350 michael kaler
Peter
peter is prominent in several of the nag hammadi works, namely the
Apocalypse of Peter, the Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles, and the Let-
ter of Peter to Philip, as well as playing a significant role in the Apocryphon
of James. in all of these works but one, peter is shown as a leader of his
fellow apostles, a guiding and very active figure who is always seen in the
company of others as they navigate their interactions with the transcen-
dent realm as represented by Jesus. peter is not marked for his wisdom,
but rather for his leadership and the benefits that that leadership confers
on him in terms of privileged access to Jesus. even in the Apocalypse of
Peter, a revelation dialogue in which peter is alone with the saviour, the
information that the saviour imparts is presented always with reference
to peter’s mission, which will be to continue the saviour’s work (including
guiding the disciples) and thus, necessarily, to face crucifixion as a public
figure, as Jesus did.
This peter corresponds with the presentation of peter in other early
christian sources from galatians on (although in galatians, of course,
peter is not regarded positively); it also differs sharply from the paul that
we have seen in the two pseudepigrapha. These pauls are figures tempo-
rarily or permanently outside of the christian mainstream lineage, and
focused less on group action than on the solitary reception of wisdom. The
paul of the pastorals would have been a comparable figure with the peter
that we have been discussing, but that paul is hardly represented among
the nag hammadi writings. As for the paul of Acts, the busy missionary
working under peter’s direction, he is nowhere to be found—indeed, as i
have argued elsewhere, the Letter of Peter to Philip might even represent
an attempt to revision Acts so as to cast peter in the lineage of paul.25
James
James is a lead character in codex V’s two Apocalypses of James, as well
as the Apocryphon of James in codex i (in which he shares the spotlight
with peter). All three of these works put James in the context of the early
period of the christian mission. As is the case elsewhere in early christian
writings, among the nag hammadi codices too, James is presented as an
early leader of the christian movement, but one who is more firmly tied to
25 Kaler, “The Letter of Peter to Philip.”