Article contents
The Words of Life in the Acts of the Apostle Andrew*
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 June 2011
Extract
Christianity always expressed the necessity of the proclamation of the gospel. During the second century, however, the different groups and churches were not able to agree on the nature of this proclamation. For some, the apostolic witness was constituted by a memory of fundamental salvific events, namely, the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ. For others, particularly the author of the Acts of Andrew, preaching the gospel meant communicating divine wisdom and proclaiming life-giving words.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © President and Fellows of Harvard College 1994
References
1 In the first case—the memory of salvific events—the apostle withdraws behind his message; in the other—the communication of wisdom—he tends to become a mediator of the revelation. See Prieur, Jean-Marc, “La figure de l'apôtre dans les Actes apocryphes d' Andre”; and Bovon, François, “La vie des apôtres: traditions bibliques et narrations apocryphes”; in François Bovon, ed., Les Actes apocryphes des apôtres: Christianisme et monde païen (Geneva: Labor et Fides, 1981) 121–39, 141–58Google Scholar, respectively; and Koester, Helmut, “La tradition apostolique et les origines du gnosticisme,” RThPh 119 (1987) 1–16.Google Scholar Hereafter, the abbreviation AAgr will stand for the Greek text of the Acts of Andrew.
2 Prieur, Jean-Marc, Acta Andreae (2 vols.; CChrSA 5–6; Turnhout: Brepols, 1989)Google Scholar; MacDonald, Dennis Ronald, The Acts of Andrew and The Acts of Andrew and Matthias in the City of the Cannibals (SBLTT 33, Christian Apocrypha 1; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990).Google Scholar Prior to these, the best edition available was that of Maximilien Bonnet in Richard Adelbert Lipsius and Maximilian Bonnet, Acta apostolorum apocrypha (2 vols. in 3; Leipzig: Mendelssohn, 1891–1903; reprinted Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1959) 2. 1.1–64. The text of the Acts of Andrew found in mss. H (Jerusalem, S. Sabas 103) and S (Cod. Sinait. gr. 526), which was discovered by Jean-Marc Prieur, has been published by Théocharis Detorakis, “τὸ ὰνέκλοτο μαρτύριο τοῦ ἀποστόλου ᾽Ανσρέα,” Peloponnesiaca. Journal of the Society of Peloponnesian Studies, suppl. 8 (1982) 325–50. Both Prieur and MacDonald have written extensively on the Acts of Andrew in the editions just mentioned as well as in other publications: see article cited in n. 1 as well as Jean-Marc Prieur, “Les Actes apocryphes de l'apôtre André. Présentation des diverses traditions apocryphes et état de la question,” in ANRW 2. 25/6 (1988) 4384–4414; idem, “Découvertes sur les Actes d'André à Patras” Peloponnesiaca. Journal of the Society of Peloponnesian Studies, suppl. 8 (1982) 321–24; idem, “The Acts of Andrew: Introduction,” in Wilhelm Schneemelcher, ed., New Testament Apocrypha (2d ed.; trans, from the 6th German ed. by R. McL. Wilson; 2 vols.; Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1991–1992) 2. 101–18; Dennis Ronald MacDonald, “The Acts of Andrew and Matthias and the Ads of Andrew,” Semeia 38 (1986) 7–39 (with a response by Prieur and an answer to Prieur); idem, Christianizing Homer: The Odyssey, Plato, and the Acts of Andrew (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994). For more bibliography on the Acts of Andrew, see James H. Charlesworth, The New Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha: A Guide to Publications, with Excursuses on Apocalypses (ATLA Bibliography Series 17; Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1987) 159–63. For indications on the different texts related to the apostle Andrew, see Geerard, Maurice, Clavis Apocryphorum Novi Testamenti (CChr; Turnhout: Brepols, 1992) 135–46.Google Scholar
3 Gregory of Tours Liber de miraculis beati Andreae apostoli, in William Arndt, Maximilian Bonnet, and Bruno Krusch, eds., Gregorii Turonensis opera (2 vols.; MGH 1; Hannover: Hahn, 1884–1885) 1. 821–46; see also Maximilian Bonnet, “Preface,” 1. 827 in the same book. The Latin text of Gregory is reprinted, along with a French translation, in Prieur, Acta Andreae, 551–651. It is also in good part reedited and translated into English in MacDonald, Andrew and Matthias, 188–99, 202–5, 210–13, 218–41, 256–65, 268–73, 276–317.
4 Here I follow Prieur' new chapter division and I indicate in brackets those paragraph numbers used in older editions.
5 AAgr 7; οὔκ εὶμι ἀμύητος.
6 Ibid.; ἤδη μοι λαλεἶ ὁ καινός σου ἄνθρωπος.
7 Ibid., 8; ἀληθῶς φίλος σωτηρίας ἀκροάσεως.
8 Ibid., 9; οὐ γάρ ἐστι δίκαιον μὴ οὐχὶ καὶ τοἶς ὁμοίοις τὰς σὰς ὠδἶνας ἐκτίθεσθαι.
9 Ibid.; τῶν αὐτῶν μυστηρίων μετεχούσαις.
10 Ibid.; οὕτως δὲ καὶ ἡμᾶς, τέκνον μου Στρατοκλῇ, τὰ σὰ κυήματα εἰς μέσον φέρειν δεἶ καὶ μὴ ἠρεμεἶν, ἵνα ὑπὸ πλειόνων τῶν συγγενῶν ἀναγράφηται καὶ προαγάγηται εἰς ἐπίδοσιν τῶν σωτηρίων λόγων ὦν κοινωνόν σε εὗρον.
11 Ibid., 10; καὶ στηριζομένου λοιπὸν ἐπὶ πάντων τῶν αὐτοῦ συγγενῶν λόγων.
12 Ibid., 12; νεόφυτος.
13 To those who have been considered worthy of the seal, Andrew declares: “My small children, if you keep this mark safe from the other seals which stamp the opposite imprint, God will approve you and welcome you amongst his goods” (Ibid., 11; ἐὰν τοῦτον τὸν τύπον φυλάξητε, τεκνία μου, ἀνεπίδεκτον ἄλλων σφραγίδων ἐντυπουσῶν τὰς ἐναντίας γλυφάς, θεὸς ὑμᾶς ἐπαινέσεται καὶ εἰς τὰ αὐτοῦ δέξεται).
14 Ibid., 12; μόνῳ δὲ τῷ λόγῳ προσαρτῇσαι ἑαυτόν.
15 This passage has been known through the Cod. Vat. gr. 808 and was edited by Bonnet in Acta apostolorum apocrypha (2. 1.39–42), where it is numbered 5–9.
16 Between the two passages summarized here we find in particular the romanesque episode of Maximilla's avoidance of sexual relations with her husband through the substitution of her servant Eucleia. See Jean-David Kaestli, “Fiction littéraire et réalité sociale: que peuton savoir de la place des femmes dans le milieu de production des Actes apocryphes des apôtres?” Apocrypha: Le champ des Apocryphes 1 (1990) 295–98.
17 She puts the apostle's hand over her eyes, then kisses them (AAgr 37).
18 Ibid., 37 [5]; καὶ ὃ ἐκείνη παρήκουσεν, σὺ ἤκουσας.
19 Ibid., 38 [6]; ἐγὼ μὲν οểν ταῦτα εἰπὼν ώς εἷπον, εἴποιμι ἂν δὲ καὶ τὰ ἑξῇς^. εểγε ὧ φύσις σῳζομένη μὴ ἰσχύσασα ἑαυτὴν μηδὲ ἀποκρύψασα^. εểγε ψυχὴ βοῶσα ἃ ἔπαθες καὶ ἐπανιοῦσα ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτήν^.εểγε ἄνθρωπε καταμανθάνων τὰ μὴ σὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ σὰ ἐπειγόμενος^. εểγε ὁ ἀκούων τῶν λεγομένων. ὡς μείζονά σε καταμανθάνω νοουμένων ἢ λεγομένων.
20 Ibid., 39 [7]; ταῦτα εἷπον ἐπὶ σοῦ, Μαξιμίλλα^. τῇ γὰρ δυνάμει καὶ εἰς σὲ τείνει τὰ εἰρημένα.
21 The author later mentions the effect of Andrew's words: “For as she listened to the words which he directed toward her, they affected her in such a way that she became what the words intended. In haste, with resolution and purpose, she went to the praetorium” (Ibid., 46 [14]; ἐκείνη γὰρ τοὺς λόγους κατακούσασα οὓς πρὸς αὐτὴν ἀπετείνατο καὶ τρόπον τινὰ διατεθεἶσα ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν καὶ γενομένη τοῦτο ὅπερ οἱ λόγοι ἐδείκνυον, ἐξορμήσασα οὐκ ἀκρίτως οὐδὲ ἀστοχάστως παρεγένετο εἰς τὸ πραιτώριον).
22 Ibid., 42 [10]; ταῦτα εἷπον πρὸς σὲ καὶ πάντα τὸν ἀκούοντα, εἰ ἄρα ἀκούσῃ.
23 Ibid.; γνωρίζεις τὰ λεγόμενα, καὶ διὰ τί σε εὔχομαι, τέκνον, ὅπως διατεθῇς; μανθάνεις πρὸς τίνας εἴρηται τὰ εἰρημένα; ἥφατό σου ἓκαστον τῇς διανοίας; ἔθιγέν σου τοῦ διανοητικοῦ μέρους; ἔχω μένοντα τὸν ἀκούσαντά μου; εὑρίσκω ἐν σοὶ ἐμαυτόν; ἔστιν τις ἐν σοὶ ὁμιλήσας ὃν ἐγὼ όρῶ ἴδιόν μου; ἀγαπᾷ τὸν ἐν ἐμοὶ λαλήσαντα, καὶ βούλεται αὐτῷ κοινωνῇσαι;
24 Ibid.; μὴ μάτην λαλῶ; μὴ μάτην εἷπον; οὔ φησιν ὁ ἐν σοί, Σρατοκλῇ, πάλιν δακρύσας ἄνθρωπος. To say that Stratocles “has cried again” probably means that he has been able to cry again for the right reasons, motivated by repentance and truth.
25 Again we should be attentive to this gesture, as we already have noticed above Maximilla's attitude (n. 17).
26 AAgr 43 [11]; καὶ λαβόμενος ὁ ᾽Ανδρέας τῇς χειρὸς τοῦ Στρατοκλέους εἷπεν^. ἔχω ὃν ἐζήτουν.… ὅτι οὐ μάτην πεποίημαι πρὸς σὲ τοὺς συγγενεἶς μου λόγους.
27 Ibid., 44 [12]; μὴ νόμιζε, μακαριώτατε ᾽Ανδρέα, ὅτι ἓτερόν τί ἐστι τὸ ἀνιῶν με ἀλλ᾽ ἢ σύ. οἱ γάρ διὰ σοῦ ἐξιόντες λόγοι πυρὶ ἀκοντιζόμενοι εἰς ἐμὲ ἐοίκασιν, καὶ ἐμοῦ ἓκαστος αὐτῶν καθικνεἶται ὡς ἀληθῶς ἐκκαίων με καὶ καταφλέγων πρὸς τὴν σὴν στοργήν^. καὶ τὸ παθητικὸν μέρος τῇς ψυχῇς μου, τὸ πρὸς τοἶς ἠκουσμέοις ὄν, τὸ μετὰ τοῦ ἀνιᾶν μαντευόμενον, κολάζεται. ἀπαλλάσσῃ γὰρ αὐτός, καὶ εể οἷδα ὅτι καλῶς. τὴν δὲ μετὰ ταῦτά σου ἐπιμέλειαν καὶ στοργὴν ζητῶν ποῦ εὕρω ἢ ἐν τίνι; τὰ μὲν σπέρματα τῶν σωτηρίων λόγων δέδεγμαι, σοῦ ὄντος μοι τοῦ σπορέως. τὸ δὲ ἀναβλαστῇσαι ταῦτα καὶ ἐκφῦναι οὐχ ἑτέρου ἀλλ᾽ ἢ σοῦ δεἶται, ᾽Ανδρέα μακαριώτατε. καὶ τί γὰρ ἔχω σοι εἰπεἶν, δοῦλε τοῦ θεοῦ, ἀλλ᾽ ἢ τοῦτο; πολλοῦ ἐλέου δέομαι καὶ βοηθείας τῇς τῇς παρὰ σοῦ, ὅπως δυναίμην ἄξιος γενέσθαι ὦν ἔχω σου σπερμάτων^. ἃ οὐκ ἄλλως ἐπιδώσει ἄπληκτα καὶ εἰς τὸ φανερὸν ἀνίσχοντα, μὴ οὐχί σου βουληθέντος καὶ εὐξαμένου ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν καὶ ἐμοῦ ὅλου.
28 Ibid., 45 [13]; ταῦτα ᾖν, τέκνον, ἃ καὶ αὐτὸς ἑώρων ἐν σοί. καί μου τὸν κύριον δοξάζω ὅτι μου ἡ περὶ σὲ ἔννοια οὐκ ἐκενεμβάτησεν, ἀλλ᾽ οἷδεν ὃ εἷπεν.
29 Ibid., 47 [15]; ᾽Εγώ, ἀδελφοί, ἐξεπέμφθην ὑπὸ τοῦ κυρίου ἀπόστολος εἰς τὰ κλίματα ταῦτα ὦν με κατηξίωσεν ὁ κύριός μου, διδάξαι μὲν οὐδένα, ὑπομνῇσαι δὲ πάντα τὸν συγγενῇ τῶν λόγων ἄνθρωπον ὅτι ἐν κακοἶς τοἶς προσκαίροις διάγουσιν.… Μακαρίους οểν ἐκείνους τίθεμαι τοὺς κατηκόους τῶν κεκηρυγμένων λόγων γεγονότας καὶ δι᾽ αὐτῶν μυστήρια ὀπτριζομένους περὶ τὴν ἰδίαν φύσιν, ᾖς ἓνεκεν τὰ πάντα ᾠ κοδόμηται.
30 Ibid., 50 [18]; καὶ τὸ τοῦ λόγου φῶς ἐδείχθη.
31 Ibid., ἀλλ᾽ ὅλοι ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ λόγῳ ἐπαιωρούμενοι τὸ τέλος πάντες ἀσμένως προσδεχώμεθα. The Armenian reads: “But raise all of you your spirit toward all these words [that I am telling you]”; Louis Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres. Traduction de l'édition arménienne de Venise (CChrSA 3; Turnhout: Brepols, 1986) 236.
32 In the narrative of the martyrdom, which begins here, I am again following the critical text established by Prieur in his Acta Andreae. It is a composite text established mainly from mss. H (Jerusalem, S. Sabas 103), S (Cod. Sinait. gr. 526), C (Ann Arbor 36), the two forms of the Martyrium secundum, and the Armenian version. Prieur, “Découvertes sur les Actes d'André à Patras,” 321–24.
33 I shall cite all references to the Armenian version of Andrew's martyrdom from the French edition—the only one in a modern language. This translation is the work of the late Father Louis Leloir (Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 232–57). On the great value of this Armenian version and the Greek text it presupposes, see idem, “La version arménienne de la Passion d'André,” Handes Amsorya 90 (1976) 471–74. A critical edition of this Armenian version has been prepared by Valentina Calzolari Bouvier (“La versione armena del Martirio di Andrea: alcune osservazioni in relazione all' originale greco,” Studi e Ricerche sull' Oriente Cristiano [forthcoming]).
34 AAgr 51 [1]; Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 236–37.
35 Ibid., 53 [3]; Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 239 n. 6.
36 For the discourse at the cross, see AAgr 54; and Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 242–45; for Andrew's last sermon, see AAgr 56–58 [6]; and Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 245–50.
37 AAgr 55 [5]; οὐκ ἔχει τὸ ἀκούειν^. ἐπεὶ εἰ εἷχεν, ἀκηκόῃ ἂν ὅτι ὁ ᾽Ιησοῦ ἄνθρωπος ἀτιμώρητός ἐστιν λοιπὸν αὐτῷ γνωρισθείς. Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 245.
38 AAgr 56 [6]; Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 245–47.
39 AAgr 57; εἰς τὰ ὑπὲρ λόγον. This probably refers to the human word; see also Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 245.
40 AAgr 57; εἴθε δὲ ἑωρᾶτε νῦν καὶ αὐτοὶ περὶ ὦν λέγω τοἶς τῇς ψυχῇς ὀφθαλμοἶς.… καὶ διασμήξατε ὑμῶν τὰς ἀκοὰς ἀκοῦσαι ἃ λέγω. Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 248.
41 AAgr 58; ἀλλὰ καὶ νῦν εể οἷδα οὐκ ἀνηκόους ὑμᾶς τῶν ἐμῶν λόγων ὄντας^. ἠρέμα τοιγαροῦν ἄνδρες θαρροῦσιν ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν γνῶσιν. Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 248.
42 AAgr 59; καὶ οἱ ὄχλοι ἀκούσαντες τῶν εἰρημένων ὑπὸ τοῦ ᾽Ανδρέα καὶ τρόπον τινὰ ᾑρημένοι ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἀφίσταντο τοῦ τόπου. καὶ ὁ μακαριώτατος μᾶλλον προήγετο λέγειν πρὸς αὐτοὺς πλείονα ὦν εἰρήκει, καὶ τοσαῦτα ᾖν ὡς ἔστιν τεκμαίρ εσθαι τοὺς ἀκούοντας. τριῶν νυχθημέρων αὐτοἶς προσωμίλει, καὶ οὐδεὶς καμὼν ὅλως ἐχωρίζετο αὐτοῦ. Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 250.
43 AAgr 62; ἀλλ᾽ ἐπεὶ πρόσεισί μοι νῦν ὁ Αἰγεάτης, σιγῶν τὰ ἐμὰ τέκνα συνέχω. ἃ δεἶ με πρὸς αὐτὸν εἰπόντα ἀναλῦσαι ταῦτα ἐρῶ. τίνος χάριν πρὸς ἡμᾶς, Αἰγεᾶτα; Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 253.
44 AAgr 64 [10]; Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 256. In the Armenian version, the “we” does not appear.
45 AAgr 65 [11]; ἐνταῦθά που τὸ τέλος τῶν μακαρίων μου διηγημάτων ποιήσαιμι καὶ πράξεων καὶ μυστηρίων δυσφράστων ὄντων, ἵνα μὴ καὶ ἀφράστων εἴπω, ἡ κορωνὶς τελευτάτω. καὶ ἐπεύξομαι πρῶτον μὲν ἐμαυτῷ ἀκοῦσαι τῶν εἰρημένων ὡς εἴρηται καὶ τούτων εἰς τὸ συμφανές, εἷτα καὶ τῶν ἀφανῶν, διανοίᾳ δὲ ληπτῶν, ἔπειτα καὶ πᾶσι τοἶς διατιθεμένοις ὑπὸ τῶν εἰρημένων, κοινωνίαν ἔχειν ἐπίπαν θεοῦ δὲ ἀνοίγοντος τὰς ἀκοὰς τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων, ὅπως ᾖ ληπτὰ ἅπαντα αὐτοῦ τὰ χαρίσματα ἐν Χριστῷ ᾽Ιησοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν μεθ᾽ οὗ τῷ πατρὶ δόξα τιμὴ καὶ κράτος σὺν τῷ παναγίῳ καὶ ἀγαθῷ καὶ ζωοποιῷ πνεύματι νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. ἀμήν. This is the text and translation of a Greek text constructed from mss. H, S, and C (see n. 32 above). The critical apparatus in Prieur's edition (Acta Andreae, 2. 549) provides readings— which differ greatly from each other—that are found in the other manuscripts. In the Armenian version-(see Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 257), these last lines are put on the lips of Stratocles in a similar, yet more condensed, form.
46 See n. 1.
47 AAgr 48 [16]; λόγους ὑμἶν παρέδωκα οὓς εὔχομαι οὕτως καταδέχεσθαι ὑφ᾽ ὑμῶν ὡς αὐτοὶ οἱ λόγοι θέλουσιν.
48 Ibid., 37 [5]; ὃ γὰρ μάλιστα ἐχρῇν με εἰπεἶν πρὸς σέ.
49 Ibid., 59; Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 251.
50 See n. 17.
51 On such a gesture, see Acts of John 62 in Eric Junod and Jean-Daniel Kaestli, Acta Iohannis (CChrSA 1 & 2; Turnhout: Brepols, 1983) 1. 250–51 (text); 2. 436–38 (commentary).
52 See Morton Smith, Clement of Alexandria and a Secret Gospel of Mark (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1973) 99–120.
53 AAgr 44 [12]; πολλοῦ ἐλέου δέομαι καὶ βοηθείας τῇς παρὰ σοῦ, ὅπως δυναίμην ἄξιος γενέσθαι ὦν ἔχω σου σπερμάτων.
54 Ibid., 56 [6]; Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 245. See also p. 146.
55 AAgr 56 [6]; εἰ τοῦτο ἡγεἶσθε τὸ τέλος τῇς ζωῇς τῇς προσκαίρου τὸ τεθνάναι, ἤδη ἀπαλλάσσεσθε τοῦ τόπου τούτου. Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 246.
56 AAgr 57; τί γὰρ ὄφελος ὑμἶν ἐστὶν τὰ ἐκτὸς κεκτημένοις, ἑαυτοὺς δὲ μή; Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 247.
57 AAgr 57; ἀλλὰ μετάθετε, παρακαλῶ πάντας ὑμᾶς, τὸν ὲπἱπονον βίον. Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 247.
58 AAgr 57; Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 248.
59 AAgr 57; ἑτέραν… κοινωνίαν. Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 248.
60 AAgr 58; ἄπειμι προετοιμάσαι τὰς ἐκεἶ ὁδοὺς τοἶς μὲν συνθεμένοις μοι. Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 249.
61 AAgr 58; ἓλεσθε τοιγαροῦν, ἄνδρες, ὁπότερα βούλεσθε, ἐφ᾽ ὑμἶν γὰρ τέθει ται τὸ τοιοῦτον. Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 250.
62 Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 248.
63 Ibid.
64 Ibid., 250. Here the Armenian version seems to weaken the text.
65 AAgr 40 [8]; πρὸς σὲ δέ μοι πάλιν ὁ λόγος, Μαξιμίλλα.
66 Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 250.
67 AAgr 61; ὢ ἡ πολλὴ τῶν ὑπ᾽ ἐμοῦ μαθητευθέντων νωθρία^. ὢ ἡ ἐπικαλυφθεἶσα ἡμἶν μετὰ πολλὰ μυστήρια ταχινὴ ὁμίχλη^. ὢ πόσα εἰρηκότες ἓως τοῦ νῦν οὐκ ἐπείσαμεν τοὺς ἰδίους. Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 251–52.
68 AAgr 65 [11]; see n. 45 above and n. 79 below. Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 257.
69 Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 257.
70 Praedicationes tuas, quae sunt plenae verbis vitalibus (Gregory of Tours Liber de miraculis beati Andreae apostoli 28).
71 AAgr 29; δόξα σοι ᾽Ιησοῦ Χριστέ, ἀληθῶν λόγων καὶ ὑποσχέσεων πρύτανις.
72 42 [10]; ἔθιγέν σου τοῦ διανοητικοῦ μέρους.
73 Ibid., 44 [12]; τὸ παθητικὸν μέρος τῇς ψυχῇς μου. The first three words of this quotation, as well as some others prior to them, are omitted by the Cod. Vat. gr. 808.
74 On the image of the seed in Jewish and Greek traditions, see Hans-Josef Klauck, Allegorie and Allegorese in synoptischen Gleichnistexten (NTA n.s. 13; Münster: Aschendorff, 1978) 189–200, 213–18, 221–27.
75 James Robinson, “Λόγοι σοφῶν: On the Gattung of Q,” in James M. Robinson and Helmut Koester, Trajectories through Early Christianity (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1971) 71— 113; Koester, “La tradition apostolique et les origines du gnosticisme,” 1–16.
76 (Gos. Thom. prologue, 1. Henri-Charles Puech commented at length concerning this prologue and logion 1 in his course, “Explication de l'Évangile selon Thomas et recherches sur les Paroles de Jesus qui y sont réunies,” at the Collège de France in 1957–58. The summary of this course appeared in Henri-Charles Puech, En quête de la Gnose, II. Sur l'Évangile selon Thomas. Esquisse d'une interprétation systématique (Bibliotheque des sciences humaines; Paris: Gallimard, 1978) 74–76. This study notes several parallels to the prologue of the Gospel of Thomas in the Acts of Thomas 10, 39, 47, and 78. See Bentley Layton, ed., Nag Hammadi Codex II, 2–7: Together with XIII, 2* Brit. Lib. Or. 4962(1) and P. Oxy. I, 654, 655 (NHS 20; Leiden: Brill, 1989).
77 What does the expression περὶ τὴν ἰδίαν φύσιν mean? It probably signifies the nature of the divinity, at the origin of all things.
78 These last words, “after so many mysteries,” mean, according to the context, “after the unveiling of so many mysteries”; see Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 251–52 (the Armenian text is rather different here); see also AAgr 9, where by childbirth the women participate in the same mysteries.
79 See Leloir, Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres, 257. Richard A. Lipsius (Die apokryphen Apostelgeschichten und Apostellegenden [2 vols.; Braunschweig: Schwetschke, 1883; reprinted Amsterdam: APA-Philo, 1976] 1. 543–662) believed that the primitive Acts of Andrew was a gnostic text.
80 Plato Tim. 89A (διανοητικός) Pseudo-Plato Tim. Locr. (περὶ ψυχᾶς κόσμω καὶ φύσιος) 102E (παθητικός) Albinus Didaskalikos 32; see also several scholia of Plato: William Chase Greene, Scholia Platonica (Haverford, PA: American Philological Society, 1938) s.v. διανοητικός, μέρος, παθητικός. Jean-Marc Prieur called to my attention Evagrius Ponticus Tractatus practicus 78: πρακτική ἐστι μέθοδος πνευματικὴ τὸ παθητικὸν μέρος τῇς ψυχῇς ἐκκαθαίρουσαι (“The spiritual method is practical, because it purifies the affective part of the soul”). See Manfred Hornschuh, “Acts of Andrew,” in Edgar Hennecke and Wilhelm Schneemelcher, eds., New Testament Apocrypha (2 vols.; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1964) 2. 393.
81 Joseph Flamion (Les Actes apocryphes de l'apôtre André. Les Actes d'André et de Mathias, de Pierre et d'André et les textes apparentés [Louvain: Université de Louvain, 1911] 157–63) believed that the Acts of Andrew, in a form inspired by the Greek novel, communicates a Christian message sharply influenced by neoplatonism and the neopythagoreanism. Manfred Hornschuh (“Acts of Andrew,” 394) prefers to speak of middle platonism and quotes several platonic parallels to the Acts of Andrew.
- 1
- Cited by