The Acts of Pilate (Latin Acta Pilati) is a book of the New Testament apocrypha. Its date is uncertain. The text is found in the Greek Acts of Peter and Paul and as an appendix to the medieval Latin Gospel of Nicodemus, although there is no intrinsic relation between the independent texts. The category of New Testament apocrypha reminds the modern reader of the wide range of responses that were engendered in the interpreting of the message of Jesus of Nazareth during the first several centuries of the Common Era, as mainstream Christianity emerged. ... The Acts of Peter and Paul is a late text from the New Testament apocrypha, thought to date from after the 4th century. ...

Manuscript history

The oldest sections of the book appear first in Greek. The text contains multiple parts, which are uneven in style and would seem to be by different hands. The oldest section probably dates to the fourth century . The Acts of Pilate does not purport to have been written by Pilate, but instead claims to have been derived from the official acts preserved in the praetorium at Jerusalem. An alleged "Hebrew" original is pseudepigraphically attributed to Nicodemus, hence the title Gospel of Nicodemus that the text gained in the Middle Ages. It had a considerable effect on medieval popular Christianity, an effect that it carries in some quarters still. Its popularity is attested by the number of languages in which it exists, each in several manuscript traditions, or "editions". The Praetorium (also called Pilates House) is the place in what is now the Antonia Fortress where Jesus of Nazareth was brought to trial before Pontius Pilate. ... Pseudepigrapha (Greek pseudos = false, epi = after, later and grapha = writing (or writings), latterly or falsely attributed, or down right forged works, describes texts whose claimed authorship is unfounded in actuality. ... Nicodemus (Greek: Νικόδημος) was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, who, according to the Gospel of John, showed favour to Jesus. ...

Core texts

The main body of Acta Pilati is in two sections, with an appendix, Descensus ad Infernos—the Harrowing of Hell—that does not exist in the Greek texts, and is a later addition to the Latin versions. The first (chapters i–xi) contains the trial of Jesus based upon Luke 23. The second part (xii–xvi) regards the Resurrection. In it, Leucius and Charinus, the two souls raised from the dead after the Crucifixion, relate to the Sanhedrin the circumstances of the descent of Christ to Limbo. A literature of miracle-tale Romance developed around a conflated "Leucius Charinus" as an author of further texts. The Harrowing of Hell episode depicts St Dismas accompanying Christ in Hell, and the deliverance of the righteous Old Testament patriarchs. Christs Descent into Limbo by studio of Andrea Mantegna, c. ... The Gospel of Luke is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. ... Leucius Charinus was, according to tradition, a disciple of St. ... For the tractate in the Mishnah, see Sanhedrin (tractate). ... As a literary genre, romance or chivalric romance refers to a style of heroic prose and verse narrative current in Europe from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. ... Saint Dismas (sometimes spelled Dysmas or Dimas), also known as the Good Thief, is the apocryphal name given to one of the thieves who was crucified alongside Christ according to the Gospel of Luke 23:39-43: And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If... This page is about the title or the Divine Person. For the Christian figure, see Jesus. ... Medieval illustration of Hell in the Hortus deliciarum manuscript of Herrad of Landsberg (about 1180) Hell, according to many religious beliefs, is a place or a state of pain and suffering. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... For other senses, see Patriarch (disambiguation). ...

An appended text purports to be a written report made by Pontius Pilate to Claudius, containing an anti-Semitic description of the crucifixion, as well as an account of the resurrection of Jesus; both are presented as if in an official report [1]. One series of Latin manuscripts includes as an appendix or continuation, the episode Cura Sanitatis Tiberii ("The Cure of Tiberius"), the oldest form of the Veronica legend, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, in which Emperor Tiberius is cured of his malady. Compare the legend of the Image of Edessa. Ecce Homo (Behold the Man!), Antonio Ciseris depiction of Pontius Pilate presenting a scourged Jesus to the people of Jerusalem. ... For other uses, see Claudius (disambiguation). ... Crucifixion of St. ... The resurrection of Jesus is an event in the New Testament in which God raised him from the dead[1] after his death by crucifixion. ... Abgar of Edessa in a 10th-century icon, displaying the miraculous image of Edessa, a veronica Statue of Veronica, used during the Good Friday procession in Żejtun,Malta. ... Tiberius Caesar Augustus, born Tiberius Claudius Nero (November 16, 42 BC – March 16 AD 37), was the second Roman Emperor, from the death of Augustus in AD 14 until his own death in 37. ... According to the legend, King Abgarus received the Image of Edessa from the apostle Thaddeus. ...

Critical reception

The well-informed Church historian Eusebius of Caesarea (writing c. 325), although he mentions an Acta Pilati referred to by Justin and Tertullian and other non-canonical Acts, shows no acquaintance with this work. "We are forced to admit that is of later origin, and scholars agree in assigning it to the middle of the fourth century" (Catholic Encyclopedia). Epiphanius refers to an Acta Pilati (c. 376), but the extant Greek texts show evidence of later editing. Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (c. ... Epiphanius (clearly manifested) was the name of several early Christian scholars and ecclesiastics: Epiphanius of Salamis, bishop of Salamis in Cyprus, died 410, author of Panarion Epiphanius of Constantinople, died 535, Patriarch of Constantinople 520—535 Epiphanius Scholasticus, known only as the assistant of Cassiodorus who compiled the Historiae...

Though the Acta Pilati purports to be a report by Pontius Pilate containing evidence of Jesus Christ's messiahship and godhead, there is no record in early Christian lore of Pilate's conversion to Christianity. It seems unlikely that the work was ever meant to have been taken seriously by Christians; instead, its purpose was to offer further conjectural details about the life of Christ as a pious entertainment, part of a larger body of Pilate literature. In Judaism, the Messiah (מָשִׁיחַ Standard Hebrew Arabic: Al-Masih, المسيح), Tiberian Hebrew , Aramaic ) initially meant any person who was anointed by a prophet of God. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Ecce Homo (Behold the Man!), Antonio Ciseris depiction of Pontius Pilate presenting a scourged Jesus to the people of Jerusalem. ...

External links

• Early Christian Writings: The Acts of Pilate
• The Report of Pilate to the Emperor Claudius e-text, M.R. James, translator
• Catholic Encyclopedia "Acta Pilati"