An Apostolic Gospel

The so-called Epistula Apostolorum is an early gospel-like text in which the eleven apostles recount a question-and-answer session with the risen Jesus on Easter morning, intended to equip them for the worldwide mission to which they are now called. The Epistula draws selectively from the Gospels of John and Matthew, while disagreeing with its sources at a number of points and claiming definitive status for its own rendering of the apostolic gospel. This book is based on a new translation of this important but neglected text, drawing on the Coptic, Ethiopic, and Latin manuscript evidence and with variants noted in an English-language critical apparatus. Extensive additional notes are provided to clarify issues of text, translation, and exegesis. The central chapters explore major theological themes such as incarnation, resurrection, and eschatology in the light of related texts within and beyond the New Testament.

• Provides a new translation of the Epistula Apostolorum, drawn from the Coptic, Ethiopic, and fragmentary Latin manuscripts, with a textual apparatus in English listing textual variants
• Includes in-depth studies of key theological themes, locating them in their wider early Christian literary context
• Includes extensive additional notes on issues of text, translation and exegesis, keyed to the translation