Religion, politics and social order in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5433/1984-3356.2015v8n16p71Keywords:
Apocryphal acts of the Apostles, Ascetism, Patronage, Christianity, Roman empireAbstract
The Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles recounts the tradition of the apostles and their public deeds. They are presented in conflict with the world around them, and they demonstrated the power of the Only One God through miracles, asceticism and martyrdom, and Christianity they represent contrasts with the beliefs and power of the Greek-Roman world. This antisocial instance is reinforced by the chastity message preached by the apostles which leads to the breakup of the marriage bond, and in the conflicts between the apostles and the civil and religious authorities. They also have apologetic, missionary, and edification concerns, but they reject the traditional cultural and social ideals in favor of new ones. The Apocryphal Acts also reflect the network of social and political patronage of the then-current Roman Empire; and redefine it from a Christian viewpoint. They present Christ as the true patron, the one above human patrons, including the emperor. The attempt to reformulate the established assumptions is a defining characteristic of the Christian identity represented in this kind of literature.References
ADARNIK, T. The baptized lion in the Acts of Paul. In: BREMMER, J. N. (Ed.). The Apocryphal Acts of Paul and Tecla. Studies in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles 2. Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1996. p. 60-74.
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BOLYKI, J. Events after the martyrdom: missionary transformation of an apocalyptic metaphor in the martyrium pauli. In: BREMMER, J. N. (Ed.). The apocryphal acts of Paul and Thecla. studies in the apocryphal acts of the apostles 2. Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1996. p. 92-106.
BREMMER, J. N. Magic, Martyrdom and Women’s Liberation in the Acts of Paul and Thecla. In: BREMMER, J. N. (ed.). The apocryphal acts of Paul and Thecla. studies in the apocryphal acts of the apostles 2. Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1996. p. 37-59.
COOPER, Kate. The Virgin and the bride: idealized womanhood in late antiquity. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996.
DE WEG, Magda Misset-van. A wealthy woman named Trypahena: patronesse of Thecla of iconium. In: BREMMER, J. N. (Ed.). The apocryphal acts of Paul and Thecla. studies in the apocryphal acts of the apostles 2. Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1996. p. 16-35.
ELLIOTT, J. K. The apocryphal new testament. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993.
GRADEL, Ittai. Emperor worship and roman religion. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2002.
PEREA YÉBENES, Sabino. Demonios, exorcismos y emperadores em los Hechos del Apóstol Pedro. Revista de Ciencias de las religiones, Madrid, n. 13, p. 167-181, 2008.
PERKINS, Judith. The social world of the acts of Peter. In: TATUM, J. (Ed.). The search for the ancient novel. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994. p. 296-307.
PERKINS, Judith. The suffering self: pain and narrative representation in the early christian era. London & New York: Routledge, 1995.
PIÑERO, Antonio y CERRO, Gonzalo del. Hechos Apócrifos de los Apostoles I. Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, 2012.
PRICE, S. R. F. Rituals of power: The Roman imperial cult in Asia Minor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984.
RHEE, Helen. Early christian literature: Christ and culture in the second and third centuries. London: Routledge, 2005.
SALLER, Richard P. Personal patronage under the early empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982.
SCHNEEMELCHER, W. New testament apocrypha. Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1992. v. 2.
STOOPS, R. F. Patronage in the Acts of Peter. Semeia, v. 38, p. 91-100, 1986.
WENGST, Klaus. Pax romana, pretensão e realidade: experiências e percepções da paz em Jesus e no cristianismo primitivo. São Paulo: Edições Paulinas, 1991.
BAUCKHAM, Richard. Imaginative literature. In: ESLER P. (Ed.) The early christian world. London & New York: Routledge, 2000. v. 2. p. 791-812.
BOLYKI, J. Events after the martyrdom: missionary transformation of an apocalyptic metaphor in the martyrium pauli. In: BREMMER, J. N. (Ed.). The apocryphal acts of Paul and Thecla. studies in the apocryphal acts of the apostles 2. Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1996. p. 92-106.
BREMMER, J. N. Magic, Martyrdom and Women’s Liberation in the Acts of Paul and Thecla. In: BREMMER, J. N. (ed.). The apocryphal acts of Paul and Thecla. studies in the apocryphal acts of the apostles 2. Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1996. p. 37-59.
COOPER, Kate. The Virgin and the bride: idealized womanhood in late antiquity. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996.
DE WEG, Magda Misset-van. A wealthy woman named Trypahena: patronesse of Thecla of iconium. In: BREMMER, J. N. (Ed.). The apocryphal acts of Paul and Thecla. studies in the apocryphal acts of the apostles 2. Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1996. p. 16-35.
ELLIOTT, J. K. The apocryphal new testament. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993.
GRADEL, Ittai. Emperor worship and roman religion. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2002.
PEREA YÉBENES, Sabino. Demonios, exorcismos y emperadores em los Hechos del Apóstol Pedro. Revista de Ciencias de las religiones, Madrid, n. 13, p. 167-181, 2008.
PERKINS, Judith. The social world of the acts of Peter. In: TATUM, J. (Ed.). The search for the ancient novel. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994. p. 296-307.
PERKINS, Judith. The suffering self: pain and narrative representation in the early christian era. London & New York: Routledge, 1995.
PIÑERO, Antonio y CERRO, Gonzalo del. Hechos Apócrifos de los Apostoles I. Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, 2012.
PRICE, S. R. F. Rituals of power: The Roman imperial cult in Asia Minor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984.
RHEE, Helen. Early christian literature: Christ and culture in the second and third centuries. London: Routledge, 2005.
SALLER, Richard P. Personal patronage under the early empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982.
SCHNEEMELCHER, W. New testament apocrypha. Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1992. v. 2.
STOOPS, R. F. Patronage in the Acts of Peter. Semeia, v. 38, p. 91-100, 1986.
WENGST, Klaus. Pax romana, pretensão e realidade: experiências e percepções da paz em Jesus e no cristianismo primitivo. São Paulo: Edições Paulinas, 1991.
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Published
2016-01-18
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FILHO, José Adriano. Religion, politics and social order in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles. Antíteses, [S. l.], v. 8, n. 16, p. 71–88, 2016. DOI: 10.5433/1984-3356.2015v8n16p71. Disponível em: https://ojs.uel.br/revistas/uel/index.php/antiteses/article/view/22742. Acesso em: 24 jul. 2024.
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