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The early 3rd century text called Acts of Thomas is arguably the most Gnostic of the New Testament apocrypha, portraying Christ as the "Heavenly Redeemer", independent of and beyond creation, who can free souls from the darkness of the world. References to the work by Epiphanius show that it was in circulation in the 4th century. The complete versions that survive are Syriac and Greek. There are many surviving fragments of the text. Scholars detect from the Greek that its original was written in Syriac, which places the Acts of Thomas in Syria. The surviving Syriac manuscripts, however, have been edited to purge them of the most unorthodox overtly gnostic passages, so that the Greek versions reflect the earlier tradition. Gnosticism is a blanket term for various mystical initiatory religions and sects, which were most prominent in the first few centuries CE. The occult nature of gnostic teaching and the fact that much of the evidence for that teaching has traditionally come from critiques by orthodox Christians made it difficult...
The category of New Testament apocrypha ( reminds the modern reader of the wide range of responses that were engendered in interpreting the message of Jesus of Nazareth during the first several centuries of the Common Era, as mainstream Christianity emerged. ...
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 Ecclesiasticae...
Syriac is an Eastern Aramaic language that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. ...
Fragments of four other cycles of romances round the figure of the apostle Thomas survive, but this is the only complete one. It should not be confused with the early "sayings" Gospel of Thomas. "Like other apocryphal acts combining popular legend and religious propaganda, the work attempts to entertain and instruct. In addition to narratives of Thomas' adventures, its poetic and liturgical elements provide important evidence for early Syrian Christian traditions," according to the Anchor Bible Dictionary. Thomas was one of the 12 apostles of Jesus. ...
The Gospel of Thomas, completely preserved in a papyrus Coptic manuscript discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, Egypt, is a list of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus. ...
The Anchor Bible Series is a scholarly and commercial co-venture that has been setting a high standard since 1956, when individual volumes of the series began publication. ...
Acts of Thomas is a series of episodic Acts (Latin passio) that occurred during the evangelistic mission of Judas Thomas ("Judas the Twin") to India. It ends with his "martyrdom" in which he dies pierced with spears because he'd earned the ire of the monarch Misdaeus because of his conversion of Misdaeus' wives and a relative, Charisius. He was imprisoned while converting Indian followers won through the performing of miracles. The Passion is the technical term for the suffering and Agony of Jesus that led directly to the Crucifixion, a central Christian event. ...
Evangelism is the preaching of the Christian Gospel, or by extension any other form of preaching or proselytizing. ...
Thomas was one of the 12 apostles of Jesus. ...
Historically, a martyr is a person who dies for his or her religious faith. ...
Embedded in the Acts of Thomas at different places according to differing manuscript traditions is a Syriac hymn, The Hymn of the Pearl, (or Hymn of the Soul), a poem that gained a great deal of popularity in mainstream Christian circles. The Hymn is older than the Acts in which it has been inserted, and is worth appreciating on its own. The text is interrupted with the poetry of another hymn, the one that begins "Come, thou holy name of the Christ that is above every name" (2.27), a theme that was taken up in Catholic Christianity in the 13th century as the Holy Name. The Hymn of the Pearl (also The Hymn of the Soul or The Hymn of Judas Thomas the Apostle) is a passage of the apocryphal Acts of Thomas. ...
Monotheistic faiths believe that there is a supreme being, who is necessarily unique, and the different names given to that being in different languages could in principle be translated as English God. ...
The text is broken by headings: The First Act, when he went into India with Abbanes the merchant; The Second Act: concerning his coming unto the king Gundaphorus; The Third Act: concerning the servant; The Fourth Act: concerning the colt; The Fifth Act: concerning the devil that took up his abode in the woman; The Sixth Act: of the youth that murdered the Woman; The Seventh Act: of the Captain; The Eighth Act: of the wild asses; The Ninth Act: of the Wife of Charisius; The Tenth Act: wherein Mygdonia receiveth baptism; The Eleventh Act: concerning the wife of Misdaeus; The Twelfth Act: concerning Ouazanes (Iuzanes) the son of Misdaeus; The Thirteenth Act: wherein Iuzanes receiveth baptism with the rest; The Martyrdom of Thomas.
Thomas is often referred to by his name Judas. The manuscripts end "The acts of Judas Thomas the apostle are completed, which he did in India, fulfilling the commandment of him that sent him. Unto whom be glory, world without end. Amen."
Though Gregory of Tours made a version, mainstream Christian tradition rejects the Acts of Thomas as pseudepigraphical and apocryphal, and the Roman Catholic Church finally confirmed the Acts as heretical at the Council of Trent. See also Leucius Charinus. Gregory of Tours (c. ...
Pseudepigrapha (from the Greek words pseudos = lie and epigrapho = write) is a text or a number of texts whose claimed authorship or authenticity is incorrect. ...
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian body, with over 1. ...
Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the ‘catholic’ or orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ...
The Council of Trent (Italian: Trento) was an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church held in discontinuous sessions between 1545 and 1563 in response to the Protestant Reformation. ...
Leucius Charinus was, according to tradition, a disciple of St. ...
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