Thomas peregrinus: The Apostle as Stranger in the Latin Apocryphal Acts of Thomas
In the apocryphal Acts of Thomas, the apostle Thomas is presented as a stranger (xenos, peregrinus). The present article explores how in the late Roman rewritings of the ancient Acts, the position of the apostle as an outsider is highlighted as an essential part of his role in the process of convers...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brepols
[2016]
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| In: |
Apocrypha
Year: 2016, Volume: 27, Pages: 161-175 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Acts of Thomas
/ Latin
/ Thomas, Apostle 1. Jh.
/ Stranger
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| IxTheo Classification: | KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity KAD Church history 500-900; early Middle Ages |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | In the apocryphal Acts of Thomas, the apostle Thomas is presented as a stranger (xenos, peregrinus). The present article explores how in the late Roman rewritings of the ancient Acts, the position of the apostle as an outsider is highlighted as an essential part of his role in the process of conversion and Christianisation. Whereas previous publications in Apocrypha have signalled Thomas' identity as a stranger (xenos) and his appeal to his converts to become strangers with him in the ancient Acts of Thomas (Drijvers 1990, Myers 2006), the Latin rewritings of this apocryphon are at the centre of the present contribution. These texts give a detailed account of the way the apostle, as an outsider, transforms the cities of his mission area from within into Christian communities. The Latin rewritings of the Acts of Thomas thus form a representation of a paradoxical approach to the binary opposition of insider and outsider, presenting Thomas emphatically as a stranger as opposed to civis. At the same time, the Passio Thomae (BHL 8036) in particular emphasises in an elaborate digression the way the apostle grants his converts an inalienable share in a new civic identity, which concerns both life in the Christian community on earth and, eschatologically, life in the heavenly city. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Apocrypha
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1484/J.APOCRA.5.112693 |