This collection provides a rich, multilayered analysis of a long-neglected branch of early Christian apocryphal literature that examines the relationship between tradition and redaction, uses of language, and the fluid border between literary criticism and motif analysis. The introduction takes the reader on the journey of editing, translating, and interpreting apocryphal and hagiographic narratives on the apostles and the first Christians. The volume concludes with the critical edition of two previously unpublished Greek texts: a version of the Martyrdom of Ananias and a memoir on John the Evangelist.

François Bovon is Frothingham Professor of the History of Religion, Harvard Divinity School.

Ann Graham Brock has taught at several universities and seminaries and published extensively on the topic of the New Testament and early Christian origins. She has also appeared in documentaries on the History Channel and the BBC.

Other HUP Books by François Bovon

Other HUP Books by Ann Graham Brock

• Mary Magdalene, The First Apostle: The Struggle for Authority