The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Apocrypha

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Apocrypha addresses issues and themes that arise in the study of early Christian apocryphal literature. It discusses key texts including the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, the Gospel of Peter, letters attributed to Paul, Peter, and Jesus, and acts and apocalypses written about or attributed to different apostles. Part One consists of authoritative surveys of the main branches ofapocryphal literature (gospels, acts, epistles, apocalypses, and related literature) and Part Two considers key issues that they raise. These include their contribution to our understanding of developing theological understandings of Jesus, the apostles and other important figures such as Mary. It also addresses the value of these texts aspotential sources for knowledge of the historical Jesus, and for debates about Jewish-Christian relations, the practice of Christian worship, and developing understandings of asceticism, gender and sexuality, etc. The volume also considers questions such as which ancient readers read early Christian apocrypha, their place in Christian spirituality, and their place in contemporary popular culture and contemporary theological discourse.

List of Contributors; List of Figures; Part I: Introduction and overview; 1 Christopher Tuckett: Introduction; 2 Jörg Frey: Texts About Jesus: Non-canonical Gospels and Related Literature; 3 Charlotte Touati and Claire Clivaz: Apocryphal Texts About Other Characters in the Canonical Gospels; 4 Richard Pervo: Narratives About the Apostles: Non-canonical Acts and Related Literature; 5 Andrew Gregory: Non-canonical Epistles and Related Literature; 6 Richard Bauckham: Non-canonical Apocalypses and Prophetic Works; Part II: Key Issues and Themes; 7 Tobias Nicklas: The Influence of Jewish Scriptures on Early Christian Apocrypha; 8 L. W. Hurtado: Who Read Early Christian Apocrypha?; 9 Jens Schröter: The Formation of the New Testament Canon and Early Christian Apocrypha; 10 François Bovon: 'Useful for the Soul': Christian Apocrypha and Christian Spirituality; 11 Pheme Perkins: Christology and Soteriology in Apocryphal Gospels; 12 Paul Foster: Christology and Soteriology in Apocryphal Acts and Apocalypses; 13 Stephen J. Patterson: The Gospel of Thomas and the Historical Jesus; 14 Simon Gathercole: Other Apocryphal Gospels and the Historical Jesus; 15 J. K. Elliott: Christian Apocrypha and the Developing Role of Mary; 16 Robin M. Jensen: The Apocryphal Mary in Early Christian Art; 17 Richard I. Pervo: The Role of the Apostles; 18 Petri Luomanen: Judaism and Anti-Judaism in Early Christian Apocrypha; 19 Outi Lehtipuu: Eschatology and the Fate of the Dead in Early Christian Apocrypha; 20 Harald Buchinger: Liturgy and Early Christian Apocrypha; 21 Candida R. Moss: Roman Imperialism: The Political Context of Early Christian Apocrypha; 22 Judith Hartenstein: Encratism, Asceticism, and The Construction of Gender and Sexual Identity in Apocryphal Gospels; 23 Yves Tissot: Encratism and the Apocryphal Acts; 24 Tony Burke: Early Christian Apocrypha in Popular Culture; 25 Tony Burke: Early Christian Apocrypha in Contemporary Theological Discourse