The Apocryphal Acts of Thomas is the first modern collection of studies on the most important aspects of the Acts of Thomas, an early Christian kind of novel, which was originally written either in Greek or Syriac. The volume starts with the memoirs of the Altmeister Fre Klijn regarding his own role in the study of the Acts. He is followed by an analysis of the elusive phenomenon of Thomas Christianity. The major part of the book studies various aspects and passages of the Acts: narrative strategies, the heavenly palace, factors of plot, the famous Hymn of the Pearl, the serpent, women, and the much-debated connection of Thomas with India. As a kind of summary of the results of some of our previous investigations, the penultimate chapter takes a fresh look at the authors, place, time and readership of the major Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles. As has become customary, the volume is rounded off by a bibliography and a detailed index (Peeters 2002)
Author(s): J.N. Bremmer
Publisher: Peeters Publishers
Year: 2002
Language: English
Pages: 189
Contents......Page 4
Preface......Page 6
List of abbreviations......Page 8
Notes on Contributors......Page 9
I. The Acts of Thomas Revisited......Page 12
II. Thomas Christianity: Scholars in Quest of a Community......Page 22
III. The Bride of the Demon. Narrative Strategies of Self-Definition in the Acts of Thomas......Page 47
IV. The Heavenly Palace in the Acts of Thomas......Page 64
VI. The Acts of Thomas: Place, Date and Women......Page 76
VII. Human Nature and Character as Moving Factors of Plot in the Acts of Thomas......Page 93
VIII. The Hymn of Jude Thomas, the Apostle, in the Country of the Indians (ATh 108-113)......Page 103
IX. The Serpent in the Acts of Thomas......Page 117
X. India and the Apostolate of St. Thomas......Page 127
XI. The Apocryphal Acts: Authors, Place, Time and Readership......Page 151
XII. Bibliography of Acts of Thomas......Page 173
Index of Names, Subjects and Passages......Page 178
