Commission Narratives

by Czachesz, Istvan

• ISBN13: 9789042918450
• ISBN10: 9042918454
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-08-01
• Publisher: Peeters Pub & Booksellers

Summary

Commission Narratives is based on the author's doctoral dissertation in Groningen (2002). The monograph offers the first overarching, comparative treatment of commission narratives in the canonical and apocryphal Acts of the Apostles, analysing them in their ancient literary setting. Following a survey of this widespread narrative theme in the cultural environment of early Christianity, Czachesz establishes a threefold social typology of divine commission (institutional, prophetic and philosophical) and explores the occurences of the three types in the canonical and apocryphal Acts. The central chapters of the book provide a close reading of the textual evidence, investigating intertextual relations, the function of commission in the narrative structure, and the biographical models of self-definition that commission stories offered to the ancient readers in their changing social and ecclesiastical environments. Based on this textual analysis, Czachesz makes new proposals about the reconstruction, Sitz im Leben and dating of several apocryphal Acts. Finally, he examines the synchronic structure of commission, showing that the variety of commission narratives emerges from a constant set of motifs that are generated by interactions among the characters.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Commission, Conversion, and Biography	p. 10
'As God Counselled Socrates': Stories of Divine Call	p. 10
The Concept of Commission	p. 13
The Narrative Context: Biography	p. 19
A New Perspective on Commission Narratives	p. 21
Commission Narratives in the Apostolic Acts	p. 25
Commission in Ancient Literatures	p. 28
Egypt	p. 28
The Jewish Scriptures	p. 34
Greco-Roman Literature	p. 44
The Ancient Novel	p. 52
Commission Stories in the Gospels	p. 56
A Preliminary Typology of Commission Narratives	p. 58
Paul before Damascus	p. 60
Acts 9	p. 61
Acts 22	p. 70
Acts 26	p. 79
Conclusion	p. 87
The Acts of Paul	p. 89
The Acts of John	p. 92
Acts of John 18	p. 93
Acts of John 88-9	p. 97
The Gospel of the Acts of John	p. 102
Epistemology and Eroticism	p. 106
Acts of John 113	p. 111
The Platonism of the Acts of John: The Ascent of the Soul and Apophatism	p. 115
Conclusion	p. 119
Date and Place of Composition of the Acts of John	p. 120
The Acts of Thomas	p. 123
Protest and Reassurance	p. 124
Slavery and Craftsmanship	p. 129
Conclusion	p. 138
The Acts of Philip	p. 140
Acts of Philip 3	p. 140
Acts of Philip 8	p. 144
Philip and Mariamne	p. 147
Conclusion	p. 153
Christ as an Eagle in the Acts of Philip	p. 153
The Acts of Peter and the Twelve	p. 162
Journey to the Nine Gates	p. 163
Lithargoel and the Pearl Narrative	p. 165
The Acts of Peter and the Twelve and Pachomian Monasticism	p. 170
Conclusion	p. 182
Appendix	p. 182
The Commission of John Mark in the Acts of Barnabas	p. 184
The Story	p. 185
Political Themes	p. 189
The Commission of John Mark	p. 194
Trying to Reclaim Stolen Identitiy	p. 203
Conclusion	p. 207
The Acts of Titus	p. 208
The Acts of Titus as Biography	p. 210
Tolle lege	p. 215
Conclusion	p. 222
Morphology	p. 224
Villainy	p. 225
Sortes: 'Apostolic Lottery' and Sacred Books	p. 226
Epiphanies on the Road and on the Sea	p. 231
Twofold, Threefold, and Double Vision	p. 234
Sickness and Healing	p. 240
Helper Figures	p. 247
The Sujet of Commission	p. 249
Conclusion	p. 254
Retrospects and Prospects	p. 255
The Literary Models of Apostolic Commission	p. 255
Apostolic Commission Stories as Biographical Models	p. 265
General Conclusion	p. 272
Works Cited	p. 275
Index of Names, Subjects and Passages	p. 301
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