Apocalypse of Paul
The Apocalypse of Paul (Apocalypsis Pauli, literally "Revelation of Paul"; more commonly known in the Latin tradition as the Visio Pauli or Visio Sancti Pauli) is a fourth-century non-canonical apocalypse and part of the New Testament apocrypha. The full original Greek version of the Apocalypse is lost, although fragmentary versions still exist. Using later versions and translations, the text has been reconstructed, notably from Latin and Syriac translations, the earliest being a seventh-century Iranian Syriac codex known as Fonds Issayi 18.[1]
For the Gnostic text, see Coptic Apocalypse of Paul.The text, which is pseudepigraphal, purports to present a detailed account of a vision of Heaven and Hell experienced by Paul the Apostle. While the work was not accepted among Church leaders, it was quite commonly read in the Middle Ages and helped to shape the beliefs of many Christians concerning the nature of the afterlife. At the end of the text, Paul or the Virgin Mary (depending on the manuscript) manages to persuade God to give everyone in Hell a day off every Sunday.
Authorship and date[edit]
The author of the work is unknown. The book opens with a discovery narrative that explains that while the Apostle Paul wrote it, the book was then buried beneath the foundations of a house in Tarsus (Paul's hometown) for centuries until an angel ordered the compiler to dig it up. The book claims this discovery happened during the reign of Emperor Theodosius I (reigned 379–395), giving a good estimate of roughly when the narrative appeared. (The Christian author Sozomen wrote that he investigated this claim, and an elderly priest of Tarsus had no recollection of such a bizarre event occurring; rather, it was transparently an attempt to explain how a "new" work of Paul could be published.) The author may have been familiar with 2 Corinthians Chapter 12, where Paul discusses how he knew of a person who visited the third heaven; the work implies that person was Paul himself.[2][3]
The author of the Apocalypse of Paul was probably Egyptian.[a] Kirsti Copeland argues that it was more specifically composed at a Pachomian monastery in Egypt between 388 and 400 CE.[5] Constantin von Tischendorf, M. R. James, and Bart Ehrman all date it to the late 4th century.[6] The text had to exist by 415, as Augustine of Hippo makes a disparaging comment about it in his Tractates on the Gospel of John.[7][4] A few scholars date the book earlier, to the middle of the 3rd century, and suggest that only the introduction was written in the late 4th century in a "second edition" of the work.[8]
Reception and influence[edit]
Ancient writers are generally hostile to the Apocalypse. Augustine called it a fraud that the true church does not accept; Sozomen wrote he investigated it personally and also found it inauthentic; and the 6th century Gelasian Decree lists it as an apocryphal writing to be rejected. Samuel Anetsi denounces the Armenian version as the work of heretics. Despite this, the Visio Pauli maintained its popularity (hence the large numbers of copies, especially Latin ones), and its importance was great in the 8th–15th centuries. It was one of the most influential sources of medieval thought on the nature of the afterlife.[2][4]
The Visio Pauli also influenced a range of other texts. It is particularly noted for its influence on The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri, who seems to have been familiar with the work.[4] In Inferno (ii. 28[3]), Dante mentions the visit of the "Chosen Vessel" to Hell, presumably a reference to Paul's earlier trip.[10] The Visio is also considered to have influenced the description of Grendel's home in the Old English poem Beowulf (whether directly or indirectly, possibly via the Old English Blickling Homily XVI).[11] The Legend of the Purgatory of St. Patrick seems to draw from the Apocalypse of Paul, which itself then influenced the works of Geoffrey Chaucer.[4]
The full text of Apocalypse of Paul at Wikisource, translation by M. R. James in the 1924 book The Apocryphal New Testament
