Gospel of Peter
Encyclopedia
The Gospel According to Peter , commonly called the Gospel of Peter, is one of the non-Canonical gospels which were rejected by the Church Fathers
and the Catholic Church's synods of Carthage and Rome, which established the New Testament canon, as apocryphal. It was the first of the non-canonical gospels to be rediscovered, preserved in the dry sands of Egypt.
A major focus of the surviving fragment of the Gospel of Peter is the passion
narrative, which is notable for ascribing responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus
to Herod Antipas
rather than to Pontius Pilate
.
However scholars generally agree that Gospel of Peter is pseudepigraphical
(bearing the name of an author who did not actually compose the text)
.
The true author of the gospel remains a mystery. Though there are parallels with the three synoptic gospels, Peter does not use any of the material unique to Matthew or unique to Luke. Raymond E. Brown
and others find that the author may have been acquainted with the synoptic gospels and even with the Gospel of John
; Brown (The Death of the Messiah) even suggests that the author's source in the canonic gospels was transmitted orally, through readings in the churches, i.e. that the text is based on what the author remembers about the other gospels, together with his own embellishments.
Ron Cameron and others have further speculated the Gospel of Peter written independently of the synoptic Gospel using an early proto gospel. A consequence of this is the potential existence of a source text that formed the basis of the passion narratives in Matthew, Luke, and Mark, as well as in Peter. Origen
makes mention of the Gospel of Peter as agreeing with the tradition of the Hebrews. The relationship to the Gospel according to the Hebrews becomes more clear when Theodoret
states that the Nazarenes made use of the Gospel of Peter, for we know by the testimony of the Fathers generally that the Nazarene Gospel was that commonly called the Gospel according to the Hebrews. The same Gospel was in use amongst the Ebionites
, and in fact, as almost all critics are agreed, the Gospel according to the Hebrews, under various names, such as the Gospel according to Peter, according to the Apostles, the Nazarenes, Ebionites, Egyptians, &c, with modifications certainly, but substantially the same work, was circulated very widely throughout the early Church.
upon inspection at Rhossus, circa 190. The Rhossus community had already been using it in their liturgy.
Later Western references, which condemn the work, such as Jerome
and Decretum Gelasianum, traditionally connected to Pope Gelasius I
, are apparently based upon the judgment of Eusebius, not upon a direct knowledge of the text.
to a letter publicly circulated by Serapion in 190–203, who had found upon examining it that "most of it belonged to the right teaching of the Saviour," but that some parts might encourage its hearers to fall into the Docetist heresy
. Serapion's rebuttal of the Gospel of Peter is otherwise lost.
Origen also mentions that the Gospel of Peter, together with "the book of James"
, was the source for the Church doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary
. It would appear that the former text to which Origen was referring is another Gospel of Peter, as evidenced to date: two papyrus fragments from Oxyrhynchus
, both in the Ashmolean Museum
: P.Oxy 4009 and P.Oxy 2949 contain no such reference and what is referred today as the Gospel Of Peter, discussed below, contains a Passion narrative only.
2nd Clement refers to a passage thought to be from the Gospel of Peter:
2Clem 5:2
For the Lord saith, Ye shall be as lambs in the midst of wolves.
2Clem 5:3
But Peter answered and said unto Him, What then, if the wolves
should tear the lambs?
2Clem 5:4
Jesus said unto Peter, Let not the lambs fear the wolves after they
are dead; and ye also, fear ye not them that kill you and are not
able to do anything to you; but fear Him that after ye are dead
hath power over soul and body, to cast them into the Gehenna of
fire.
“The saying of 5:2−4, for example, appears to be from the lost Gospel of Peter,” says Bart Ehrman in Lecture 15 of his audiobook, After The New Testament.
, in the modern Egyptian city of Akhmim
(sixty miles north of Nag Hammadi
). The 8th or 9th-century manuscript had been respectfully buried with an Egyptian monk. The fragmentary Gospel of Peter was the first non-canonical gospel to have been rediscovered, preserved in the dry sand of Egypt. Publication, delayed by Bouriant until 1892, occasioned intense interest. From the passion sequence
that is preserved, it is clear that the gospel was a narrative gospel, but whether a complete narrative similar to the canonical gospels or simply a Passion cannot be said.
Two other papyrus fragments from Oxyrhyncus (P.Oxy 4009 and P.Oxy. 2949) were uncovered later and published in 1972. They are possibly, but not conclusively, from the Gospel of Peter and would suggest, if they belonged, that the text was more than just a passion narrative. These small fragments both seem to give first person accounts of discussions between Jesus and Peter in situations prior to the Passion week.
To date it is one of four early non-canonical narrative gospels, which exist only in fragmentary form: this Gospel of Peter, the Egerton Gospel
, and the two very fragmentary Oxyrhynchus Gospels
(P.Oxy. 840 and P.Oxy. 1224). The main point of interest from the first has resided in establishing its relationship to the four canonical gospels
.
.
One of the chief characteristics of the work is that Pontius Pilate
is exonerated of all responsibility for the Crucifixion, the onus being laid upon Herod
, the scribes, and other Jews, who pointedly do not "wash their hands" like Pilate. However, the Gospel of Peter was condemned as heretical
already ca. 200 AD (as the story about Serapion shows; see above), for its alleged docetic
elements. Other elements which may have led to its condemnation are its more supernatural embellishments, including astronomically tall angels, the descent into Hell, and the fact that the Cross of Christ itself is portrayed as floating out of the tomb and uttering the word "yea" in response to a heavenly voice.
The opening leaves of the text are lost, so the Passion begins abruptly with the trial of Jesus before Pilate, after Pilate has washed his hands, and closes with its unusual and detailed version of the watch set over the tomb and the resurrection
. The Gospel of Peter is more detailed in its account of the events after the Crucifixion than any of the canonical gospels, and it varies from the canonical accounts in numerous details: Herod gives the order for the execution, not Pilate, who is exonerated; Joseph (of Arimathea, which place is not mentioned) has been acquainted with Pilate; in the darkness that accompanied the crucifixion, "many went about with lamps, supposing that it was night, and fell down".
Christ's cry from the cross, in Matthew given as Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? which Matthew explains as meaning My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? is reported in Peter as My power, my power, thou hast forsaken me. Immediately after, Peter states that when he had said it he was taken up, suggesting that Jesus did not actually die. This, together with the claim that on the cross Jesus "remained silent, as though he felt no pain", has led many early Christians to accuse the text of docetism
. The account in Peter tells that the supposed writer and other disciples hid because they were being sought on suspicion of plotting to set fire to the temple, and totally rejects any possibility of their disloyalty.
The centurion who kept watch at the tomb is given the name Petronius
. Details of the sealing of the tomb, requested of Pilate by the elders of the Jewish community, elaborates upon Matthew 27:66 "So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch", saying instead:
Most importantly, the Resurrection and Ascension, which are described in detail, are not treated as separate events, but occur on the same day:
The text is unusual at this point in describing the Cross itself as speaking, and even floating out of the tomb, which has led some scholars to suspect it of gnostic
sympathies. The text then proceeds to follow the Gospel of Mark, ending at the short ending
(where the women flee the empty tomb in fear), and adding on an extra scene set during the feast of unleavened bread, where the disciples leave Jerusalem, and ends, like the short ending, without Jesus being physically seen or explicitly resurrected.
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were early and influential theologians, eminent Christian teachers and great bishops. Their scholarly works were used as a precedent for centuries to come...
and the Catholic Church's synods of Carthage and Rome, which established the New Testament canon, as apocryphal. It was the first of the non-canonical gospels to be rediscovered, preserved in the dry sands of Egypt.
A major focus of the surviving fragment of the Gospel of Peter is the passion
Passion (Christianity)
The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
narrative, which is notable for ascribing responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus
Crucifixion of Jesus
The crucifixion of Jesus and his ensuing death is an event that occurred during the 1st century AD. Jesus, who Christians believe is the Son of God as well as the Messiah, was arrested, tried, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally executed on a cross...
to Herod Antipas
Herod Antipas
Herod Antipater , known by the nickname Antipas, was a 1st-century AD ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch...
rather than to Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilatus , known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate , was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus...
.
Composition
There is comparatively little scholarly debate on this topic. Indeed, there is broad consensus among scholars on authorship, date, etc. from the Early Church to modern times.Authorship
The Gospel of Peter explicitly claims to be the work of the Apostle Peter:- "And I with my companions was grieved; and being wounded in mind we hid ourselves:" — GoP, 7.
- "But I Simon Peter and Andrew my brother took our nets and went to the sea;" — GoP, 14.
However scholars generally agree that Gospel of Peter is pseudepigraphical
Pseudepigraphy
Pseudepigrapha are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed authorship is unfounded; a work, simply, "whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past." The word "pseudepigrapha" is the plural of "pseudepigraphon" ; the Anglicized forms...
(bearing the name of an author who did not actually compose the text)
.
The true author of the gospel remains a mystery. Though there are parallels with the three synoptic gospels, Peter does not use any of the material unique to Matthew or unique to Luke. Raymond E. Brown
Raymond E. Brown
The Reverend Raymond Edward Brown, S.S. , was an American Roman Catholic priest, a member of the Sulpician Fathers and a major Biblical scholar of his era...
and others find that the author may have been acquainted with the synoptic gospels and even with the Gospel of John
Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
; Brown (The Death of the Messiah) even suggests that the author's source in the canonic gospels was transmitted orally, through readings in the churches, i.e. that the text is based on what the author remembers about the other gospels, together with his own embellishments.
Ron Cameron and others have further speculated the Gospel of Peter written independently of the synoptic Gospel using an early proto gospel. A consequence of this is the potential existence of a source text that formed the basis of the passion narratives in Matthew, Luke, and Mark, as well as in Peter. Origen
Origen
Origen , or Origen Adamantius, 184/5–253/4, was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, in part because he believed in the pre-existence of souls...
makes mention of the Gospel of Peter as agreeing with the tradition of the Hebrews. The relationship to the Gospel according to the Hebrews becomes more clear when Theodoret
Theodoret
Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus was an influential author, theologian, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus, Syria . He played a pivotal role in many early Byzantine church controversies that led to various ecumenical acts and schisms...
states that the Nazarenes made use of the Gospel of Peter, for we know by the testimony of the Fathers generally that the Nazarene Gospel was that commonly called the Gospel according to the Hebrews. The same Gospel was in use amongst the Ebionites
Ebionites
Ebionites, or Ebionaioi, , is a patristic term referring to a Jewish Christian sect or sects that existed during the first centuries of the Christian Era. They regarded Jesus as the Messiah and insisted on the necessity of following Jewish religious law and rites...
, and in fact, as almost all critics are agreed, the Gospel according to the Hebrews, under various names, such as the Gospel according to Peter, according to the Apostles, the Nazarenes, Ebionites, Egyptians, &c, with modifications certainly, but substantially the same work, was circulated very widely throughout the early Church.
Date
The gospel is widely thought to date from after Peter's death. Scholars generally agree on a date 'in the second half of the 2nd century. This is assuming it is the text condemned by Serapion, Bishop of AntiochSerapion of Antioch
Serapion was Patriarch of Antioch . He is known primarily through his theological writings. Eusebius refers to three works of Serapion in his history, but admits that others probably existed: first is a private letter addressed to Caricus and Pontius against Montanism, from which Eusebius quotes an...
upon inspection at Rhossus, circa 190. The Rhossus community had already been using it in their liturgy.
Later Western references, which condemn the work, such as Jerome
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
and Decretum Gelasianum, traditionally connected to Pope Gelasius I
Pope Gelasius I
Pope Saint Gelasius I was pope from 492 until his death in 496. He was the third and last bishop of Rome of African origin in the Catholic Church. Gelasius was a prolific writer whose style placed him on the cusp between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages...
, are apparently based upon the judgment of Eusebius, not upon a direct knowledge of the text.
Historical references
Into modern times the Gospel of Peter had been known only from early quotations, especially from a reference by EusebiusEusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea also called Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon...
to a letter publicly circulated by Serapion in 190–203, who had found upon examining it that "most of it belonged to the right teaching of the Saviour," but that some parts might encourage its hearers to fall into the Docetist heresy
Docetism
In Christianity, docetism is the belief that Jesus' physical body was an illusion, as was his crucifixion; that is, Jesus only seemed to have a physical body and to physically die, but in reality he was incorporeal, a pure spirit, and hence could not physically die...
. Serapion's rebuttal of the Gospel of Peter is otherwise lost.
Origen also mentions that the Gospel of Peter, together with "the book of James"
Gospel of James
The Gospel of James, also known as the Infancy Gospel of James or the Protoevangelium of James, is an apocryphal Gospel probably written about AD 145, which expands backward in time the infancy stories contained the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and presents a narrative concerning the birth and...
, was the source for the Church doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary
Perpetual virginity of Mary
The doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary, expresses the Virgin Mary's "real and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to Jesus the Son of God made Man"...
. It would appear that the former text to which Origen was referring is another Gospel of Peter, as evidenced to date: two papyrus fragments from Oxyrhynchus
Oxyrhynchus Papyri
The Oxyrhynchus Papyri are a very numerous group of manuscripts discovered by archaeologists including Bernard Pyne Grenfell and Arthur Surridge Hunt at an ancient rubbish dump near Oxyrhynchus in Egypt . The manuscripts date from the 1st to the 6th century AD. They include thousands of Greek and...
, both in the Ashmolean Museum
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum...
: P.Oxy 4009 and P.Oxy 2949 contain no such reference and what is referred today as the Gospel Of Peter, discussed below, contains a Passion narrative only.
2nd Clement refers to a passage thought to be from the Gospel of Peter:
2Clem 5:2
For the Lord saith, Ye shall be as lambs in the midst of wolves.
2Clem 5:3
But Peter answered and said unto Him, What then, if the wolves
should tear the lambs?
2Clem 5:4
Jesus said unto Peter, Let not the lambs fear the wolves after they
are dead; and ye also, fear ye not them that kill you and are not
able to do anything to you; but fear Him that after ye are dead
hath power over soul and body, to cast them into the Gehenna of
fire.
“The saying of 5:2−4, for example, appears to be from the lost Gospel of Peter,” says Bart Ehrman in Lecture 15 of his audiobook, After The New Testament.
Discovery
The Gospel of Peter was recovered in 1886, by the French archaeologist, Urbain BouriantUrbain Bouriant
Urbain Bouriant was a French Egyptologist, who discovered the Gospel of Peter in a tomb at Akhmim. He is best known from his translation of Al-Maqrizi, published as Description topographique et historique de l'Egypte...
, in the modern Egyptian city of Akhmim
Akhmim
Akhmim is a city in the Sohag Governorate of Upper Egypt. Referred to by the ancient Greeks as Khemmis, Chemmis and Panopolis, it is located on the east bank of the Nile, 4 miles to the northeast of Sohag.- History :Akhmim was known in Ancient Egypt as Ipu, Apu or Khent-min...
(sixty miles north of Nag Hammadi
Nag Hammâdi
Nag Hammadi , is a city in Upper Egypt. Nag Hammadi was known as Chenoboskion in classical antiquity, meaning "geese grazing grounds". It is located on the west bank of the Nile in the Qena Governorate, about 80 kilometres north-west of Luxor....
). The 8th or 9th-century manuscript had been respectfully buried with an Egyptian monk. The fragmentary Gospel of Peter was the first non-canonical gospel to have been rediscovered, preserved in the dry sand of Egypt. Publication, delayed by Bouriant until 1892, occasioned intense interest. From the passion sequence
Passion (Christianity)
The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
that is preserved, it is clear that the gospel was a narrative gospel, but whether a complete narrative similar to the canonical gospels or simply a Passion cannot be said.
Two other papyrus fragments from Oxyrhyncus (P.Oxy 4009 and P.Oxy. 2949) were uncovered later and published in 1972. They are possibly, but not conclusively, from the Gospel of Peter and would suggest, if they belonged, that the text was more than just a passion narrative. These small fragments both seem to give first person accounts of discussions between Jesus and Peter in situations prior to the Passion week.
To date it is one of four early non-canonical narrative gospels, which exist only in fragmentary form: this Gospel of Peter, the Egerton Gospel
Egerton Gospel
The Egerton Gospel refers to a group of papyrus fragments of a codex of a previously unknown gospel, found in Egypt and sold to the British Museum in 1934; the physical fragments are now dated to the very end of the 2nd century AD, although the date of composition is less clear – perhaps 50-100 AD...
, and the two very fragmentary Oxyrhynchus Gospels
Oxyrhynchus Gospels
The Oxyrhynchus Gospels are two fragmentary manuscripts , discovered among the rich finds of discarded papyri at Oxyrhynchus in Egypt...
(P.Oxy. 840 and P.Oxy. 1224). The main point of interest from the first has resided in establishing its relationship to the four canonical gospels
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
.
Contents
J. Rendel Harris (1852–1941) decided to introduce it to the public in A Popular Account of the Newly-Recovered Gospel of Peter. He opens with a description of its discovery, offering his opinions regarding its date and original language. Classifying the work as a Docetic gospel, Harris defines the community in which it arose as well as its use during the Patristic age. He translates the fragment and then proceeds to discuss the sources behind it. Harris is convinced that the author borrowed from the canonical accounts, and he lists other literature that may have incorporated the Gospel of Peter, with special emphasis on the DiatessaronDiatessaron
The Diatessaron is the most prominent Gospel harmony created by Tatian, an early Christian apologist and ascetic. The term "diatessaron" is from Middle English by way of Latin, diatessarōn , and ultimately Greek, διὰ τεσσάρων The Diatessaron (c 160 - 175) is the most prominent Gospel harmony...
.
One of the chief characteristics of the work is that Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilatus , known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate , was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus...
is exonerated of all responsibility for the Crucifixion, the onus being laid upon Herod
Herod Antipas
Herod Antipater , known by the nickname Antipas, was a 1st-century AD ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch...
, the scribes, and other Jews, who pointedly do not "wash their hands" like Pilate. However, the Gospel of Peter was condemned as heretical
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
already ca. 200 AD (as the story about Serapion shows; see above), for its alleged docetic
Docetism
In Christianity, docetism is the belief that Jesus' physical body was an illusion, as was his crucifixion; that is, Jesus only seemed to have a physical body and to physically die, but in reality he was incorporeal, a pure spirit, and hence could not physically die...
elements. Other elements which may have led to its condemnation are its more supernatural embellishments, including astronomically tall angels, the descent into Hell, and the fact that the Cross of Christ itself is portrayed as floating out of the tomb and uttering the word "yea" in response to a heavenly voice.
The opening leaves of the text are lost, so the Passion begins abruptly with the trial of Jesus before Pilate, after Pilate has washed his hands, and closes with its unusual and detailed version of the watch set over the tomb and the resurrection
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
. The Gospel of Peter is more detailed in its account of the events after the Crucifixion than any of the canonical gospels, and it varies from the canonical accounts in numerous details: Herod gives the order for the execution, not Pilate, who is exonerated; Joseph (of Arimathea, which place is not mentioned) has been acquainted with Pilate; in the darkness that accompanied the crucifixion, "many went about with lamps, supposing that it was night, and fell down".
Christ's cry from the cross, in Matthew given as Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? which Matthew explains as meaning My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? is reported in Peter as My power, my power, thou hast forsaken me. Immediately after, Peter states that when he had said it he was taken up, suggesting that Jesus did not actually die. This, together with the claim that on the cross Jesus "remained silent, as though he felt no pain", has led many early Christians to accuse the text of docetism
Docetism
In Christianity, docetism is the belief that Jesus' physical body was an illusion, as was his crucifixion; that is, Jesus only seemed to have a physical body and to physically die, but in reality he was incorporeal, a pure spirit, and hence could not physically die...
. The account in Peter tells that the supposed writer and other disciples hid because they were being sought on suspicion of plotting to set fire to the temple, and totally rejects any possibility of their disloyalty.
The centurion who kept watch at the tomb is given the name Petronius
Petronius (centurion)
In the noncanonical Gospel of Peter, Petronius is the name of the centurion who is ordered by Pontius Pilate to guard the tomb of Jesus ....
. Details of the sealing of the tomb, requested of Pilate by the elders of the Jewish community, elaborates upon Matthew 27:66 "So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch", saying instead:
Most importantly, the Resurrection and Ascension, which are described in detail, are not treated as separate events, but occur on the same day:
The text is unusual at this point in describing the Cross itself as speaking, and even floating out of the tomb, which has led some scholars to suspect it of gnostic
Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
sympathies. The text then proceeds to follow the Gospel of Mark, ending at the short ending
Mark 16
Mark 16 is the final chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It begins with the discovery of the empty tomb by Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome — there they encounter a man dressed in white who announces the Resurrection of Jesus.Verse 8 ends...
(where the women flee the empty tomb in fear), and adding on an extra scene set during the feast of unleavened bread, where the disciples leave Jerusalem, and ends, like the short ending, without Jesus being physically seen or explicitly resurrected.
See also
- Apocalypse of PeterApocalypse of PeterThe recovered Apocalypse of Peter or Revelation of Peter is an example of a simple, popular early Christian text of the 2nd century; it is an example of Apocalyptic literature with Hellenistic overtones. The text is extant in two incomplete versions of a lost Greek original, one Koine Greek, and an...
- Gnostic Apocalypse of PeterGnostic Apocalypse of PeterThe Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter, not to be confused with the Apocalypse of Peter, is a text found amongst the Nag Hammadi library, and part of the New Testament apocrypha. Like the vast majority of texts in the Nag Hammadi collection, it is heavily gnostic. It was probably written around 100-200 AD...
- Biblical canonBiblical canonA biblical canon, or canon of scripture, is a list of books considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular religious community. The term itself was first coined by Christians, but the idea is found in Jewish sources. The internal wording of the text can also be specified, for example...
- ApocryphaApocryphaThe term apocrypha is used with various meanings, including "hidden", "esoteric", "spurious", "of questionable authenticity", ancient Chinese "revealed texts and objects" and "Christian texts that are not canonical"....
- Gospel of JudasGospel of JudasThe Gospel of Judas is a Gnostic gospel that purportedly documents conversations between the Disciple Judas Iscariot and Jesus Christ.It is believed to have been written by Gnostic followers of Jesus, rather than by Judas himself, and probably dates from no earlier than the 2nd century, since it...
External links
- Early Christian Writings: Gospel of Peter: several translations and commentaries, and three Patristic references
- Gospels.net: Gospel of Peter: additional information
- The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge : Peter the Apostle: III.1
- Geoff Trowbrige, "The Gospel of Peter"
- Barbara Thiering's interpretation of the Gospel of Peter