Acts of Thaddeus

Thaddeus of Edessa. Encaustic painting at Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai

The Acts of Thaddeus (Greek: Πραξεὶ̀ς τοῦ Θαδδαίου^[1]) is a Greek document written between 544 and 944 CE which purports to describe correspondence between King Abgar V of Edessa and Jesus, which results in Jesus' disciple Thaddeus going to Edessa.

Authorship[edit]

Most scholars now believe that the Acts of Thaddeus was written in the seventh century at the earliest.^[2]^[3]^{[verification needed]}^[4] Nicolotti dates it between 609 and 944 CE, when the Image of Edessa was brought to Constantinople.^[5] Palmer dates it to the seventh century,^[6] and had specifically suggested between 629 and 630,^[7] although this has been rejected by Angelo Gramaglia.^[8] Mirkovic notes that it is typically dated after the public appearance of the Image of Edessa in 544, and considers the iconoclasm controversy of the eighth century as the most probably context.^[9]

Writers frequently confuse the Greek^[10] Acts of Thaddeus with the Syriac Doctrine of Addai.^[5]^[a]

It is generally agreed to be a later development of the tradition described in the Legend of Abgar told by Eusebius.^[b]^[1]^{[better source needed]}

Contents[edit]

The Acts of Thaddeus describes correspondence between King Abgar V of Edessa and Jesus, which results in Jesus' disciple Thaddeus going to Edessa and performing miracles there including the healing of Abgar.^[1]^{[better source needed]}

Purpose[edit]

The Acts of Thaddeus shows significant development in the Abgar tradition since the earlier Doctrine of Addai, placing much more emphasis on the miraculous character of the Image of Edessa, while minimizing the significance of human actors.^[11]^[12]^[10]

Aquilina regards it as doctrinally orthodox and unconcerned for historical accuracy.^[13]

William Schoedel asserts that the author of the Acts of Thaddeus confused the apostle Thaddeus with a different Syrian Christian figure named Addai.^[14]

Reception[edit]

The Acts of Thaddeus was included in the biblical canon of Gregory of Tatev, although no biblical manuscripts have been found which include it.^[15] Modern scholars have found it to be significant for its descriptions of the sacraments of initiation.^[13] The Acts of Thaddeus is often studied by those seeking to associate the Image of Edessa with the Shroud of Turin; Nicolotti considers their interpretations quite biased.^[16] In 2014, Stephen Andrew Missick wrote a script for a film entitled "The Acts of the Apostle Thaddeus: The Birth of Christianity in Assyria" based on the Acts of Thaddeus and other ancient sources.^[17]^[18]

Versions[edit]

Original manuscripts[edit]

Parisinus Graecus 548 (10th century, Greek)^[19]
Vindobonensis historicus graecus 45 (11th century, Greek)^[20]

Published editions[edit]

Greek[edit]

von Tischendorf, Constantin (1851). Acta apostolorum apocrypha. Avenarius et Mendelssohn. p. 261ff.
Lipsius, Richard Adelbert; Bonnet, Max, eds. (1891). "Acta Thaddaei". Acta apostolorum apocrypha (in Latin and Ancient Greek). Leipzig, Germany: Herman Mendelssohn. pp. 273–283.
Hennecke, E. (1963). Schneemelcher, W. (ed.). New Testament Apocrypha: Gospels and related writings. New Testament Apocrypha. Translated by Wilson, Robert McLachlan. Westminster Press. p. 437–444.

English[edit]

Roberts, Alexander; Donaldson, James, eds. (1885). "Acts of the Holy Apostle Thaddaeus" . Ante-Nicene Christian Library. Translated by Walker, Alexander. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark..

Other languages[edit]

Moraldi, Luigi, ed. (1994) [1971]. Apocrifi del Nuovo Testamento (in Italian). Vol. II. Translated by Moraldi, Luigi (2nd ed.). Turin: Unione tipografico-editrice torinese. pp. 719–721.
Palmer, Andrew (2005). "Actes de Thaddée". In Bovon, François; Geoltrain, Pierre; Kaestli, Jean-Daniel (eds.). Écrits apocryphes chrétiens (in French). Vol. 2. Paris: Gallimard. pp. 643–660.

Notes[edit]

^
For example:
- Moffett, S.H. (2014). A History of Christianity in Asia, Vol. I: Beginnings to 1500. Orbis Books. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-60833-162-8.
- Di Genua, Andrea; Marinelli, Emanuela; Polverari, Ivan; Repice, Domenico (5 September 2014). "Judas, Thaddeus, Addai: possible connections with the vicissitudes of the Edessan and Constantinopolitan Mandylion and any research perspectives" (PDF). Translated by Monacelli, Augusto. p. 2.^{[dead link]}
- McHugh, Michael P. (2013). "Acts of Thaddaeus". In Ferguson, Everett (ed.). Encyclopedia of Early Christianity (Second ed.). Taylor & Francis. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-136-61158-2.
- Noegel, S.B.; Wheeler, B.M. (2010). The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism. The A to Z Guide Series. Scarecrow Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-4617-1895-6.
- Walker, Alexander (1885). "Translator's introductory notice to the apocryphal acts of the apostles" . In Roberts, Alexander; Donaldson, James (eds.). Ante-Nicene Christian Library. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark..
^ Eusebius, I, 13; cf. II, 1, 6ff.

Citations[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c "Acts of Thaddeus". Encyclopedia of The Bible. BibleGateway. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
^ Brock 2009, p. 126.
^ Guscin 2009, p. 145.
^ Drijvers 1998, p. 25.
^ ^a ^b Nicolotti 2014, p. 29.
^ Palmer 2005, 2.646–648.
^ Palmer 2002.
^ Gramaglia 1999, p. 49.
^ Mirkovic 2002, p. 32,28.
^ ^a ^b Mirkovic 2002, p. 32.
^ Cameron 1983, p. 83.
^ Brock 2004, p. 48.
^ ^a ^b Aquilina 2007, p. 76.
^ Schoedel 1970, p. 120.
^ Nersessian 2001, p. 29.
^ Nicolotti 2014, p. 29-36.
^ "Acts of Thaddeus Assyrian Heritage Film". Aramaic Herald. 27 February 2004. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
^ "Film About Apostle Thaddeus Planned". Assyrian International News Agency. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
^ Nicolotti 2014, p. 29-30.
^ Nicolotti 2014, p. 32.
^ Lewis, Agnes Smith (1904), "The Preaching of Thaddeus", The mythological acts of the apostles, Horae Semiticae, London: Cambridge University Press, p. 120ff, cf. p. xixx
^ Calzolari 2011.

References[edit]

Aquilina, M. (2007). The Mass of the Early Christians, 2nd Edition. Our Sunday Visitor. ISBN 978-1-59276-769-4.
Brock, Sebastian (2004). "Transformations of the Edessa Portrait of Christ" (PDF). Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies. 18 (1): 46–56. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
Brock, Sebastian (2009). "Review of RAMELLI: Atti di Mar Mari". Ancient Narrative. 7 (1): 123–129. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
Calzolari, Valentina (2011). Les Apôtres Thaddée et Barthélemy. Aux origines du christianisme arménien. Apocryphes. Vol. 13. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers. doi:10.1484/m.apocr-eb.5.105640. ISBN 978-2-503-54037-5. S2CID 185254787.
Cameron, Averil (1983). "The history of the image of Edessa: The telling of a story". Harvard Ukrainian Studies. 7: 80–94. JSTOR 41036083.
Eusebius (1885) [324]. "Church History" . In Roberts, Alexander; Donaldson, James (eds.). Ante-Nicene Christian Library. Translated by McGiffert, Arthur Cushman. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark. Book I, Chapter 13..
Drijvers, Han J.W. (1998). "The image of Edessa in the Syriac tradition". In Kessler, Herbert (ed.). The Holy Face and the paradox of representation: Papers from a colloquium held at the Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome and the Villa Spelman, Florence, 1996. Bologna: Nuova Alfa Editoriale. ISBN 978-88-7779-515-1.
Gramaglia, Pier Angelo (1999). "I cimeli cristiani di edessa". Approfondimento Sindone: International Journal of Scholarship and Science Devoted to the Shroud of Turin. 3 (1): 1–52.
Guscin, Mark (2009). The Image of Edessa. The Medieval Mediterranean. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-17174-9.
Mirkovic, Alexander (2002). Prelude to Constantine: The Invented Tradition of King Abgar of Edessa (Thesis). Vanderbilt University. Order No. 3047451. Retrieved 31 August 2017. Also available via ProQuest.
Nersessian, V. (2001). "The Armenian Canon of the New Testament". The Bible in the Armenian Tradition. Los Angeles, CA: J. Paul Getty Museum. ISBN 978-0-89236-640-8.
Nicolotti, Andrea (2014). From the Mandylion of Edessa to the Shroud of Turin: The Metamorphosis and Manipulation of a Legend. Art and Material Culture in Medieval and Renaissance Europe. Leiden: Brill. doi:10.1163/9789004278523. ISBN 978-90-04-27852-3.
Palmer, A. (2002), "Les actes de Thaddée", Apocrypha, 13: 63–84, doi:10.1484/J.APOCRA.2.300399
Palmer, A. (2005), "Introduction to Actes de Thaddée", in Bovon, François; Geoltrain, Pierre; Kaestli, Jean-Daniel (eds.), Écrits apocryphes chrétiens (in French), Paris: Gallimard
Schoedel, William R. (1970). "Scripture and the Seventy-two Heavens of the First Apocalypse of James". Novum Testamentum. 12 (2): 118–129. doi:10.1163/156853670X00199. JSTOR 1560041. S2CID 170545494.