Apostolic Lists as Sources for, and Transmitters of, Apocryphal Traditions about the Apostles
The following post is based on a presentation given at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Patristic Studies.
The exploits of the apostles are documented in a wide assortment of apocryphal acts composed between the second and sixth centuries, with expansions and transformations made in the centuries thereafter. A parallel stream of traditions is transmitted in a variety of lists of apostles and disciples that both inspired and were inspired by the apocryphal acts. Unfortunately, little scholarly attention has been paid to the lists—few have been translated into English, some have not yet been published, and with one exception, no survey of the material has appeared in apocrypha collections.
The urge to list apostles has its origins in the New Testament, with the call of the Twelve in the Synoptic Gospels (Mark 3:13–19 par.; also Acts 1:13); but these are not just a list of names, even at this early stage there is additional information provided: nicknames (Peter, the sons of thunder), relationships (Peter and Andrew are siblings; as are the two sons of Zebedee; James is the son of Alphaeus; Judas [not Iscariot], in Luke, is the son of James), and places of origin (Simon is a Canaanean; Judas is from Iscariot), and roles (Judas is a traitor; Matthew is a tax collector). There are also discrepancies between the lists: Thaddaeus (sometimes Labbaeus) in Matthew and Mark is absent in Luke, replaced by Judas son of James; Simon is not a Canaanean but a Zealot in …