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Leucius, called Leucius Charinus by Photios I of Constantinople in the ninth century, is named by Evodius, bishop of Uzala, as the author of a cycle of what M. R. James termed "Apostolic romances". [1] These works seem to have had wide currency long before a selection from them was read aloud at the Second Council of Nicaea (787) and then rejected. Leucius is not among the early heretical teachers mentioned by name in Irenaeus' Adversus haereses (ca. 180). Most of the works seem to be products of the mid-third century. [2] [3]
The fullest account of Leucius is that given by Photius (Codex 114). He describes a book, called The Circuits of the Apostles, which contained the Acts of Peter, John, Andrew, Thomas, and Paul, that was purported to have been written by "Leucius Charinus". Photius considers it to be full of folly, self-contradiction, falsehood, and impiety (Wace); Photius is the only source to give his second name, "Charinus". Epiphanius (Haer. 51.427) made Leucius a disciple of John who joined his master in opposing the Ebionites, a characterization that appears unlikely, since other patristic writers agree that the cycle attributed to him was docetic, which denies the humanity of Jesus as Christ. Augustine knew the cycle, which he attributed to "Leutius", which his adversary Faustus of Mileve thought had been wrongly excluded from the New Testament canon by the Catholics. Gregory of Tours found a copy of the Acts of Andrew from the cycle and made an epitome of it, omitting the "tiresome" elaborations of detail he had found within. [1]
The "Leucian Acts" are as follows:
Heterodoxy
Certain passages within the Leucian writings suggest a docetic or modalist view of Christ and the trinity. [4] The inconsistency of the Christological language used within the texts either suggests that the works are indeed authored by multiple writers with differing views on the trinity, or that they are authored by someone with emphasis on narrative storytelling but very little theological education.
Before the discovery of the Gnostic texts in the Nag Hammadi codex, scholars believed that the Leucian acts were Gnostic writings, however modern scholars with access to the Nag Hammadi codex reject this, as it does not bare the distinct dualism or esoteric terminology of genuine Gnostic writings such as the Apocryphon of John or the Gospel of Judas. [1]
Statements on the Crucifixion
Regarding the historical crucifixion of Jesus, Photios of Constantinople references a report attributed to Leucius Charinus:
"He said that Christ was not crucified, but another in his place, while he himself laughed at the mistake of the executioners."
Leucius' statements are sometimes used in Islamic polemics against Christianity as this account is similar to the narrative of Jesus' crucifixion in Islam. [5] In the Islamic holy text, the Quran. The Quranic narrative in Surah 4:157 states:
"They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it appeared so to them. Indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain."
Later Islamic scholars of both the Sunni and Shia factions expanded on this tradition. According to the account of the historian al-Tabari (839–923), a leader among the Jews, Yesûʿa, was mistakenly crucified in place of ʿĪsā (Jesus). Tabari recounts that God caused Yesûʿa to resemble ʿĪsā, leading to confusion among those present. While Yesûʿa protested his identity, the crowd crucified him, believing he was ʿĪsā. Meanwhile, ʿĪsā was raised to heaven to remain there until his second coming. Some Muslim sects, such as the Ahmadiyya community, reject this narrative, offering their own expansion on Jesus' death. [6] [7]
Despite this, the crucifixion of Jesus, along with the baptism of Jesus is considered one of the two historical facts about Jesus' life and is considered a definite fact, not contended by any mainstream scholars. [8] [9]
In another apocryphal work, the Acts of Pilate (also known as the Gospel of Nicodemus), two men named Leucius and Charinus are said to be raised from the dead following the crucifixion. These men reportedly testify before the Jewish Sanhedrin, describing how the "Good Thief" (referred to here as Dismas) accompanied Christ through death into the limbo of Hell, where Christ delivered the righteous Old Testament saints.
The mention of Leucius and Charinus stands out, as no explanation is provided for their inclusion in this narrative. Furthermore, the Acts of Pilate is generally dated about a century later than the Leucian acts, raising questions about the connection between the two texts and the significance of these names. [10]
...if there is any fact of Jesus' life that has been established by a broad consensus, it is the fact of Jesus' crucifixion.
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In the history of Christianity, docetism was the doctrine that the phenomenon of Jesus, his historical and bodily existence, and above all the human form of Jesus, was mere semblance without any true reality. Broadly, it is taken as the belief that Jesus only seemed to be human, and that his human form was an illusion.
The Gospel of Peter, or the Gospel according to Peter, is a pseudographic text concerning Jesus Christ, only partially known today. Originally written in Koine Greek, it is a non-canonical gospel and was rejected as apocryphal by the Church's synods of Carthage and Rome, which contributed to the establishment of the New Testament canon. It was the first of the apocryphal gospels to be rediscovered, preserved in the dry sands of Egypt.
The Gospel of Nicodemus, also known as the Acts of Pilate, is an apocryphal gospel purporting to derived from an original work written by Nicodemus, who appears in the Gospel of John as an acquaintance of Jesus. The title "Gospel of Nicodemus" is medieval in origin. The dates of its accreted sections are uncertain, but the work in its existing form is thought to date to around the 4th or 5th century AD.
The New Testament apocrypha are a number of writings by early Christians that give accounts of Jesus and his teachings, the nature of God, or the teachings of his apostles and of their lives. Some of these writings were cited as scripture by early Christians, but since the fifth century a widespread consensus has emerged limiting the New Testament to the 27 books of the modern canon. Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant churches generally do not view the New Testament apocrypha as part of the Bible.
The Acts of Peter is one of the earliest of the apocryphal Acts of the Apostles in Christianity, dating to the late 2nd century AD. The majority of the text has survived only in the Latin translation of the Codex Vercellensis, under the title Actus Petri cum Simone. It is notable for a description of a miracle contest between Saint Peter and Simon Magus, the first record of the tradition that Saint Peter was crucified head-down, and as the origin of the saying Quo vadis?
The Apocryphon of John, also called the Secret Book of John or the Secret Revelation of John, is a 2nd-century Sethian Gnostic Christian pseudepigraphical text attributed to John the Apostle. It is one of the texts addressed by Irenaeus in his Christian polemic Against Heresies, placing its composition before 180 AD. It is presented as describing Jesus appearing and giving secret knowledge (gnosis) to his disciple John. The author describes it as having occurred after Jesus had "gone back to the place from which he came".
The Acts of Andrew is a Christian apocryphal work describing acts and miracles of Andrew the Apostle. It is alluded to in a Coptic 3rd-century work titled the Manichaean Psalm Book, so it must have been composed prior to that century. By the 4th century, the stories told in the book were considered apocryphal, and the book was relegated to the New Testament apocrypha.
The Letter of Peter to Philip is a Gnostic writing. It was initially discovered as the second tractate in Codex VIII of the Nag Hammadi library. The tractate is a Coptic translation of a Greek original, likely written in c. 200 AD. An additional copy of the text, also written in Coptic, was later found in Codex Tchacos.
The Living Gospel was a 3rd-century gnostic gospel written by the Manichaean prophet Mani. It was originally written in Syriac and called the Evangelion, from the Greek εὐαγγέλιον and was one of the seven original scriptures of Manichaeism. A number of fragments are preserved in the Cologne Mani-Codex and on manuscript fragments found in Turfan beginning in 1904. Some Coptic manuscript fragments recovered at Fayyum appear to contain a sort of commentary or homily on the gospel.
The Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter, also known as the Coptic Apocalypse of Peter and Revelation of Peter, is the third tractate in Codex VII of the Nag Hammadi library. The work is associated with Gnosticism, a sect of early Christianity, and is considered part of the New Testament apocrypha and a work of apocalyptic literature. It was likely originally written in the Koine Greek language and composed around 200 CE. The surviving manuscript from Nag Hammadi is a poor-quality translation of the Greek into Coptic, and likely dates from the 4th century.
The Acts of Peter and the Twelve or the Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles is a Christian text from about the 4th century. It is the first treatise in Codex VI of the Nag Hammadi library texts, taking up pages 1–12 of the codex's 78 pages. The writing extends the Parable of the Pearl from Matthew 13:45–46. In the text, Peter the Apostle meets a pearl merchant named Lithargoel, who is later revealed to be Jesus. Jesus commands the apostles to care for the poor.
The biblical account of the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus (ʿĪsā) recorded in the Christian New Testament is traditionally rejected by the major branches of Islam, but like Christians they believe that Jesus ascended to heaven and he will, according to Islamic literary sources, return before the end of time. The various sects of Islam have different views regarding this topic; traditionally, mainstream Muslims believe that Jesus was not crucified but was bodily raised up to heaven by God, while Ahmadi Muslims reject this belief and instead contend that Jesus survived the crucifixion, was taken off the cross alive and continued to preach in India until his natural death.
The Second Treatise of the Great Seth, also known as the Second Discourse of the Great Seth and Second Logos of the Great Seth, is a Gnostic text. It is the second tractate in Codex VII of the Nag Hammadi library. It was likely originally written in the Koine Greek language and composed around 200 CE. The surviving manuscript from Nag Hammadi is a translation of the Greek into Coptic. The work's author is unknown; he was perhaps writing in Alexandria, the literary center of Egyptian Christianity.
The Prayer of the Apostle Paul is a New Testament apocryphal work, the first manuscript from the Jung Codex of the Nag Hammadi Library. Written on the inner flyleaf of the codex, the prayer seems to have been added after the longer tractates had been copied. Although the text, like the rest of the codices, is written in Coptic, the title is written in Greek, which was the original language of the text. The manuscript is missing approximately two lines at the beginning.
The Gospel of Basilides is the title given to a reputed text within the New Testament apocrypha, which is reported in the middle of the 3rd century as then circulating amongst the followers of Basilides (Βασιλείδης), a leading theologian of Gnostic tendencies, who had taught in Alexandria in the second quarter of the 2nd century. Basilides's teachings were condemned as heretical by Irenaeus of Lyons, and by Hippolytus of Rome, although they had been evaluated more positively by Clement of Alexandria. There is, however, no agreement amongst Irenaeus, Hippolytus or Clement as to Basilides's specific theological opinions; while none of the three report a gospel in the name of Basilides.
The crucifixion of Jesus was the death of Jesus by being nailed to a cross. It occurred in 1st-century Judaea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, and later attested to by other ancient sources. Scholars nearly universally accept the historicity of Jesus's crucifixion, although there is no consensus on the details.
Historiography of early Christianity is the study of historical writings about early Christianity, which is the period before the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Historians have used a variety of sources and methods in exploring and describing Christianity during this time.
The substitution hypothesis or twin hypothesis states that the sightings of a risen Jesus are explained not by physical resurrection, but by the existence of a different person, a twin or lookalike who could have impersonated Jesus after his death, or died in the place of Jesus on the cross. It is a position held by some Gnostics in the first to third century, as well as some modern Mandaeans and Muslims and a few skeptics.
Passion Gospels are early Christian texts that either mostly or exclusively relate to the last events of Jesus' life: the Passion of Jesus. They are generally classed as New Testament apocrypha. The last chapters of the four canonical gospels include Passion narratives, but later Christians hungered for more details. Just as infancy gospels expanded the stories of young Jesus, Passion Gospels expanded the story of Jesus's arrest, trial, execution, resurrection, and the aftermath. These documents usually claimed to be written by a participant mentioned in the gospels, with Nicodemus, Pontius Pilate, and Joseph of Arimathea as popular choices for author. These documents are considered more legendary than historical, however, and were not included in the eventual Canon of the New Testament.
Melchizedek is the first tractate from Codex IX of the Nag Hammadi Library. It is a Gnostic work that features the Biblical figure Melchizedek. The text is fragmentary and highly damaged. The original text was 750 lines; of these, only 19 are complete, and 467 are fragmentary. The remaining 264 lines have been lost from the damage to the text. Like much of Nag Hammadi, the text was likely used by Gnostic Christians in Roman Egypt. It makes reference to Seth, suggesting it may have been used in Sethianism, a school of Gnosticism. The date it was written is unknown; all that can be said is that it was created during the period of early Christianity, presumably at some point during the 3rd century.