the resurrection according to 1 Cor 15 and so on, demonstrates to me, or at least suggests, that no effort is being made to alter the canon or to enlarge it. To quote the expression of F. Bovon, one can sense an outburst of 'narrative energy', but one which was not based on the use of the canonical texts.4
4 F . Bovon, Lukas in neuer Sicht (Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1985).
Tertullian on the Acts of Paul
A. HILHORST
In his treatise De baptismo, which was written between 198 and 206,' Tertullian pronounces upon the AP in a way which is of paramount importance for the dating of that text and of several related writings as well. Nor is that all: he also informs us about the author of the AP and his whereabouts, his motives, his readers, and the theological discussions in which his writing played a role. Of course Tertullian's testimony has been known and used by scholars for a long time. Only recently did Willy Rordorf dedicate a most valuable discussion to i t 2 Nevertheless I will return to the passage; its exceptional importance for our knowledge of apocryphal literature seems to justify this. First of all, I shall discuss the establishment and meaning of the text. Next I shall confront it with the interpretation of one of its ancient readers. Finally I shall draw some conclusions regarding the information it offers on the AP and their author.
1. Tertullian, De baptismo 17.5 The treatise De baptismo, which occupies some eighteen pages in the Corpus Christianorum edition, belongs to Tertullian's pre-Mon-
1 R. Braun, Deus christianorum (Paris, 19772)721, cf. ib. 570. 2 W. Rordorf, 'Tertullien et les Actes de Paul (A propos de bapt. 17,5)', Autour de Tertullien. Hommage ci Rene' Braun, I1 (Nice and Paris, 1990) 151-60, reprinted in W. Rordorf, Lex orandi, lex credendi. Gesammelte Aufiatze zum 60. Geburtstag (Fribourg, 1993) 475-84.
TERTULLIAN ON
THE ACTS OF PAUL
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tanist period and expounds the doctrine of baptism, its necessity and its effects. In ch. 17 the question is raised of who is entitled to administer baptism. Preferably this should be done by the bishop, otherwise if possible by presbyters or deacons, but if necessary even by lay persons. As Tertullian aptly remarks, 'what is equally received can be equally given'. It is well-known, however, that some persons are more equal than others: baptizing by women is out of the question. In that context, in 17.5, Tertullian brings up the AP, which had been alleged by his opponents to defend the right of women to baptize. As so often, Tertullian's text is inhospitable to the reader. There are problems both of textual criticism and of meaning, and we cannot use the statement as a source unless we have tackled them. Let us start by discussing the text-form. Up to 1916 for De baptismo we had to rely on the text edited by Mesnartius in 1545, the manuscript he had used being lost. Thus in Oehler's critical edition, published in 1853, 17.5 runs as follows: Quodsi quae Pauli perperam scripta sunt exemplum Theclae ad licentiam mulierum docendi tinguendique defendunt, sciant in Asia presbyterum qui eam scripturam construxit, quasi titulo Pauli de suo cumulans, convictum atque confessum id se amore Pauli fecisse loco decessisse. This hardly differs from Mesnartius's text. Oehler reads exemplum instead of scriptum (a variant mentioned in the margin of Mesnartius's edition), but otherwise repeats the text of Me~nartius.~ For an interpretation we may turn to the translation by S. Thelwall in the 'Ante-Nicene Christian Library': But if the writings which wrongly go under Paul's name, claim Thecla's example as a licence for women's teaching
3 Except for Theclae instead of Teclce and tinguendique instead of tingendi qug. As for the latter, as early as 1550 the second editor of Tertullian, Sigismund Gelenius, read tingendique.
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and baptizing, let them know that, in Asia, the presbyter who composed that writing, as if he were augmenting Paul's fame from his own store, after being convicted, and confessing that he had done it from love of Paul, was removed from his office.4 This seems a fairly accurate rendering, which does not try to iron out the harshnesses in the text. Harshnesses are there indeed: (1) 'writings which wrongly go under Paul's name' suggests works allegedly written by Paul whereas the allusion is to a spurious work which is written about Paul; (2) 'writings' are performing the typically human activity of 'claiming', and more important: the AP do not seem to be written in order to propagate certain rights. (3) sciant is without an expressly mentioned subject (probably it has to be supplemented from mulierum). The textual situation changed in 1916, when the Benedictine scholar Andre Wilmart found a twelfth-century manuscript of De baptismo in the French city of Troyes. This witness, the Troyes manuscript or codex Trecensis, proved superior by far to the traditional text.5 In the passage under discussion, it has two extra words: for Pauli, it reads Acta Pauli quae. So according to this witness the text reads as follows; I quote from the edition published by Ernest Evans in 1964: quod si quae Acta Pauli, quae perperam scripta sunt, exem-
4 Ante-Nicene Christian Library vol. XI: The Writings of Tertullian vol. I (Edinburgh, [1889]) 251-2. Although he does not indicate which edition he uses, he most probably translates from F. Oehler's edition, which was the standard text in his time and to which he has numerous references. 5 J.W.Ph. Borleffs, 'La valeur du codex Trecensis de Tertullien pour la critique de texte dans le trait6 De baptismo', VigChris 2 (1948) 185-200, esp. 200 is even of the opinion that an editor of De baptismo should follow the Trecensis even if Mesnartius offers a satisfactory reading; only where the Trecensis has an obvious error is he prepared to abandon it.
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153
plum Theclae ad licentiam mulierum docendi tinguendique defendunt, sciant in Asia presbytemm qui eam scripturam construxit, quasi titulo Pauli de suo cumulans, convictum atque confessum id se amore Pauli fecisse loco de~essisse.~ The editor takes this to mean the following: But if certain Acts of Paul, which are falsely so named, claim the example of Thecla for allowing women to teach and to baptize, let men know that in Asia the presbyter who compiled that document, thinking to add of his own to Paul's reputation, was found out, and though he professed he had done it for love of Paul, was deposed from his position. In this view our difficulty (1) disappears: AP evokes Paul as a character, not as an author; it confirms the opinion which had established itself long before on the basis of less smooth wording. Other scholars, however, solve (2) and (3) as well simply by reading the first quae not as a neuter plural adjectival pronoun (quae Acta 'certain Acts') but as a feminine plural substantival one (quae = aliquae feminae, 'certain women'). This confers the task of claiming to human beings and at the same time provides a subject for sciant: those who are urged to realize that in Asia etc. are the same women that are claiming. Unfortunately, this creates new problems. Not only does the substantival use of the indefinite pronoun seem to be rather uncommon in the plural, but Acta Pauli, now acting as an object to defendunt, turns out to be a competitor to exemplum Theclae. If the former of these is surmountable, the latter asks for a solution by taking exemplum Theclae either as a parenthesis or a gloss. Neither of these expedients are really satisfactory. The parenthesis makes for stammering Latin,
6 E. Evans, Q. Septimii Florentis Tertulliani de baptism0 fiber. Tertullian's Homily on Baptism. The Text edited with an Introduction, Translation and commentary (London, 1964), 36. Actually the Trecensis text differs from it also in some other details which need not detain us here; for them see Borleffs (n. 51, 197.
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and the gloss solution is an admission of weakness, since it interferes in the transmitted text. All in all, Evans's view seems to be the lesser evil. Perhaps, however, there is a better possibility.' In the edition published by Sigismund Gelenius in Basle in 1550, five years after Mesnartius's editio princeps of De baptismo, our passage reads as follows (I have spelled out the abbreviations): Quod si quae Pauli perperam scripta legunt, exemplum Teclae ad licentiam mulienun docendi tingendique defendunt, sciant in Asia presbyterum qui eam scripturam construxit quasi titulo Pauli de suo cumulans, conuictum atque confessum id se amore Pauli fecisse, loco decessisse. In this version quae (there is only one quae, as in the Mesnartius text) is a relative feminine plural, and denotes the subject of all of the predicates: legunt, defendunt, and sciant. In it, all of the difficulties inherent in the editions discussed earlier disappear, apart from Pauli perperam scripta as a designation for writings on Paul. This, however, is a harshness, not an absurdity. Our spontaneous inclination is to think of writings by Paul, but Tertullian may well have been so involved in his subject - 'the Paul writings' , that he did not pause to ask if his expression might cause a misunderstanding.' Indeed, the genitive basically only denotes a belonging, and in the present case what special relationship there is between Paul and the writings - is Paul the author, the subjectmatter or the owner of the writings? - depends on the context. This reveals itself only gradually. First there is Exemplum T e ~ l a e , ~
7 I readily acknowledge that it was W. Rordorf who put the idea into
my head, since I heard indirectly of his suspicion that Gelenius's edition might contain an interesting way out of the problem. 8 Borleffs (n. 5), 189-90 offers other examples of careless composition in De baptismo. 9 2 Tim. 3.1 1, & 61& TQV @€uhav E.rrae~v,is no more than 'a not very intelligent gloss', as B. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (Stuttgart, 1975) 648 puts it.
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155
but this is only telling for those who know that Thecla occurs in stories about Paul, not in works attributed to him. The second half of the sentence, however, makes it perfectly clear that Tertullian is talking about a composition regarding Paul: Pauli scripta means 'the writings on Paul' just as in Adversus Marcionem 4.42.2 omne scriptum passionis suae means 'all that was written on his passion'. Of course we could consider reading, with the codex Trecensis, Acta Pauli, but that is perhaps no more than a lectio facilior, the more so since in the early centuries n p b 1 ~ as ~ t a~ designation for the apocryphal Acts of the Apostles was translated into Latin by actus, not acta.1° For the same reason, we refrain from adopting Ursinus's emendation adscripta or Reifferscheid's inscripta for scripta." To be fair, we should mention that the reading legunt cannot be regarded as based on a manuscript. Gelenius did have access to a manuscript unknown to Mesnartius. It is the famous codex Masburensis, but that codex almost certainly did not contain the treatise De bapti~mo.'~ So legunt is just a conjecture, but it meets the conditions posed to a conjecture: it fits the context better than the alternative reading sunt, and it explains that reading. Indeed an absent-minded scribe would rather write scripta sunt for scripta legunt than the other way round; in the Vulgate there are more than two hundred occurrences of the participle scriptus combined with esse but none with legere. For legere with the connotation of
10 Pace Rordorf (n. 2), 1551479, cf. A. Hilhorst, 'The Apocryphal Acts as martyrdom texts: the case of the Acts of Andrew', in Brernmer, AAJ 1-14, esp. 2. Thus, in Origen, Commentary on John 20.12 (342.5 GCS), we read bv ~ a i qllabhou l l p & t ~ o t vbut , in De principiis 1.2.3, which has come down to us only in Latin, in Actibus Pauli. Apart from De baptism0 17.5, neither actus nor acta occurs in Tertullian's works as a reference to apocryphal Acts of Apostles; the canonical Acts he designates by Acta (Apostolorum). 1 1 Scripta can have the sense of inscripta with Tertullian, cf. Borleffs (n. 5), 196 n. 47. 12 See P. Petitrnengin, 'John Leland, Beatus Rhenanus et le Tertullien de Malmesbury', Studia Patristica 18.2 (1989) 53-60.
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'accept as a canonical text' we may compare the contemporaneous Fragmentum Muratorianum, lines 73 and 77. In conclusion, we feel justified in regarding the text of Gelenius as the one closest to the original." Our next task is to investigate the purport of this statement. Several aspects ask for comment. First of all, Tertullian has to do with female opponents. In the codex Trecensis version this remained ambiguous, although even there it is unclear why Evans should translate sciant by 'let men know'. Here, however, no shade of doubt remains, and the question is rather which women are meant. Tertullian does not enlarge on that. All he hints at is that some unspecified woman 'who assumed the right to teach' threatens 'to arrogate to her the right to teach' as well (17.4). Evidently this is occurring in the circle of Tertullian's readers. The presbyter is found guilty, but of what? Writing AP is no mistake in itself, nor is trying to promote Paul. The real offence is implied in the fact that the AP do not deserve that name: Pauli perperam scripta, although what is incompatible with Paul is revealed only in the next sentence. There it is argued that Paul could not have allowed women to teach and baptize, since he did not even permit them to ask questions to the teacher; consequently, a document relating teaching and baptizing by a woman cannot be authentic. The presbyter's motive is doubly expressed. First it is commented upon from the perspective of Tertullian: quasi titulo Pauli de suo cumulans, 'thinking to add of his own to Paul's reputation'.I4 Next it is described in the presbyter's own words: confessum id se amore Pauli fecisse, 'though he professed he had
13 For more references of legere with the connotation of 'accept as a canonical text' see Thesaurus Linguae Latinae VII.2 (Leipzig, 1956-79) 1 13 1, lines 30-47. 14 In quasi titulo Pauli de suo cumulans the word titulo may be dative as well as ablative, and suo may be substantival as well as adjectival. Yet Evans's rendering, which takes titulo as a dative and suo as substantival seems to do justice to the text: the presbyter thought to add of his own, by himself, to Paul's reputation. Cf. also F. Oehler ad loc.
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done it for love of Paul'. These clauses almost seem to adduce attenuating circumstances. As a debater, however, Tertullian's interest can only have been to make the presbyter appear in a bad light. This he achieves by adding quasi, which makes the presbyter's aspiration into a ridiculous arrogance and consequently deprives the presbyter's own words from all lustre as well. A word should be devoted to loco decessisse. Willy Rordorf has pointed out that all translators incorrectly render 'was deposed from his position' or words of similar import, as if a passive form was used.15 Nevertheless, this is not too wide off the mark. The presbyter resigned, but under protest, while professing he had done it for love of Paul. Indeed, as Evans has stressed, confessurn does not mean 'confessed', as if it were a crime, but 'professed' or '~laimed'.'~So he saw certainly no reason to retreat voluntarily and took the honourable way out because otherwise he would have been deposed by others. Finally we should discuss what we have taken for granted so far: is it really to the AP that Tertullian is alluding? This presupposition is not quite without its problems. Several objections have been raised against it, especially by S. L. Davies." Rordorf has refuted most of them," but some more may be said on the absence of baptizing by Thecla in the AP. It is true that there is a self-baptizing, but nowhere does Thecla baptize other persons. Tentatively, two remarks may be made in response. First, teaching may imply baptizing. At the end of the Acts of Paul and Thecla, Thecla is reported to go and teach many people independently of Paul (43). What use is it to be won for the faith if one cannot be baptized? Secondly, the Acts of Paul and Thecla end most abruptly. Thecla meets her mother and tries to make her believe that the Lord lives in heaven. No reaction of the mother is mentioned; instead, only one sentence follows, running thus: 'After
15 Rordorf (n. 2), 1531477 n. 8. 16 Evans (n. 6), 100. 17 S.L. Davies, 'Women, Tertullian and the Acts of Paul', Semeia 38 (1986) 139-43. 18 Rordorf (n. 2), 155-91479-83.
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having thus testified, she went to Seleucia and enlightened many by the word of God; then she rested in a glorious sleep.' This has every appearance of a summary. In a more harmonious original version, Thecla might have been pictured as a baptizer.Ig
2 . Jerome, De uiris illustribus 7 The passage in Tertullian we are dealing with did not escape the attention of Jerome. In the seventh chapter of his De uiris illustribus, where St Luke is under discussion, after mentioning Luke's gospel and the canonical Acts, Jerome raises the question as to whether Luke could have written the Acts of Paul and Thecla. On that he has the following to remark:" Igitur IIapfoZio~ Pauli et Theclae et totam baptizati leonis fabularn inter scripturas apocryphas computemus. Quale enim est ut indiuiduus comes apostoli inter ceteras eius res hoc solum ignorauerit? Sed et Tertullianus, uicinus illomm temporum, refert presbytemm quendam in Asia, o.rcouZiao.rf)v apostoli Pauli, conuictum apud Iohannem quod auctor esset libri et confessum se hoc Pauli amore fecisse, loco excidisse. That is, in E.C. Richardson's English translation:" Therefore the Acts of Paul and Thecla and all the fable about the lion baptized by him we reckon among the apocryphal writings, for how is it possible that the inseparable companion of the apostle in his other affairs, alone should have been ignorant
19 20 88, 21
Cf. also Rordorf (n. 2), 156-71480-1. I quote from A. Ceresa-Gastaldo, Gli uomini iNustri (Florence, 1988) cf. ib. 251. In P. Schaff and H. Wace (eds), A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, 11.3 (New York, 1892) 363. Richardson was Ceresa-Gastaldo's (n. 20) predecessor as an editor of Jerome's De uiris illustribus. For 'confessed' I would prefer 'professed' or 'claimed', cf. supra n. 16.
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of this thing. Moreover Tertullian who lived near those times, mentions a certain presbyter in Asia, an adherent of the apostle Paul, who was convicted by John of having been the author of the book, and who, confessing that he did this for love of Paul, resigned his office of presbyter. So he begins by denying Luke's authorship for the Acts of Paul and Thecla on account of the silence he observes on the curious events attributed to Paul in that apocryphal work." If they had really occurred, he implies, Luke would have recorded them in the canonical Acts. He continues by appealing to the authority of Tertullian and offers a paraphrase of the second half of Tertullian's statement, thus enabling us to discover how he interpreted it. We may make the following observations: 1. The logic of the statement has been improved. With Jerome, we immediately understand why writing the Acts of Paul and Thecla is an offence, because he has already explained that it contained events which could not claim to be historical; otherwise Luke would have recorded them. 2. The choice between a retreat and a deposition is confirmed to be immaterial. Although Jerome no more uses a passive form than Tertullian did, loco excidisse makes it clear that the presbyter hardly had a choice to make. 3. The most interesting feature, however, is the addition apud Iohannem to conuictum. John must be the apostle and evangelist of that name. St John the Baptist of course had died long before, so cannot be considered. Apart from him there is only the apostle who can be mentioned without personal details. This is important for the chronology. According to Jerome, the Acts of Paul and Thecla were written during the lifetime of the apostle John, and probably after Paul's death, because if Paul had lived to see the Acts of Paul and Thecla in existence, he would have been the logical one to expose its lies. What ideas did Jerome have about the time in which Paul and John respectively died? He expresses his opinion about that in De uiris illustribus. As he declares in ch.
22 For the baptized lion see Adarnik, this volume, Ch. 4.
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5, Paul died in the fourteenth year of Nero, which means A.D. 68. John on the other hand, he declares in ch. 9, died in the sixtyeighth year after the Lord's passion, which is in the year A.D. 98, because, as appears from ch. 5, Nero7s second year, which is A.D. 55, is the twenty-fifth after the Lord's passion. So according to Jerome the Acts of Paul and Thecla were written between A.D. 68 and A.D. 98. The question may arise whether Jerome meant Tertullian to be a contemporary of the presbyter who composed the Acts of Paul and Thecla, for he describes him as uicinus illorum temporum. This, however, cannot be his opinion, since Jerome knew perfectly well that Tertullian lived and worked under the Emperors Septimius Severus and Caracalla, as he states in ch. 53 of his De uiris illustribus, i.e. between A.D. 193 and A.D. 217. Therefore we are bound to interpret uicinus illorum temporum in a relative way: much nearer to those times than Jerome himself was. Few of us would be prepared to date the Acts of Paul and Thecla as early as Jerome did.23 But we may ask ourselves whether he found the detail of John exposing the presbyter in his Tertullian text. We would not be the first to think so. Francis Junius was so impressed by it that he adopted the reading in his Tertullian edition of 1597. His example has not been followed,24 but I am not sure he was foolish to do so. At least we could discuss the arguments. First of all, the textual transmission of the De baptism0 is so poor that we cannot make much of it. Secondly, Jerome presents his statement as a paraphrase of Tertullian's words; only if assuming a falsity on Jerome's side can we deny that he read it
23 Theodor Zahn, however, was, cf. W. Rordorf, 'Tradition et composition dans les Actes de Thhcle', Theologische Zeitschrifi 41 (1985) 272-83, esp. 276, reprinted in his Liturgie, foi et vie des premiers Chrttiens (Paris, 1986*)457-68. 24 S. Reinach, Cultes, mythes et religions IV (Paris, 1912) 229-51 ('Th6kla7), esp. 242, considers it most probable that Jerome found the mention in Tertullian. This enables him to date the original Thecla history to A.D. 60-90, when, according to the tradition, John lived in Ephesus!
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with Tertullian. Ernest Evans thinks it to be 'meaningless and unnecessary' to suppose that Tertullian had conuictum apud Iohannem on account of the fact that 'John the Apostle is far too early, since the work in question was composed well within the second century',25 but the question is not when the AP were actually composed but when Tertullian thought they were. So I cannot but leave the possibility open that Tertullian wrote conuictum apud Iohannem. 4. Finally, the title Jerome uses for the Acts of Paul and Thecla, namely r][~pt'o60~Pauli et Theclae, offers a support for our distrust of the codex Trecensis reading Acta Pauli quae over against Mesnartius's and Gelenius's Pauli. The least we can say is that in the early fifth century the title Acta Pauli had not yet established itself.
3. Conclusions If our interpretation of De baptismo 17.5 is acceptable, there are a number of consequences for the AP, some in conformity with earlier opinions, some contrary to them. Usually, the AP are dated, on the basis of Tertullian's testimony, at the end of the second century.26 Indeed we found that Tertullian, writing c. 200, alludes to it. Therefore it cannot be later than the end of the second century. But it is much harder to know if it was written shortly before Tertullian. Apparently most scholars take it for granted that Tertullian would not have been able to come with his disclosure about the author of the AP if they had already been known for a long time. But that is far from demonstrable, and a serious scholar like Jerome, whose 'care for the chronology is constant and fundamental', as A. Ceresa-Gastaldo remarks on account of his De uiris illustribus and his Chron-
25 Evans (n. 6), 100. 26 Cf. J.K. Elliott, The Apoclyphal New Testament (Oxford, 1993) 357.
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ica:' was able to date the book between 68 and 98 A.D. Therefore, as long as no new clues turn up, it seems to be wise to allow a much larger period of time within which it can be dated than is customarily done." This in turn affects the dating of the other apocryphal Acts, in so far as they are considered to be, directly or indirectly, dependent on the AP. We cannot be sure which name Tertullian used for the AP. There are goods reasons to doubt that is was Acta Pauli, the name we read in the codex Trecensis. Pauli scripta, the reading of the text in Mesnartius and Gelenius, does not look like a title. Candidates for a title - but we do not know if he used any - may have been Jerome's II~ploGoi Pauli et Theclae; the name in the Latin version of Origen, Actus Pauli; or even liber qui appellatur Theclae et Pauli, found in some witnesses to Decretum Gelasianum 5.4.9 (52.289 Dobschiitz) as a variant to Actus Theclae et P~uli.~' The Acts of Paul and Thecla have not reached us undamaged, for if it is admitted that it was to them that Tertullian alludes, they must have contained unambiguous descriptions of baptizing by Thecla, which are lacking in our present text. Thecla's self-baptizing in ch. 34 (and cf. ch. 40) does not suffice, for if this was all she had done, Tertullian would have pointed to that. At least the final part of the Acts of Paul and Thecla may well have undergone an abridgement. There originally Thecla's baptizing activities may have been narrated; conceivably they have been eliminated to pre-
27 'The biographical method of Jerome's De viris illustribus', Studia Patristica 15 (1984) 55-68, esp. 61. 28 AD 140-200 seems a reasonable period, cf. J. Rohde, 'Pastoralbriefe und Acta Pauli', Studia Evangelica 5 (1968) 303-10, esp. 303-5; Rordorf (n. 23), 2741459. 29 See Elliott (n. 26), 350-1, for the possibility that 'The Preaching of Paul' mentioned in Clement of Alexandria and Pseudo-Cyprian De rebaptismate refers to our apocryphon. For variant titles of literary works in the imperial period cf. N. Horsfall, 'Some Problems of Titulature in Roman Literary History', Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies 28 (1981) 103-14. For Origen's designations cf. supra n. 10.
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vent their being used as an argument for baptizing by women. An interesting aspect of Tertullian's statement is the light it throws on the author. To the best of my knowledge, this is the only case in which we have any information on an author of apocryphal writings; the old tradition which has it that the five early apocryphal Acts were all written by Leucius, the companion of John the Apostle, has long since been rejected. Our author was a presbyter in Asia, i. e. probably the Western part of Asia Minor,30 and an admirer of Paul, i.e. probably the Paul of the Acts of the Apostles, since his hero is a travelling preacher and, as Tertullian reminds us, the Acts of Paul show no trace of the distinctive range of thought occurring in Paul's Letters. The presbyter's idea to compose a romanticized narrative of Paul's preaching activities was naYve and was not appreciated by more critical members of his community, who forced him to resign. Always supposing Tertullian gives an accurate picture this is an indication that the AP were 'apocryphal' from the very beginning and never had any official status in the milieu in which they were written. On the other hand, the AP survived the degradation of their author and were read even in the West, more specifically Tertullian's Carthage. There they were used in a debate in which Christian women claimed their right to administer baptism. This is a new chapter in their Nachleben and I cannot agree with J.K. Elliott's opinion that this goal was already in the presbyter's mind."
30 For the place of composition see also Bremrner, this volume, 56-7. 31 Elliott (n. 26), 350.
Heroism in the Acts of Paul and in the Bible
Let me stress, at the outset, how much I have been delighted by the important contributions of my colleagues;' I do not want to fail to state that I have learnt a lot from them and I appreciate the in-depth investigations into the Acts of Paul (AP). This entitles me to give a different contribution which regards the text of AP rather from a bird-view. I do this in the very knowledge that possibly I will challenge and provoke some of my colleagues, but my lines intend to be provoking rather than provocative. If 1 daresay, sometimes I am a bit annoyed in my capacity of outsider by all what is going on in New Testament scholarship and I do not want to veil that I felt this embarrassment in our deliberations also. The very reason for this is that in the second century AD we have to investigate a religious climate which was pluralistic and where the different traditions of different cultures, and religions were merging. To me it was never a question that we have to discover the religious, cultural and historical background of a text if we wish to interpret it. But in our very case, I think, it is highly insufficient if we suppose only one trend underlying the composition - in the second century the authors had plenty of religious literature of different origin at hand, and it was quite natural that they made use of them. Let me say precisely what I had in mind when writing the lines that follow: for example, I was impressed by the meticulous paper of Szepessy at the conference concerning the genre of the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles (AAA), when he stated that they
I I have kept the oral nature of my presentation but added a few notes.
were composed in the cultural climate of the ancient romance. Hopefully I am not mistaken if I assume that the definition of AP as 'edifying romance' ('Erbauungsroman') by Rordorf moves in the same direction; in fact, there is only a small difference in stressing the religious character of the AAA. Also I acknowledge with gratitude that this approach contributed very much to the understanding of these Acts. I would only challenge this view: are we justified in commenting on these texts only against the background of the classical romance? Secondly, I was fascinated by the lecture of Adamik who proved that the reason for Christian persecutions was, according to Roman sources, a series of invectives which, in turn, were current in a typical kind of accusation of the enemies of betrayal or of high treason. This argument is conclusive; however, it has to be supplemented by the awareness of Christians that they really were provoking the traditional religious feeling of Romans, including their relative religious tolerance also. Thirdly, I was also convinced that the AAA intended to be a sequel to the canonical Acts, especially in the case of the AP. The use of Paul's letters to the Corinthians, to Timothy as well as of 1 Clement in AP seems indeed to testify to this theory, as R. Bauckham clearly s h ~ w e d .Nevertheless, ~ there are also unmistakable differences. I wonder if Herczeg is right in assuming that the theios aner of the Greek mystery religions played an important role in shaping the main figures of the AAA.3 If all this is correct, we have good reasons to assume that the AAA display rather a complex blend of religious traditions and different motifs. The hermeneutical presupposition, I mean the interpretive point of departure, should be taken from a different stance: we do not have to interpret these texts against a specific background (be this Greek literature, biblical traditions, mystery religions, etc.), but we have to trace different motifs in them and should concentrate on
2 R. Bauckham, 'The Acts of Paul as a Sequel to Acts', in B.W. Winter and A.D. Clarke (eds), The Book of Acts in Its Ancient Literary Setting I
(Grand Rapids and Carlisle, 1993) 105-52. 3 See Herczeg, this volume, Ch. 9.
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18 1
the very way in which they have been amalgamated in the composition of the AAA. B y way of contribution to this new hermeneutics of the AAA I suggest that one of the important motifs must have been the biblical notion of heroism as it is found first of all in the Old Testament. I would argue that in the New Testament this motif could not be elaborated on because the first and second generation of Christian authors wished to stress the person and work of Jesus Christ in such a way that other outstanding personalities (like that of Peter, Paul or John) were unable to be portrayed as heroes. This overall picture had changed considerably in the second century and, apparently, ancient heroic figures appeared in the AAA. I state my provisional thesis which I then try to prove: by this very phenomenon the AAA are in fact a sequel to the New Testament literature, particularly to the canonical Acts, but at the same time they also put them into parenthesis, thus maintaining continuity but producing discontinuity as well. As you see, it depends much on how I define heroism in the ~ example, Elijah and Samson were not central Old T e ~ t a m e n t .For
4 In my understanding of heroism I widely draw on G.W. Coats's investigations into the Moses saga: Moses. Heroic Man, Man of God (Shefield, 1988). In the footsteps of the Dutch folklorist, Jan de Vries,
he gives a list of different features of a heroic portrait. '1) The hero is begotten; 2) he is born; 3) his youth is threatened; 4) he is brought up; 5) he often acquires invulnerability; 6) he fights with the dragon or other monsters; 7) he wins a maiden, usually after overcoming great dangers; 8) he makes and expedition to the underworld; 9) he returns to the land from which he was once banished and conquers his enemies; 10) he dies.' The different characteristics may vary depending on the nature of the subject to be tackled. In Christian legends it seems typical that a) numbers 1-3 are replaced by reference to the conversion of the hero; b) number 5 is replaced by stressing the mild character of the hero, especially when suffering; c) numbers 6 and 8 are replaced by a struggle against the idols or authorities of the Roman Empire; d) number 7 is normally replaced by referring to the chastity of the hero; e) number 9 is replaced by reference to the afterlife of the achievement of the hero after
figures in the religion of ancient Israel, but they were portrayed in a special way which put them afore and exalted them high; that is why I call them heroes. Some features of the narrative technique should be taken up as a good means of our comparative study: I ) A hero works always in a special situation of crisis; the narrative technique portrays the figure in such a way that it should respond to a special challenge.' In the case of Elijah this crisis is clear: the dualistic tendency in the politics of the Northern Kingdom meant a challenge to traditional Yahwism and the reaction of the Yahwism is personified in a prophet. Elijah accuses the king of idolatry, of betraying Israel's religion, and of the corruption of whole Israel. The prophet's whole life and activity are a huge struggle against foreign cults and their political implications. Indeed, there is no motif in the narrative about Elijah which would not fit into this overall framework; a heroic life responds to the enormous challenge. It is the same with Samson, too. The crisis is here the political-military menace of the Philistines, and the power of whole Israel is paralysed. In order to safeguard its national identity, Israel needs heroic deeds and finds them in Samson's extravagancies. Even if much of Samson's achievements were confusing, if not sheer nonsense, the narrative technique presents them as miracles and impressive military acts. We can not miss the fact that there was a crisis in the Jewish history in the age of Jesus Christ, too. This crisis was due to the overwhelming Roman military power present in Palestine and to the Jewish apocalypticism. This latter was, according to Ernst Kasemann, the cradle of Christian theology. Nevertheless, it is a
his death. In any case, a close reading of the AAA against the background of heroic literature is worth considering. 5 In the apocryphal Acts this crisis is caused by the collision with the traditional classical world during the spread of the Christian mission. However, it is characteristic that the conflict is always depicted as an attack of the classical world against Christian mission - this leads to the crisis.
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striking fact that the New Testament writings, in particular the canonical Acts, were not composed in contrast or in response to this crisis. The narrative technique of the Acts displays a different factor as the source of the power which was active in history: according to Luke, this was the will of the apostles to perform missionary activities, to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and to make the world know the good news. The main problem of the Jewish believers is never mentioned in Paul's epistles and is played down in the Acts. Of course, the Christians had to face a crisis of a different nature, and very soon: this was the persecution of Christians, fervent on the side of Jews first, but later on the side of the Roman administration. I think that Rordorf is right in assuming that the Neronian persecutions played an important role in secondcentury Christian literature, particularly in the composition of the A P . ~But of course, up to Constantine the Great, the persecutions never ceased, and it is evident that in the portrait of the apostles the gentile hostility toward Christians was never lacking. Indeed, the miracles of Paul can be construed as responses to a biassed enmity of pagans and they play a key role in converting them to Christianity. The contrast between the meek, but powefil Christians and their enemies is often depicted in detail (see the contrast between Thecla and the Governor), and finally it will turn out that Christians win only by virtue of the divine power. May I add that I perceive another crisis, too. This is the jealousy among Christians which was menacing Christian unity and mission as well. In these situations the figure of the apostle is always the manifestation of the authority, but never by means of power, always by missionary words and miracles. By these words and deeds the person of the apostle is exalted. On the basis of this narrative technique I assume that the AAA drew nearer to the biblical heroes than to the canonical Acts; even
6 W. Rordorf, 'Die neronische Christenverfolgung im Spiegel der apokryphen Paulusakten', New Testament Studies 28 (1981-82) 365-74, repr. in his Lex orandi - Lex credendi. Gesammelte Aufsafze zum 60. Geburtsfag (Freiburg, 1993) 368-77.
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if they retained the main figures and also the major places of the events, they put Luke's work into parenthesis and took up an ancient notion: that of the heroes. 2) The Old Testament hero was always a wandering person.7 The genius could not be bound to one place, but the Spirit of the Lord drove him here and there. In a study of Elijah I have argued that this was not conform the historical facts. I believe that all what can be regarded as historical about Elijah is that he was at home around the limited territory of the Camel area. But the narrative technique made him roam from Damascus to Mount Horeb, from Philistine to the valley Jezreel. Similarly, Samson was nowhere at home; he wandered among the Philistines and touched on the border of Judah and Dan. No place is given as his residence except for his place of birth and burial. At first sight, it seems that all this was quite evident with the apostles active in the mission: their task of converting people to Christianity made them travel all over the oikoumene, the inhabited earth. They too were wandering persons, in the canonical Acts as well as in the AAA. I risk the bold assumption that all this is a misunderstanding and that there is a basic difference between Paul's wanderings in Luke's work and in the AAA. When I studied the criticism of the synoptic gospels, I learnt that not only parallelisms are significant, but much more the socalled 'contextual parallelisms', i.e. a parallelism within the same context. Among the synoptic gospels there are many contextual parallelisms, but not that many between the synoptic gospels and John's gospel. As to the wording itself: it is obvious that they are often similar to one another. I think, this is true of the relationship between the canonical Acts and the AP, too. Many places are mentioned in both works, but the sequence is always different. The itinerary of Paul is by no means the same, which means in our interpretation that the understanding of wandering is different, too. The AP seem to ignore that the apostle Paul, in his turn, was also bound to a local congregation in Antioch, was once the messenger
7 The heroes of the Bible normally roam in the territory of the enemy. So do the heroes of the AAA as well.
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of that local congregation to Jerusalem and undertook his missionary travels on different occasions. He was, in Luke's mind, by no means a roamer: he undertook this travels on behalf of the Church, and also his co-workers were chosen according to a principle of local communities, i.e. in the hope that after a period of cooperation with Paul they would return to the congregation and serve with their recently acquainted knowledge about mission. Nothing of this can be found in the AP; the wandering of the apostle is an end in itself. Everywhere he 'happens to be', and the very purpose of the apostle and of the congregation in drawing up plans for mission is discarded. Paul is a real roamer, moving from place to place; surely, this wandering is not meaningless, but the meaning can only be seen at the end of the story and there is not the slightest hint that a possible plan for wanderings would bear any significance. This narrative technique is just the opposite to that of Luke's, and the all-embracing theological frame of the missionary travel is suppressed in the AP. One is tempted to repeat the word of Obadiah who said to Elijah: 'I don't know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you ...' The way of the apostle is unpredictable, unforeseeable; his person seems to be erratic. This is a link to the Old Testament heroes and is to be construed as a sharp contrast to Luke's Acts where the plans of the mission follow a fixed way leading from Jerusalem to the Capital of the Empire, to Rome. 3) The Old Testament hero is a charismatic person. Not only is explicitly said that the Spirit of the LORD was upon them, but also their deeds testify to their peculiar nature. Samson's strength surpasses all imagination; he is able to defeat thousand men, to tear apart a lion, etc. Elijah predicts events to come, performs miracles, is able to see hidden things. In the same manner, the figure of the apostle in the AAA is a wondrous one. The apostle's spiritual power outdoes all the enemies and turns enemies into Christians. In a word: it stands in the centre of the events and is the key figure of the narratives. Everything points toward the miracles he performs and everything serves the stress laid upon the result of the apostle's intervention. It can be said in both cases that this narrative technique abounds in signs, miracles and divine
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interventions performed by the main human figure. They are motivated by the theological plot and purpose of the author, and they are intended to be a theological reply to the crisis which is the background of the whole composition." Is it not the same with the canonical Acts? By no means. To be sure, there are miracles; Paul, also here, achieves superhuman deeds. However, the overall climate is totally different. So far as. we are informed in Luke's Acts, Paul was a charismatic person: One should only read Acts 12.17 where Paul confesses before the crowd: 'When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance ...' In a word: Yes, Luke knows about the charismatic abilities of Paul - and it is of secondary importance whether this assertion is historically correct or wrong. I believe, it is correct. But it is more important to note that Luke never used this precious information in shaping his narrative style: he abstained form depicting the apostle as a charismatic person. The charismatic feature of Paul is suppressed and his missionary fervour is emphasized; the first is reduced to a simple hint in that Luke mentions a historical fact which is, for him, of no special value. Also one can not close one's eyes to the fact that the canonical Acts widely neglected the prophetic elements in early Christianity, even though we precisely know that such elements existed. Agabus predicted a famine which in fact came true (Acts 11.2728). He also predicted Paul's death and the apostle did not refuse him but accepted the prophecy (21.10ff). It is highly remarkable that contrary to the above fulfilled prophecies (and surely there were many others, too) it is not the prophet who has received authority - but the apostle! One may conclude that in Luke's eyes the authority of an apostle has been validated by his missionary role and not by miracles. Early catholic writings are also in line with this assertion: especially 2 Peter defeats the arbitrary inter-
8 In the Old Testament we find several miracle stories which are hard to understand, such as 2Kings 2. 23-5, and which seem to serve to demon-
strate the hero's abilities. In the New Testament, theological reflection of miracle stories is much more profound.
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I
, I
I
187
pretation of Scripture and strives for the true interpretation of the apostolic tradition. It seems that the AAA turned everything upside down when they stressed the role of miracles; indeed, they always play a key role in the narrative of the non-canonical Acts of the second century. I suggest that in doing so they did not perform a topsy-turvy, rather they returned to a narrative technique which was already known in the biblical tradition about heroes. Of course, I do not reject an interpretation against the background of the theios aner of mystery religions, but I would rather acknowledge that the encounter of Christianity with these religions might have had an impact on the portrait of the apostles in the second century. Nevertheless, I would argue that the overall picture was a complex one and, based on the above, we are justified in assuming that the AAA put the canonical Acts into parenthesis and returned, at least to a certain degree, to the ancient biblical technique of narrating stories about the apostles. 4) In presenting my fourth point I would like to refer to a famous theory of religion which was worked out by the French scholar Ren6 Girard.9 He argued that religion does not intend to remove violence from the society, rather it aims at the canalization and institutionalization of violence within the given society. Even if Girard did not investigate the Old Testament stories about heroes, I think that his theory holds ground in that case also. In the narrative about Samson and Elijah Israel suffered from violence first by the Philistines, later by the dualistic politics of the Israelite kings. The activity of both heroes did not eliminate violence from the scene; on the contrary, they both acted violently when they defeated the Philistines and the Baal-worshippers. They are even allowed cruelty. The balance of power is achieved only after the two heroes have died: their death was needed for settling the debated issue. All this is, of course, much more subtle in the AAA. We must not lose sight of the very fact that in the second century we have to do with a more or less crystallized system of Christian thoughts 9 Cf. R. Girard, La violence et le sacre' (Paris, 1972).
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ISTVAN KARASSZON
which was the opposite of pagan ideas and values. So the marvellous stories about the apostles can be construed as a competition of two different systems, and the miracles are showdowns, tests of strength on the Christian side. The meek, non-violent figures of the apostles are filled with divine power and by virtue of this power they will set aside and supersede the pagan world. The miracles are the manifestoes of this trial of strength. No question, martyrdom plays in these manifestoes an important role, but they also prove the divine power of the hero: even after his extermination the power endures and exerts influence, gives the pace and finally prevails. In this hope the martyrs accept their deaths willingly. We must not idealize this situation: this is also the manifestation of spiritual violence, sub specie contrarii, even if the martyrs suffer violence. But they are eager to demonstrate: the violence of the enemy can not harm them, because their strength is different and even more powerful. The death throes of the classical world already began in the AAA and reached their climax in the triumph of Christianity, two hundred years later. We must not harbour illusions: this was a violent process and Christians, meek and mild, had no mercy on the opponent. Of course, I do not want to assume that the canonical Acts were free of violence. It is not to be denied that they give us a relatively complex picture of the events and we can perceive there several serious competitions: firstly, between the adepts of the Jewish religion and the champions of the gospel; secondly, between different apostles who claimed authority among Christians; thirdly, between the different centres of early Christianity, such as Jerusalem and Antioch. But all this is quite different: Christians in the canonical Acts were not combating the opponent, rather they were striving for and not struggling against something. It was the spread of the gospel which was at stake and not the elimination of another world view, of an ancient value system. The moving energy behind all the efforts was the utmost desire of Luke to demonstrate the grandiose dimarche of the gospel which was able to resist all human enmities, envy and fiaudulence - even on the side of Christians themselves!
HEROISM IN THE ACTS OF PAUL
189
To be precise: I do not want to argue that the situation itself has changed since Luke's grande oeuvre. I simply state that the narrative technique has changed, or rather returned to an ancient model which was to be found in the Old Testament narratives about heroes. By doing this, I find, the author of the A P put the canonical Acts into brackets - this very fact has been stated above, too. 5) My final point concentrates on the end of the hero narratives in the Old Testament and in the AAA. The death of the hero is always worthy of his life and message: he dies hard; he can never retire and is taken away from this earthly life in a powerful way, which is, in the same manner, a glorious one, too. The death of the hero is the climax of the narrative: In it we find the very essence of the narrative in nuce, in a nutshell. By his death the hero testifies to the fact that he offers his whole life as sacrifice on the altar of the message he proclaimed. Very often the narrative does not lack nostalgia: Samson killed much more Philistines in dying than in his life. The nostalgia of the successor Elisha can also not be denied: he startles at the chariot of fire which takes up Elijah to heaven." Nothing of this can be found in the canonical Acts; this book does not end in a nostalgia of the great apostle of the pagans; Luke is even silent about his death. It seems that this end was not important for the author: the composition ceases with the optimistic news, namely that the gospel arrived in Rome, that Paul is allowed to receive visitors and that he uses all occasions to proclaim the gospel in the Capital. I think, we all agree that a theology of martyrdom was developed later. Of course, Luke was well acquainted with numerous sufferings of the apostles; but in his presentation the description of sufferings is a means which underscores the great spiritual power of the gospel - bien entendu, of the gospel and not of the apostle. In Luke's work the apostles do not spare their lives - and the author does not spare them either!
10 We can never lose sight of the cathartic character of the narratives of
the hero's death; it testifies to the great achievements they reached by their earthly activities and death as well.
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ISTVAN KARASSZON
I think, at this point I do not have to lose many words: this is totally different in the AP and in the other AAA. The apostle does not resist arrestrnent and does not seek any way out, nor does he use even the last resort. He is almost happy of dying. On his execution he takes the opportunity of a final speech; this is the time for him to summarize his message and people are moved by this speech. His death is rather the biggest miracle he ever performed and countless people come to faith under the spell of his testimony. I do not want to linger too long on this topics because I know that my colleagues will contribute valuable studies to the theology of martyrdom. I simply stress that once again we can state: the narrative of the A P digresses enormously from the canonical Acts and shows striking similarities to the Old Testament narratives about heroes. Of course, I do not pretend to say that these narratives were the only source when shaping the narrative framework of the AP, but I firmly believe that the author bore the heroic legends of the Old Testament in mind. Let me sum up all what has been reached by the above. I emphatically underline that all what we investigated does not refer to the historical circumstances or events, even less to the historicity of the narratives of AP. Rather it touches upon the ways, methods and skills of the author how to tell this or that story. My purpose was not to show that the author tried to find a Christian parallel to the Old Testament stories. However, I am bold enough to suggest that the narrative technique of the Old Testament legends about heroes and that of the AP have several features in common and these features are lacking in the canonical Acts. This is so, I am convinced, not by chance, rather on purpose: the author felt bound to re-tell the story about Paul in a different way. In drawing the portrait of the apostle he went a different way, during which he appropriated different influences. One of them was, beyond any doubt, the legacy of the Old Testament heroes - their impact on Paul's portrait is only one of the numerous motifs in the complex character. Nothing more, but also nothing less.
Bibliography of Acts of Paul
Wright, W., Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles. Edited ?om Syriac Manuscripts in the British Museum and Other Libraries (London and Edinburgh, 1871, repr. Amsterdam, 1968). Lipsius, R.A. Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha I (Leipzig, 1891, repr. Hildesheim, 1959). Schmidt, C., Acta Pauli aus der Heidelberger koptischen Papyrushandschrzj? Nr. l (Leipzig, 1904, repr. Hildesheim, 1965). Schmidt, C., and W. Schubart, TIPAEEE IUYAOY. Acta Pauli nach dem Papyrus der Hamburger Staats- und UniversitatsBibliothek (Gliickstadt and Hamburg, 1936). Vouaux, L., Les Actes de Paul et ses Lettres apocryphes (Paris, 1913).
Translations Elliott, J.K., The Apocryphal New Testament (Oxford, 1993) 35089.
1 We thank J a n Bremmer and Phil Sellew for various references. 2 For the papyri with fragments of the text see NTA 11, 216-8; add M. Geerard, Clavis Apocryphorum Novi Testamenti (Turnhout, 1992) 1 1723; A. L6pez Garcia, 'PLit.Palau Rib 18: Marlyrium Pauli, I 18-22', ZPE 110 (1996) 132.
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Erbetta, M., Gli Apocrifi del Nuovo Testamento, II: Atti e Leggende (Casale Monferrato, 1966) 241-303. Klijn, A.F.J. (ed), Apokriefen van her Nieuwe Testament I (Kampen, 1984) 154-96 (by A. Hilhorst). Moraldi, L., ApocriJi del Nuovo Testamento I1 (Torino, 1971) 1061-1130. Schneemelcher, W., New Testament Apocrypha I1 (Cambridge, 1991') 213-70.
Acts of Paul Aubineau, M., 'Complements au dossier de Sainte Thbcle', Analecta Bollandiana 93 (1975) 356-62. Bauckham, R.J., 'The Acts of Paul as a Sequel to Acts', in B.W. Winter and A.D. Clarke (eds), The Book of Acts in Its Ancient Literary Setting I (Grand Rapids and Carlisle, 1993) 105-52. Baumstark, A., Die Petrus- und Paulusacten in der litterarischen Ueberlieferung der syrischen Kirche (Leipzig, 1902). Boese, H., ' ~ b e reine bisher unbekannte Handschrift des Briefwechsels zwischen Paulus und den Korinthern', ZNW 44 (1953) 66-76. Boughton, L.C., 'From Pious Legend to Feminist Fantasy. Distinguishing Hagiographical License From Apostolic Practice in the Acts of Paul/Acts of Thecla', Journal of Religion 71 (1991) 362-84. Bovon, F., 'Une nouvelle citation des Actes de Paul chez Origbne', Apocrypha 5 (1994) 113-7. Brock, A.G., 'Genre of the Acts of Paul: One Tradition Enhancing Another', Apocrypha 5 (1994) 119-36. Bruyne, D. de, 'Un nouveau manuscrit de la Troisibme Lettre de Saint Paul aux Corinthiens', Revue Be'nkdictine 25 (1908) 43 14. ---, 'Un quatrihme manuscrit latin de la Correspondance apocryphe de S. Paul avec les Corinthiens', Revue Be'nkdictine 45 (1933) 189-95.
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ACTS OF PAUL
193
Bums, V., Chastity as Autonomy. Women in the Stories of the Apocryphal Acts (Lewiston and Queenston, 1987). Clemen, C., 'Miszellen zu den Paulusakten , ZNW 5 (1904) 22847. Corssen, P., 'Die Urgestalt des Paulusakten', ZNW 4 (1903) 22-47. ---, 'Der Schluss der Paulusakten', ZNW 6 (1905) 317-38. Dagron, G., Vie et miracles de sainte ThZcle (Brussels, 1978). Dassmann, E., Der Stachel im Fleisch. Paulus in der jkhchristlichen Literatur bis Irenaus (Miinster, 1979). Davies, S.L., The Social World of the Apocryphal Acts (Ph.D. Dissertation, Temple University, 1978). ---,'Women, Tertullian and the Acts of Paul', Semeia 38 (1986) 139-44. Deeleman, C.F.M., 'Acta Pauli', Theologische Studien 26 (1908) 1-44. ---, 'Acta Pauli et Theclae', Theologische Studien 26 (1908) 273301. ---, 'De apocriefe briefwisseling tusschen Paulus en de Corinthiers', Theologische Studien 27 (1909) 37-56. Devos, P., 'Actes de Thomas et Actes de Paul', Analecta Bollandiana 69 (1951) 119-30. Drijvers, H.J.W., 'Der getaufte Lowe und die Theologie der Acta Pauli', in P. Nagel (ed), Carl-Schmidt-Kolloquium 1988 (Halle, 1990), 181-189, repr. in his History and Religion in Late Antique Syria (Aldershot, 1994) ch. X. Dunn, P.W., 'Women's Liberation, the Acts of Paul, and other Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles. A Review of Some Recent Interpreters', Apocrypha 4 (1993) 245-61. Elliott, J.K., 'The Apocryphal Acts , Expository Times 105 (199394) 71-7. Gallagher, E.V., 'Conversion and Salvation in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles', The Second Century 8 (1991) 13-29. Gebhardt, 0. von, Passio S. Theclae virginis. Die Iateinischen Ubersetzungen der Acta Pauli et Theclae (Leipzig, 1902). Grant, R.M., 'The Description of Paul in the Acts of Paul and Thecla', VigChris 36 (1982) 1-4. 7
7
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Harnack, A. von, Drei wenig beachtete Cyprianische Schrzften und die 'Acta Pauli ' (Leipzig, 1899). ---,Patristische Miscellen V: zu den Acta Pauli (Leipzig, 1900) 100-6. Hennecke, E. (ed), Handbuch zu den Neutestamentlichen Apokryphen (Tiibingen, 1904). Hills, J.V., 'The Acts of the Apostles in the Acts of Paul', in E.H. Lovering, Jr (ed), Society of Biblical Literature 1994 Seminar Papers (Atlanta, 1994), 24-54. Holzhey, C., Die Thekla-Akten: Ihre Verbreitung und Beurtheilung in der Kirche (Munich, 1905). Howe, E.M., 'Interpretations of Paul in the Acts of Paul and Thecla', in D.A. Hagner and M.J. Harris (eds), Pauline Studies = FS F.F. Bruce (Grand Rapids and Exeter, 1980) 33-49. James, M.R., 'A note on the Acta Pauli', JTS 6 (1905) 244-6. ---,'The Acts of Titus and the Acts of Paul', JTS 6 (1905) 549-56. Jensen, A., Thekla - Die Apostolin. Ein apokrypher Text neu entdeckt (Freiburg, Basel and Vienna, 1995). Jones, F.S., 'Principal Orientations on the Relations between the Apocryphal Acts', in E.H. Lovering, Jr (ed), Society of Biblical Literature 1993 Seminar Papers (Atlanta, 1993) 485-505. Kaestli, J.-D., 'Fiction IittCraire et rkalitC sociale: Que peut-on savoir de la place des femmes dans le milieu de production des Actes apocryphes des ApBtres?', Apocrypha - le champ des Apocryphes 1 (1990) 279-302. Kampen, L. van, Apostelverhalen. Doel en compositie van de oudste apokriefe Handelingen der apostelen (diss. Utrecht, 1990). Kasser, R., 'Acta Pauli 1959', Revue d'Histoire de Philosophie Religieuse 40 (1960) 45-57. Klijn, A.F.J., 'The Apocryphal Correspondence between Paul and the Corinthians', VigChris 17 (1963) 2-23. Kurfess, A., 'Zu dem Hamburger Papyrus der np&;E~t~ l3a\Jhouy, ZNW 38 (1939) 164-70. Lindemann, A., Paulus im altesten Christentum. Das Bild des Apostels und die Rezeption der paulinischen Theologie in der jiiihchristlichen Literatur bis Marcion (Tiibingen, 1979).
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Lipsius, R.A., Die apokryphen Apostelgeschichten und Apostellegenden. Ein Beitrag zur altchristlichen Literaturgeschichte (2 vols, Braunschweig, 1883-87). MacDonald, D.R., The Legend and the Apostle. The Battle for Paul in Story and Canon (Philadelphia, 1983). ---, 'Apocryphal and Canonical Narratives About Paul', in W.S. Babcock (ed), Paul and the Legacies of Paul (Dallas, 1990) 55-70. ---, 'The Acts of Paul and The Acts of John: Which Came First?', in E.H. Lovering, Jr (ed), Society of Biblical Literature 1993 Seminar Papers (Atlanta, 1993) 506-10. Mackay, Th.W., 'Observations on P. Bodmer X', Actes du W e Congres international de papyrologie (Bruxelles, 1977) 1 1928. ---, 'Content and Style in Two Pseudo-Pauline epistles (3 Corinthians and the Epistle to the Laodiceans)', in Apocryphal Writings and Latter-Day Saints (Salt Lake City, 1986) 215-40. Malherbe, A.J., 'A Physical Description of Paul', H m m d Theol. Rev. 79 (1986) 170-5, repr. in his Paul and the Popular Philosophers (Minneapolis, 1989) 165-70. Metzger, B.M., 'St. Paul and the Baptised Lion', Princeton Seminary Bulletin 39.2 (1945) 11-21. Migliarini, M., Alle origini del Duomo. La basilica e il culto di Santa TecIa (Milano, 1990). Nau, F., 'La version syriaque des martyres de S.Pierre, S. Paul et S.LucY,Revue de I 'Orient chre'tien 3 (1989) 39-57. Nauerth, C., 'Nachlese von Thekla-Darstellungen', in G. Koch (ed), Studien zur spatantiken und fruhchristlichen Kunst und Kultur des Orients (Wiesbaden, 1982) 14-8. Nauerth, C. and..R. Warns, Thekla - ihre Bilder in der fruhchristlichen Kunst '(~iesbaden,1981). Pervo, R.I., 'Early Christian Fiction', in J.R. Morgan and R. Stoneman (eds), Greek Fiction. The Greek novel in context (London and New York, 1994) 239-54. Peterson, E., 'Einige Bemerkungen zum Hamburger PapyrusFragment der Acta Pauli', VigChris 3 (1949) 142-62, repr. in his Friihkirche, Judentum und Gnosis. Studien und Unter-
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suchungen (Rome, Freiburg and Vienna, 1959) 182-208. Pliimacher, E., 'Apokryphe Apostelakten', in RE, Suppl. XV (Stuttgart, 1978) 11-70. Reinach, S., 'Thkkla', Annales du Muske Guimet 35 (1910) 10340, repr. in his Cultes, mythes et religions IV (F'aris, 1912) 229-51. Rigsby, K.J., 'Missing Places', Classical Philology 91 (1996) 25460. Rohde, J., 'Pastoralbriefe und Acta Pauli', in F.L. Cross (ed), Studia Evangelica 5 (Berlin, 1968) 303-10. Rordorf, W., 'Sainte Thbcle dans la tradition hagiographique', Augustinianum 24 (1984) 73-81, repr. in his Liturgie, foi et vie des premiers Chre'tiens (Paris, 19862) 435-43. ---, 'La pri&re de sainte Thbcle pour une dkfunte pai'enne et son importance oecumdnique', in Eschatologie et Liturgie (Confe'rences Saint Serge, X X 2 T Semaine d'ttudes liturgiques) (Rome, 1985) 249-59, repr. in his Liturgie, 445-55. ---, 'Tradition et composition dans les Actes de Thzcle: Etat de la question', Theologische Zeitschrifr 41 (1985) 272-83, repr. in his Liturgie, 457-68. ---, 'Die neronische Christenverfolgung im Spiegel der apokryphen Paulusakten', New Testament Studies 28 (1981-'82) 365-74, repr. in his Lex orandi - Lex credendi. Gesammelte Aufsatze zum 60. Geburtstag (Freiburg, 1993) 368-77. ---, 'Tradition and Composition in the Acts of Thecla. The State of the Question', Semeia 38 (1986) 43-52, repr. in his Lex orandi, 378-88. ---, 'Nochmals: Paulusakten und Pastoralbriefe', in G.F. Hawthorne and 0. Betz (eds), Tradition and Interpretation in the New Testament = FS E.E. Ellis (Grand Rapids and Tiibingen, 1987) 319-27, repr. in his Lex orandi, 466-74. ---, 'In welchem Verhaltnis stehen die apokryphen Paulusakten zur kanonischen Apostelgeschichte und zu den Pastoralbriefen?' [1983], in T. Baarda et al. (eds), Text and Testimony. Essays in Honour of A. F.J. Klijn (Karnpen, 1988) 225-41, repr. in his Lex orandi, 449-65.
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ACTS OF PAUL
197
---,'Was wissen wir uber Plan und Absicht der Paulusakten?', in Oekumenica et Patristica = FS W. Schneemelcher (Geneva, 1989) 71-82, repr. in his Lex orandi, 485-96. ---,'Tertullien et les Actes de Paul (h propos de bapt. 17,5)', in Hommages h Rene' Braun. Autour de Tertullien I1 (Nice, 1990) 151-60, repr. in his Lex orandi, 475-84. ---, 'Terra Incognita. Recent Research on Christian Apocryphal Literature, especially on some Acts of Apostles', Studia Patristic~25 (Louvain, 1993) 142-58, repr. in his Lex orandi, 432-48. ---,'Htrtsie et orthodoxie selon la correspondance apocryphe entre les Corinthiens et I3ap6tre Paul', in He're'sie et orthodoxie duns I 'Eglise ancienne. Perspectives nouvelles (Freiburg, 1993) 2163, repr. in his Lex orandi, 389-431. Sanders, H.A., 'A Fragment of the Acta Pauli in the Michigan Collection', Haward Theol. Rev. 31 (1939) 73-90. Schneemelcher, W., 'Die Acta Pauli. Neue Funde und neue Aufgaben', Theol. Lit. Zt. 89 (1964) 241-54, repr. in his Gesammelte Aufsatze zum NT und zur Patristik (Thessaloniki, 1974) 182-203. ---,'Die Apostelgeschichte des Lukas und die Acta Pauli', in W. Eltester and F.H. Kettler (eds), Apophoreta = FS E. Haenchen (Berlin, 1964) 236-50, repr. in his Gesammelte Aufsatze, 20422. ---, 'Der getaufte Lowe in den Acta Pauli', in A. Stuiber and A. Hermann (eds), Mullus. FS Th. Klauser = JAC Erganzungsband I (Munster, 1964) 316-26, repr. in his Gesammelte Aufsatze, 223-39. Soder, R., Die apokryphen Apostelgeschichten und die romanhafte Literatur der Antike (Stuttgart, 1932). Stoops, R.F., 'Peter, Paul and Priority in the Apocryphal Acts', in E.H. Lovering, Jr (ed), Society of Biblical Literature 1993 Seminar Papers (Atlanta, 1993) 225-33. Vielhauer, Ph., Geschichte der urchristlichen Literatur. Einleitung in das Neue Testament, die Apokryphen und die Apostolischen Vater (Berlin and New York, 1975).
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Vogt, A., 'PanCgyrique de St. Pierre; PanCgyrique de St. Paul. Deux discours inedits de Nicktas de Paphlagoniie, disciple de Photius', Orientalia Christians 23 (1 93 1) 5-97. Warns, R., 'Weitere Darstellungen der heiligen Thekla', in G . Koch (ed), Studien zur spatantiken und friihchristlichen Kunst und Kultur des Orients I1 (Wiesbaden, 1986) 75-131. Wilson, R.McL., 'Apokryphen II', Theologische Realenzyklopadie 111 (1 978) 3 16-62.
Index of names, subjects and passages
Abraham 112 acclamations 51 Achilles 13-4 Achilles Tatius 1.5: 41; 2.2.4-6: 40; 6: 41; 6.2: 48; 9: 41 Acta Cypriani 4.1: 54 Acta martyrum 4-8 Acts ofAndrew 96, 98; 63-5: 96 Acts of John 39, 57-8; 18: 98; 45: 102 Acts of Justin 2.3: 47 Acts of Paul 57, 83; 11.4: 133, 139; author: 162; chastity in: 131; conversion of Paul 109-11, 124-5; date: 57, 123, 137, 158-62; final part of 162; name of 162; and New Testament 142-9; and Old Testament 179-90; Paul in Ephesus 114-5, 124; Paul in Sidon 111-3; place of origin: 56, 163; resurrection in 126-41 Acts of Paul (text): PHeidelberg 75-7, 81-2, 116; p. 28: 104; 116; Acts of Paul and Thecla 36-58, 89, 132, 140, 157, 164-78; 1: 128, 143; 2: 10; 3: 1-15, 37, 38, 127; 5: 29, 33, 147-8; 6: 27, 29; 7: 10, 29; 8: 40; 9: 29, 42; 12: 29, 130; 12-16: 134; 14: 134-9, 146; 15: 44; 16: 46, 47,; 17: 27, 47; 17-21: 27; 18: 48; 19: 42; 20: 48; 22: 49; 24: 145; 26: 28, 50; 27: 16, 29, 51-2; 27-31: 131; 28: 29, 33, 145; 29: 29; 30: 28-9, 33, 53; 31: 29, 30, 53; 33-4: 53; 34: 54, 104, 162; 36: 52; 36-7: 54; 37: 27, 130, 145; 38: 27, 55; 39: 29, 30, 32-3, 55, 131, 133; 40: 55, 162; 41: 30, 56; 42: 27, 56; 43: 33, 44, 5; Corinthian correspondence 80-1, 108, 117, 127-8, 131, 133, 139; 1 Cor 83-5, 131; 12: 140; 3 Cor 75-91, 128, 143; 1: 144; 5: 87; 6: 90, 128, 131, 133; 7: 87; 8: 127; 9-21: 88; 15: 140; 15-18: 129; 16-17: 129; 1618: 88, 131; 21: 140; 24: 146; 24-32: 88-9, 140; 25: 129; 25-30: 132; 26: 147; 30: 90, 129; 31: 129; 31-32: 131; 32: 133, 140; 32-33: 132; 33: 134; 35: 129, 144; 36: 13; PHamburg 62, 78; p.1; 53, 114, 130, 144-5; p.1-5: 62-4; p.2: 144; p.5: 115; p.6: 116; p.8: 145-6;
INDEX
200
Marp-ium Pauli 92-106, 115-9, 127, 129, 132-3, 140; 1: 100, 143, 146; 2.5: 92, 94; 2.14: 100; 3: 145; 4: 133; 4.10: 92; 5.17-8: 101; 5: 132; 6: 132, 140, 145; 7: 144 Acts of Peter 30, 39, 57, 96, 98; 33: 129; 40: 98; 41.8-9: 98, 116 Acts of Thomas 96-7, 165; 168-70: 96 Actus Theclae et Pauli 162 Adamantius 7; 11.37: 8; 11.44-5: 9 adoption 32 Aegeates 98 agnos/agneia 29 agonothetes 28 Alexander (AThe) 28, 30, 41, 50-1, 54, 165 Alexander of Aphrodisias, De fato 6: 12 Alexander the Great 13, 72 Amalek 49 Ambrose, Ad Vercellensem Ecclesiam 34-6: 167, 177 Ambrosiaster 138-9 Ananias 110, 121 Androclus 65, 68-71 angel 5, 6, 39 animals 52, 68; fight 165, 172 Anonyrnus Latinus, De Physiognomia 18: 8, 39; 86: 39; 88: 39 Antioch 37, 49-51, 55-6, 118, 127, 165, 169, 185 Antonius Diogenes, Wonders beyond Thule 57 Antony 73 apatinazoo 101 Apion 69-71; Aigyptiaka: 68 Apocalypse of Paul 39: 112 Apocalypse of Peter 139 apocalypticism 182-3 apokefalizoo 101 Apollo 112, 123 Apollodoms, Bibliotheca 3.13.6: 13-4 Apollophanes 86 apostolic figures 120 Appian, Bellum Civile 5.75.319: 52 Apuleius 13, 45; De magia 82: 45 Aries 8 Aristotle, Nichomachaean Ethics 1127a: 19
20 1
INDEX
Armenian Bible (Corinthian correspondence in AP) 76, 79, 81; canon 81; catena 108-9, 114-5, 118, 121 army-related metaphor system 101 Artemis 166, 177 ascension of Christ 170 Ascension of Isaiah 3.10: 112; 4: 93 asceticism 33, 89 assize system 46 Assos 118 Athanasius, Life of Thecla 167; Life of Saint Synkletike 167 Baal-worshipppers 187 Balaarn 71-2 bandy-legged 8, 11 baptism 99, 104, 130, 151, 170 Barnabas 112, 117-8, 139 Barsabas Justus 100 Basil of Seleucia (Pseudo-) 168-71, 175-7 Basilides I 24.3-4: 91 bema 46 benefaction(s) 22, 34; -or(s) 23, 30; - ress(es) 25, 30 Bible: Genesis 2.6: 6; 13: 112; 13.9: 113; 49.9: 73; Exodus 17.8-13: 49; Numbers 22.25-31: 72; 1 Samuel 31.13: 96; 2 Kings 2.23-5: 186; 13.21: 90; 19.15: 145; Psalms 45: 177; 45.9: 173; 45.10-1: 174; 118.17: 103; Canticles 1.4: 174, 177; 4.12: 168; 5.2: 174, 177; Isaiah 1.9: 12; 9.2: 146; 9.4: 102; 61.1: 146; Ezekiel 37.1-9: 65; Daniel 6.22: 66; 1 Maccabees 1.41-64: 96; 2 Maccabees 6.1-12.7: 96; Sirach 11.28, 30.lff: 136; Matthew 3.12: 144; 4.16: 146; 4.24: 146; 5.1-12: 147-8; 7.28: 104; 8.22: 98; 10.28: 145; 11.5: 146; 22.30: 136; 25.46: 103; 27.4,24: 103; Mark 1.15: 145; 2.12: 102; 5.20: 103; 6.14-29: 96, 98; 6.27: 101; 6.29: 98; 7.37: 104; 15.26: 145; 15.35: 102; 15.39: 102; Luke 143; 5.26: 103; 8.3: 34; 9.5: 101; 9.7: 103; 14: 37; John 143; 19.26: 102; 19.34: 102; Acts 83, 107-25, 139, 143; 1.5: 103, 145; 1.23: 100; 4: 121; 4.8: 145; 4.12: 144; 4.21: 104; 4.24: 145; 5.24: 103; 7.54-8.3: 96, 98-9; 8: 107; 8.16-24: 9; 9: 111, 125; 9.6: 109; 9.17: 145; 11.27-8: 186; 12.17: 186; 12.25: 118; 13.1: 118; 13.1-3: 118; 13.9: 145; 13.50: 41; 13.51: 9; 14.1-7: 9; 14.15: 145; 14.26-8: 118; 15: 113; 15.2: 121; 15-6; 117, 120; 15.26: 117; 15.30-5: 118; 15.36-16.40: 111; 16: 113; 16.4; 117; 16.10: 118; 17.4: 122; 117.31: 145; 19: 113; 19.12: 121; 19.24: 113; 20: 117;
INDEX
202
20.7-12: 100; 20.13: 118; 20.17-38: 115; 20.22f: 115; 20.26-7: 111, 116; 21.10ff 186; 22: 125; 22.10: 109; 22.10-20: 125; 26: 125; 26.16-8: 109; 26.24; 48; 27.1-28.16: 118; 27.3: 11 1; 28: 142; 28.3-5: 101; Romans 8.19-23: 65; 9.29: 112; 16.1-2: 34; I Corinthians 91; 1.11: 34; 3.2: 102; 3.14: 147; 6.3: 148; 6.19: 147; 7.29: 147; 9.7-14: 10; 15: 149; 15.12: 126, 146; 15.32: 66; 15.35-50: 90; 15.37: 147; 2 Corinthians 9-11, 76; 9-10: 10; 10.1: 10, 11; 10.2: 10; 10.10: 10, 11; 11.6: 11; 11.8: 10; 11.29-30: 10; 12.5: 10; 12.9: 11; 12.11: 10, 11; 12.16: 10; 12.20: 10; 13.2: 11; Galatians 76, 143; 2: 117; 6.17: 90, 144; Ephesians 143; 3.1: 144; 3.16-8: 6; 4.1: 144; 5.25-7: 174; Philippians 1.7: 144; Colossians 4.14: 143; 4.18: 144; 2 Thessalonians 1.7: 145; 1 Timothy 1.17: 104, 144; 4.1-3: 135; 2 Timothy 1.8: 144; 1.15: 37, 143; 1.16; 38; 2.3: 145; 2.9: 144; 2.18: 126, 1349, 146; 3.1 1: 154; 4.10: 37, 136, 143; 4.17: 66; 4.19: 38; Titus 3.12: 143; Philemon 1: 144; 24: 143; Hebrews 5.12-3: 102; 1 Peter 2.2; 102; 2 Peter 187; 149; I John 4.14: 103; Jude 149; Revelation 139; 5.5: 73 body, fatness of, 8; thinness of, 8 boethos 27 bones 65 bribery 48 brothel 51 bulls 54 Caligula 68 Calpurnius Siculus 7.65-6: 54 Carpocrates 91 Castelius 27, 134 celibacy 33 Cestus 94, 100-1, 104 Chariton, Callirhoe 57 charity 56 chastity 164, 174-5 children 134-9, 146 Chiron 13 Chloe 34 Christian 47 Chrysostom 108, 115, 121, 167, 176; Pseudo-, Panegyric on Thecla 1713, 176 Cicero, De fato 5.11: 12; De oficiis 2.69: 19; In Verrem 2.5.1 18: 48
circus mmimus 68 Claudius 52 1 Clement 5-6: 93 2 Clement 6.9: 148; 8.6: 147 Clement of Alexandria 162 Cleobius 76-7, 82, 84, 86, 91, 115-6 Codex Bezae (D) 107-25, 149 Codex Claromontanus 139 Commodian 71; Carmen apologeticum 623-30: 7 1 confession 47, 165, 171 Constantine the Great 183 consubstantiality 171 continence 89, 91, 171 corntentus 46 conversion 55-6 criminals 52 cross 98, 170; shape of 49 crowd 45 crown 50, 56, 59, 165 crucifixion 83, 85-6, 89 cult of the saints 99 custodia libera 27, 29
Damascus 122-3, 184 damnati ad bestias 53 Daniel 64, 66 Dares, Excidium Troiae 12: 14 David 84, 87 Decretum Gelasianum 5.4.9: 162 Deinocrates 44, 53 Demas 37, 47, 130, 134-9 Demetrius 114-5 demiurge 6 diaporeoo 103 Didache 139 diogmitae 44, 56 Dionysos 15, 40, 68 Dionysos of Halicarnassus, Antiquitates Romanae 2.9-1 1: 19 Diophantes 63 doksazoo 103
ekpleessoo 104 Elijah 132, 167, 181-2, 184-5, 187, 189 Elisha 90, 189 Elisha-Elijah narratives 121 Elpis (Samius) 67-8 emperor-worship 72 encratism 98-9, 119 Ephesus 106, 123 Ephrem Syrus 76, 79, 107-25 epiphanies 39 Epiphanius of Salamis, Panarion 79.5: 167 Epistle to Rheginos 127-33, 140-1 Essenes 136 eucharist 39 euergetism 18 Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastics 3.25.4: 139; 3.39.9: 100 Eusthenes 15 Eutychus 82, 84 eyebrows 8, 11 5 Ezra 2.8: 112
Falconilla 32-3, 44, 52, 56, 131, 133 festival 52 first of Antiochenes 50-1, 56 first of the city 41, 56 first of the Iconians 50, 56 functions 24 Ganymede 72 Gellius 68-70 gladiators, gladitorial games 52-3 Gnostics: 7, 91, 119, 127, 135, 139-41 Gomorrah 112-4, 123 Gospel of Philip 127-33 Gregory of Nyssa, Hom Cant 14: 167, 176 grief 52 hair 7, 49 heis kai monos 42 Heliodoms 4.7: 41
INDEX
Hermas 139 Hermeias 33 Hermocrates 104 Hermogenes 37, 47, 130, 134-9 hero(ism) 179-90 Herod 103 Hieronymus: see Jerome Hippolytus, Commentary on Daniel 3.29: 66; Refutatio omnium haeresium 6.34: 6; 4.15: 8; 9.27-9: 136-9 Holy Spirit 87, 123 Horeb 184 Hosios kai Dikaios 42 human of clay 6 hypostasis 130 Iconium 37, 46, 49, 51-2, 55-6, 165 imperial cult 51 inner human being 6 inscriptions: L 'Annbe ~ p i ~ r a p h i ~1971.79: ue 25; Inschriften von Arykanda, 42, 49, 50: 41; SEG 31.1316: 41; 35.1566:42; 42.1215: 41 Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses 1.10.1: 128; I 23.5: 135; I 25.1: 91 Israel 88 jailer 113 Jerome 61, 63; and AThe: 158-61; De uiris illustribus 5: 160; 7: 139, 158-61, 168; 9: 160; 53: 160; Vita Pauli 16: 73 Jesus 102, 120 Jews 136-7, 141 Joanna 34 John 121, 159-61, 163, 181 John the Baptist 99, 101, 103, 159, 167 John Mark 118 Jonah 90, 13 1 Judaism 42 Jupiter 72 Justin, De resurrectione 128 kafadeo 42 kolasis 103
Latin (manuscripts) 79, 81 Lectra 37-8 Leucius 163 liber qui appellatur Theclae et Pauli 162 Ligyron 14 lion 60-7, 73, 104; -ess 53-4 Longus (AP) 94, 100-1, 104 Longus, Daphnis and Chloe 2.7: 41; 2.82: 41 Lot 112 lovesickness 4 1 Lucian, Philopatris, 12: 1; Toxaris, 31: 48 Lucius of Cyrene 118 Luke 94, 104, 118, 123-4, 143, 158-9, 185, 189 magic 45-6; erotic 42, 45 mania 48 Manichaeans 168 Marcellus 98 Martial 1.6: 72 Martyrdom of Carpus, Papyfus and Agathonice 5 51 Martyrdom of Clement 96-7; 23-4: 96-7 Martyrdom of Ignatius 96; 6-7: 96 Martyrdom of Polycarp 96; 15-7: 97; 15-22: 96 Martyrium Lugdunorum 56: 54 Martyrium Petri 11-2: 96 Martyrium Petri et Pauli 95; 41.12: 99; 63: 98; 63.15: 96 Martyrium Pionii 96; 11.5: 48; 18.1: 54; 21-3: 96-7 martyrology 95 Mary 84-5, 87-9, 167 Maximilla 98 Melania 30 Menander 135, 137 Mentor Syracusanus 67 Methodius of Olyrnpus, Symposium 166 Metiochus and Parthenope 4 1, 57 Miletus 115, 117 milk 101-2 miracle 104, 121, 127, 166, 171, 187; of punishment 99 misthos 29 Montanism 119
207
INDEX
Moses 49, 132, 181 mother 34; -daughter relation: 32 Muratorianum, Fragmentum 73, 77: 156 Mygdonia 165 Myra 55, 127 Nativity of Mary 78 Nero 94, 98, 100-1, 103, 105-6, 127, 132-3, 159-60; persecution 92-3, 183 New Testament 76, 142-9 Nicephorus 61, 63 Ninus 57 nose 8 nudity 48, 53-4
Obadiah 185 Odes of Solomon 8.16; 102 Oea 45 ogdoas 6 Onesiphorns 1, 9, 33, 37-40, 45, 49 Origen, on AP 139; Actus Pauli 162; Commentary on John 20.12: 155; De principiis 1.2.3: 155 Palladius, Historica Lausiaca 65.3: 48 Papyri: Papyrus Bodmer X: 75, 78, 82-4, 87, 142; P. Oxy. 61.4096, fi.1: 54 parade 52-3 parousia 87 Parthenius 132 Passio Perpetuae 2.1: 43; 3.1-4: 43; 3.7: 48; 7-8: 44; 18.1: 53; 20.2: 53; 21: 43 Passio Scillitanorum 8: 48 Patroclus 93, 100, 127, 144 patronage 16-35 Paul and Peter 123 Paul, passim; conversion of 109-11, 123; Roman citizen: 48; death of: 159; epistles, collections o f 76-9 Paula 30 Pelagia 61 Pelagius 138
Peleus 13 Periodoi Pauli et Theclae 162 Perpetua 42-3 Peter 117, 121, 123, 181 Peter and Paul 123 Phaedrus 1.5: 60 Pheretas 132 philandria 25 Philetas 41 Philippi 77, 82, 112 Philistines 182, 184, 187, 189 philoteknia 25 Phoebe 34 physiognomy 1-15, 38-9 Physiologus 40: 57 Pliny, Natural History 2.18: 22; 8.42: 67; 8.48: 67; 8.56: 67; 8.58: 68 Polemon 13-4, 52; Physiognomia 7.27(v): 8 pools 54 pro-consul 48, 51 Pseudo-Aristotle, Physiognomonica 7; 813b: 39; 9.806b: 8; 13-4.807ab: 9; 69.812b: 8 Pseudo-Cyprian, De rebaptismate 162 Pudentilla 45 Purgatory 53 rape 29 reciprocity 20, 30 releasing prisoners 99 resurrection 55, 83, 85, 88-91, 126-41, 146, 170 Romanesque cathedrals 67 Sadducees 136-7 Samson 181-2, 187, 189 Sapphira 121 seal 104; -s: 54 Seleucia 165-6 Seneca the Younger, De beneficiis 2.19.1: 68 Sesonchosis, col. III.19f: 41 Severus of Antioch, Homilia 97: 173-4 sexuality 67
shadow 121 Silas 112 Sirnrnias 37 Simon 76-7, 82, 84, 86, 91; the magician 107 slaves 55 Socrates 12 Sodom 112-4, 123 solidarity 20 Sophia 6 sophrosyne 25 soter 23, 27 sphragis 104 Spirit 123; - christology 119 stephanephoros 28 Stephen 99, 120 Stratocles 98 Stratonice 86 Suetonius, Augustus 80: 11; Domitian 18.2: 39 Susanna 34 Synesius, Laudatio calvi 5: 9 Syrian Bible 81 Tacitus 93 terebinth 96 tereo 29 Tertullian 3, 150, 160; De baptismo 151-2; 17.5: 3, 56, 150-63; De carnis resurrectione 128 Thamyris 40-1, 45-6 thaumazoo 102-3 theatre 48 Thecla 16-35, 36-51, 130-1, 133, 151, 153-5, 164-78; baptizing by: 157, 162; death of: 166; martyrdom of: 165, 172, 175-6; name of 40; oracles of 171; self-baptism: 162 theios aner 144, 180, 187 Theoclia 33, 40-2 Theocritus, 11: 15 Theodore of Mopsuestia 138, 167 Theodoretus of Cyrus 138 Theonoe 81 Threptus 82, 84
Thyestean banquet 40 Titus 1, 9, 94, 104, 1 18, 143 travesty 55 Trinity 170-1 Tryphaena: 16-35, 44, 52, 54, 130, 165 Valentinus 5-6 valley of bones 65 venationes 51 via Sebaste 37, 56 virgins 5 1; virginity 166, 170 wealth 58 widow 31, 56 women 54, 58, 123-4, 156; in Acts: 122; in AJ: 58; in amphitheatre: 53; baptizing: 151, 163; as benefactresses: 25, 30; and elite: 16-35; honour o f 29; in pagan novels: 57; public role: 16-35 Xenophon, Oeconomicus 2: 19 Zeno 38 Zopyrus 12, 14
