T A O P A T T A The Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles
Non-Christian Ascetic Allegory and Hellenic Parody ? The embodied (Soul) who has controlled his nature having renounced all actions by the mind dwells at ease in the City of Nine Gates, neither working nor causing work to be done. --- Bhagvad Gita 5:13
A Collection of Academic Comments
Web Publication by Mountain Man Graphics, Australia

A Collection of Academic Comments

Wilson and Parrott (Translators)

      The following is taken from:
      The Nag Hammadi Library in English 
      By James McConkey Robinson, and consists of the 
      introduction written to the work by its two translators:

      "In spite of its present title, the Acts of Peter
      and the Twelve Apostles is not just another one of the
      apocryphal acrs of the apostles. The work of the apostles
      is not the center of the narrative, but rather the work
      of Lithagoel, who is actually Christ; only at the end
      of the narrative can the tru apostolic activity begin.
      The identification of Lithargoel, "the god of the glistening
      stone", the god of the pearl, with Christ need not be too 
      surprising.  Elsewhere in ancient texts Jesus is called 
      a pearl, and in fact the present narrative concerning
      Lithargoel-Christ could conceivably have developed on the
      basis of a passage like Revelation 2:17.

      The Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles opens with Peter
      and the apostles, after the crucifixion, setting off on a
      journey.  They locate a ship and sail away, finally arriving
      at a city named Habitation.  There Peter meets a pearl-
      merchant, named Lithargoel, who invites the poor to come to
      his city and obtain a pearl.  Peter and his friends
      successfully endure the difficult journey to the city of 
      Lithargoel [ED: 'Nine Gates], for they do as Lithargoel has
      recommended: they renounce food and possessions, and hence
      the robbers and beasts along the way do not bother them.
      Finally Lithargoel disguises himself as a physician, then
      reveals himself as Jesus Christ, and commissions the apostles
      to go forth and minister to the sick and the poor.

      In general TAOPATTA seems quite consistent with the developing
      orthodoxy of the church of the second century, when this
      tractate may have been composed. The emphasis on apostolic
      poverty and the polemic against the rich are even rooted in
      the New Testament.  Though the tractate does not seem to 
      proclaim distinctively Gnostic ideas, it is clear that Gnostic
      interpretters would have no trouble relating to such themes as
      the stranger, the journey, the hidden pearl, and the expensive
      garment of the world."

Martin Krause (1972)

Hans-Martin Schenke (1973,1989)

      Compares TAOPATTA to Lucian's True Story.

      According to Schenke, the figure (Lithargoel) may have existed
      as a Jewish Angel, "something similar to a Jewish Asclepius".

Douglas M Parrott (1979)

From The Anchor Bible Dictionary, v. 5, pp. 264:

      "This tractate is the first in the miscellaneous collection of Sahidic 
      Coptic tractates comprising Nag Hammadi Codex VI. For all its brevity (12 pages) 
      it is a remarkably complex document. The first half consists mainly of an account, 
      with heavy allegorical overtones, about a pearl merchant who attracts the poor but 
      is shunned by the rich, and who turns out not to have the pearl he is hawking; 
      it is available only to those willing to journey to his city. The pearl merchant's 
      name is Lithargoel, which means, according to the text, a lightweight, glistening 
      stone (5.16-18) (Wilson and Parrott 215 n.). The account takes place in on island 
      city identified simply as "Habitation" (the Coptic for which may be a translation 
      of the Greek word meaning "inhabited world").

      Parrott's opinion on its dating (p. 265):

      The earliest portion of the tractate - the allegory - probably should be dated 
      not later than       the middle of the 2d century, because of the affinity with 
      Herm. Sim., which is dated in the mid-century or before. The tractate as a whole, 
      then, may have been put together in its present form toward the end of the 2nd 
      century, or early in the 3rd."

Stephen J Patterson (1991)

Andrea L Molinari (1995 Review)

F. Lapham (2003)

From An Introduction to the New Testament Apocrypha p.150:

     "The short Coptic tractate contained in Codex VI of the
     Nag Hammadi library under the title TAOPATTA is, in some ways,
     the most enigmatic of all the recently discovered documents.
     It is, in fact, the only extant copy of a work that hardly fits
     into the Actus genre. Unlike the majority of the documents with
     which it was found, it does not readily allow a Gnostic interpretation;
     and, while it is clearly allegorical, it appears to represent a 
     composite work whose explication has not yet found agreement.

     ...[...]...

     It would appear that the narrative begins with an account
     of how the Apostles, anxious to commence their appointed 
     ministry, set out together on a missionary voyage to an
     unknown destination.

István Czachesz (2002)

    Extracted from 
    Dissertations of the University of Groningen
    - Theology and Religious Studies

   Apostolic commission narratives in the canonical 
   and apocryphal Acts of the Apostles 
  
   ---- Czachesz, István (2002)
  

INTRODUCTION:

Instead of reporting the teachings and miracles of an apostle,
the narrative concentrated on the commission of the twelve apostles.
The text resembles fairy tales and is filled with symbols.
The narration changes back and forth between the first and third persons,
the first person narrator being identified as Peter.


P.156 - Journey to Nine Gates

p.158 - TAOPATTA and Pachomian Monasticism

Pachomius, the father of coenobite monasticism, organised communities
from c.323 to his death 346 CE in Upper Egypt. The monastic rules in their fullest
form are via the Latin translation of Jerome. These rules characterise
Pachomian monasticism of the fourth century.

Parallels are explored between the text of TAOPATTA
and these Rules of conduct.  

p.165

    "If we remain tranquil in our monasteries preserving
     in prayer and psalms, and if we do not press upon the 
     people of the world, then God will rouse those very
     people [...] and compel them [to] furnish our bodily
     needs gladly" [35]

     [35] Nilus of Ancyra, Ascetic Discourse 3.58 (Caner)

"To the internal evidence of the text, we add the widespread view
 that the Nah Hammadi codices themselves were manufacturued and
 used in a Pachomian monastry. [36]

     [36] Wisse, "Gnosticism and Early Monasticism in Egypt"


p.166

SUMMARY of POINTS:

1) The narrative of TAOPATTA can be understood as an allegorical 
   tale about the monks' renunciation of the world.

2) The text handles some typical administrative issues of cenobite
   monasticism in a similar way as the Rules of Pachomius.

3) TAOPATTA address the sociological conflicts of monasticism
   that also influence the hagiographic literature

4) The central character of the book might have been inspired by
   the figure of Pachomius that was surrounded by legendary tradition
   soon after his death (346 CE).

5) Use of the text in the Pachomian monasteries fits into the larger
   theory of the production and use of the NH codices in that milieu.



Conclusion

   Several features of TAOPATTA make it plausible that the final
   redaction of the book took place in Upper Egypt in a Pachomian
   monastery between 347 and 367. [40]


p.167

Relation to Other Apostolic Acts

Acts of Philip in Asia Minor

    The parallels between the two books ... can be explained
    with the help of a third text, which perhaps was identical
    with one of the sources of TAOPATTA. [43]

    [43] Molinari identifies three sources:

         1) story of the pearl merchant
         2) the resurrection appearance
         3) the author's theology.

 "In TAOPATTA Jesus appears as a physician in the figure of Lithargoel.
  In TAOP (The Acts of Philip) all three motifs occur abundantly.
  Philip prays "Physician of our inner man, ...."

  See also ... The healing of Charitane, the daughter of Nicoclides

p.170

"Another feature that connects TAPATTA with the Acts of John
 (as well as with the Acts of Thomas) is the presence of polymorphy.
 Here plymorphy is presented as metamorphosis, the subsequent
 appearance of Jesus in various forms.  The subsequent appearances
 are related to different stages of the disciples' journey, and
 the disciples do not recognise Jesus until they arrive at their
 destination.  The spiritual journey described in the text leads
 to the true vision of Jesus.



p.170/171

General Conclusions


1. TAOPATTA written in a Pachomian monastery between 347 and 376 CE.
2. Most of the symbolic motifs are rooted in that monastic milieu.
3. One of its sources had contacts with The Acts of Philip
4. Both incorporate motif of John as mediator betwen Jesus and disciples.
5. The plot of TAOPATTA is quite different from that of other apostolic acts
6. Instead it contains one long commission narrative, describing a journey
   through the stages of contemplative ascetic life.
7. It is not a biography, rather a biographical program, 
   an abstract model for imitation.
8. It does not seem to be an introduction to a longer text, 
   but rather a self contained allegorical tale 
   about divine call to an ascetic and spiritual life.

Other Relevant Articles and References Index

• The Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles (NHC 6.1):
  Allegory, Ascent, and Ministry in the Wake of the Decian Persecution
  by Andrea Lorenzo Molinari
  also:
  Author(s) of Review: Harold W. Attridge
  The Journal of Religion, Vol. 81, No. 4 (Oct., 2001), pp. 638-640

• Simon Peter's "Confession" and the Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles
  Jesse Sell, Novum Testamentum, Vol. 21, Fasc. 4 (Oct., 1979), pp. 344-356
  This article consists of 13 page(s).

  Described as a Dénouement: 
  
  In literature, a dénouement  consists of a series of events 
  that follow a dramatic or narrative's climax, thus serving 
  as the conclusion of the story. Conflicts are resolved, 
  creating normality for the characters and a sense of catharsis, 
  or release of tension and anxiety, for the reader. 
  
  Etymologically, the French word dénouement is derived 
  from the Old French word denoer, "to untie", from nodus, 
  Latin for "knot." Simply put, a dénouement is the unraveling 
  or untying of the complexities of a plot.
  
  

• Sources, Redaction and Tendenz in the "Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles" (NH VI, 1)
  Stephen J. Patterson, Vigiliae Christianae, Vol. 45, No. 1 (Mar., 1991), pp. 1-17
  This article consists of 17 page(s).
  "Second or third century date in Syria seems likely."

• Petrine Controversies in Early Christianity:
  Attitudes towards Peter in Christian Writings of the First Two Centuries
  by Terence V. Smith
  and
  Review thereof - Author(s) of Review: Paul J. Achtemeier
  Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 107, No. 2 (Jun., 1988), pp. 337-339
  This article consists of 3 page(s).

• The Nag Hammadi Library after Fifty Years:
  Proceedings of the 1995 Society of Biblical Literature Commemoration
  by John D. Turner, Anne MacGuire
  and
  Review thereof: The Nag Hammadi Library after Fifty Years
  Author(s) of Review: Kurt Rudolph, Donald Dale Walker
  The Journal of Religion, Vol. 79, No. 3 (Jul., 1999), pp. 452-457
  This article consists of 6 page(s).

• The Nag Hammadi Library and the Heresiologists
  Frederik Wisse, Vigiliae Christianae, Vol. 25, No. 3 (Sep., 1971), pp. 205-223
  This article consists of 19 page(s).

• "The Teachings of Silvanus" from the Library of Nag Hammadi (Cg VII: 84, 15-118, 7)
  Malcolm L. Peel, Jan Zandee, Novum Testamentum, Vol. 14, Fasc. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 294-311
  This article consists of 18 page(s).

  
  

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