2016 CSBS/CSPS Christian Apocrypha Report, Part 1

May 30, 2016 by Tony

The 2016 Annual Meetings of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies and the Canadian Society of Patristic Studies took place this past weekend at the University of Calgary. The two groups are small but mighty and the members are always friendly and gracious. Since 2013 I have been organizing, along with Timothy Pettipiece, a joint session for the two societies on Christian Apocrypha. This year we planned a book review panel for the forthcoming collection New Testament Apocrypha: More Noncanonical Scriptures, edited by me (Tony Burke) and Brent Landau, and several members also contributed proposals for papers. Alas we did not have enough papers for a second session but it is a good sign for Christian Apocrypha Studies in Canada to get so much involvement (yes SBL has four Christian Apocrypha sessions and a multitude of other papers besides, but like I said: small but mighty). Unfortunately, I arrived in Calgary too late to catch two of the papers on the morning of day one (“Mary Magdalene: The Companion of Jesus” by Emily Laflèche, University of Ottawa, and “Hidden Words – Re-parsing What Thomas Overheard” by Bill Richards, College of Emmanuel & St Chad) and another two papers focusing on Marcion (“The Priority of Marcion? The Text of Marcion’s Gospel and the Resurrected Jesus of Luke 24” by Daniel A. Smith, Huron University College, and “Apples and Dragons: Q, Marcion and the Decontextualization of Divine Wisdom” by Glen J. Fairen, University of Alberta) that were scheduled …

NASSCAL Publication Series: Studies in Christian Apocrypha

May 22, 2016 by Tony

The North American Society for the Study of Christian Apocryphal Literature (NASSCAL) is pleased to announce Studies in Christian Apocrypha, a book series produced in collaboration with Polebridge Press. Christian Apocrypha is a term encompassing Christian texts—such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Acts of John, and the Apocalypse of Peter—that are not included among, but nevertheless bear some relation (in form, content or otherwise) to the texts of the New Testament. Apocrypha have been part of the Christian tradition almost from the beginning. Indeed, so ubiquitous is apocryphal literature that it must be embraced as a fundamental aspect of Christian thought and expression.

The Studies in Christian Apocrypha series will feature work on the Christian Apocrypha from any time period and in any of its myriad forms—from early “lost gospel” papyri, through medieval hagiography and sermons incorporating apocryphal traditions, up to modern apocryphal “forgeries.” We welcome submissions in the form of monographs, critical editions, collected essays, and multi-author works. The series is also the venue for the proceedings of the bi-annual NASSCAL meetings.

Series Editors

Tony Burke, York University
tburke@yorku.ca

Janet Spittler, University of Virginia
jes9cu@virginia.edu

Pierluigi Piovanelli, University of Ottawa
piovanel@uOttawa.ca

Stephen Patterson, Willamette University
spatters@willamette.edu

How to Submit Proposals

Initial inquiries should take the form of a 3–5 page proposal outlining the intent of the project, its scope, its relation to other work on the topic, and the audience(s) you have in mind. Please include a current CV and 1–2 sample chapters, if available. …