Christian Apocrypha and Early Christian Literature

THE GNOSTIC SOCIETY

ACTS OF PETER

From "The Apocryphal New Testament"

M.R. James-Translation and Notes

Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924

Written, probably by a resident in Asia Minor (he does not know much about Rome), not later
than A. D. 200 , in Greek. The author has read the Acts of John very carefully, and modelled his
language upon them. However, he was not so unorthodox as Leucius, though his language about
the Person of our Lord (ch. xx) has rather suspicious resemblances to that of the Acts of John.
The length of the book as given by the Stichometry of Nicephorus was 2 , 750 lines-fifty lines less
than the canonical Acts. The portions we have may be about the length of St. Mark's Gospel; and
about 1 , 000 lines may be wanting. Such is Zaha's estimate.
We have:

1. A short episode in Coptic.


2. A large portion in Latin preserved in a single manuscript of the seventh century at Vercelli:
   often called the Vercelli Acts. It includes the martyrdom.


3. The martyrdom, preserved separately, in two good Greek copies, in Latin, and in many
   versions-Coptic, Slavonic, Syriac, Armenian, Arabic, Ethiopic.
   Also:
   One or two important quotations from lost portions; a small fragment of the original in a
   papyrus; certain passages-speeches of Peter- transferred by an unscrupulous writer to the Life of
   St. Abercius of Hierapolis.
   A Latin paraphrase of the martyrdom, attributed to Linus, Peter's successor in the bishopric of
   Rome, was made from the Greek, and is occasionally useful.

I
THE COPTIC FRAGMENT
This is preserved separately in an early papyrus manuscript (fourth-fifth century) now at Berlin;
the other contents of it are Gnostic writings which have not yet been published. I follow C.
Schmidt's rendering of it. It has a title at the end: The Act of Peter On the first day of the week,
that is, on the Lord's day, a multitude gathered together, and they brought unto Peter many sick
that he might heal them. And one of the multitude adventured to say unto Peter: Lo, Peter, in our
presence thou hast made many blind to see and the deaf to hear and the lame to walk, and hast
succoured the weak and given them strength: but wherefore hast thou not succoured thy
daughter, the virgin, which grew up beautiful and hath believed in the name of God? For behold,
her one side is wholly palsied, and she lieth there stretched out in the corner helpless. We see
them that have been healed by thee: thine own daughter thou hast neglected.
But Peter smiled and said unto him: My son, it is manifest unto God alone wherefore her body is
not whole. Know then that God is not weak nor powerless to grant his gift unto my daughter: but
that thy soul may be convinced, and they that are here present may the more believe - then he
looked unto his daughter and said to her: Raise thyself up from thy place, without any helping