Actus Petri Azoti
Standard abbreviation: Act Pet. Az.
Other titles: From the Acts of the Holy Apostle Peter (title in manuscript)
Clavis numbers: ECCA 690
Category: Apocryphal Acts
Related literature: Act of Peter, Acts of Peter, Pseudo-Clementines, Travels of Peter
Compiled by Cambry G. Pardee, Pepperdine University.
Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Pardee, Cambry. “Act of Peter in Azotus.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/act-of-peter-in-ashdod/.
Created June 2018. Current as of March 2024.
1. SUMMARY
Act Pet. Az. describes one harrowing week in the life of Saint Peter, the “Champion of the Apostles.” While walking alone by the coastal city of Azotus (Ashdod), Peter encounters the Prince of Demons disguised as an archangel. Seven other demons dissembling as lesser angels follow in his retinue. Peter quickly learns the true identity of the figures and binds the diabolical company with the sign of the cross. Over the next seven days Peter interrogates the demons one at a time and discovers that they are the devil of deception, the spirits of sexual immorality, falsehood, adultery, avarice, slander, and a seventh demon. Under duress, the demons confess their misdeeds, including several infamous episodes from the Jewish scriptures, New Testament, and the life of the early church. The devil of deception, for instance, claims responsibility for deceiving Eve, the demon of avarice relays his part in leading Judas to betray Jesus for money, and the demon of sexual immorality describes successfully tempting venerable members of the clergy. At the end of his inquisition, Saint Peter releases the demons and resumes his journey. The body of the narrative is followed by a concluding exhortation in a very different tone. The writer of this section uses a variety of phrases from the New Testament to warn his community about the wiles of the devil and to entreat them to live morally.
The text of the Act Pet. Az. is found in Greek in a single 11th or 12th-century manuscript (Cod. Angelic. gr. 108 [B. 2.2]) and bears the incipit: “From the Acts of the Holy Apostle Peter.” Whether or not the text is a lost piece of the Acts of Peter is an open question. What is clear, however, is that the text belongs to the type of Petrine legenda found in the Acts Pet. and other individual narratives about the deeds of Peter (e.g. Cod. Berol. 8502.4) There are no definite indications of the date of the original text, but some clues suggest that the tradition could have originated as early as the late third century. For instance, Peter’s use of the sign of the cross in a defensive posture resonates with similar usage in other apocryphal acts from the late second to third century. The text is probably not later than the early fifth century. Its loose categorization of sins into seven chief types reflects the type of systematization and catalogues of capital sins that began in the fourth century with Evagrius and evolved into Gregory the Great’s seven deadly sins in the fifth century. This text stands at the beginning of that line of development.
Act Pet. Az. raises several significant theological questions pertaining to sin and forgiveness. On the one hand, the text relishes the description of the demons, their conniving ways, and their most infamous successes. The blame throughout much of the text is placed squarely upon the deceptive and infinitely resourceful demonic realm. On the other hand, the text also commands believers to take personal responsibility for their actions. The speech of the seventh demon expresses this tension especially well. The demon tells Peter, “You became the first denier,” and adds, “Paul became a persecutor with us.” His point seems to be that demons may tempt, but it is individual humans who act. He states even more directly, “Let them (the sinful) not blame us… for I have become weak and am without vigor.” Demons are not ultimately responsible for sin; humans are. Fortunately, even from the perspective of the seventh demon, humans have been granted forgiveness by the partiality of Christ. The demon laments that this particular avenue of mercy has been shut to him and his ilk.
Named Historical Figures and Characters: Abel, Barabbas, Cain, Eve (matriarch), Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Joseph (patriarch), Judas (Iscariot), Paul (apostle), Peter (apostle), Pharaoh (of Exodus), Satan.
Geographical Locations: Azotus (Ashdod), Eden, Hades.
2. RESOURCES
3. BIBLIOGRAPHY
3.1 Manuscripts and Editions
3.1.1 Greek (BHG 1485e)
Rome, Biblioteca Angelica, gr. 108 (B 2.2), fols. 266v–269r (11/12th cent.)
Bovon, François, and Bertrand Bouvier. “Un fragment grec inédit des Actes de Pierre?” Apocrypha 17 (2006): 9–54.
3.2 Modern Translations
3.2.1 English
Pardee, Cambry. “Act of Peter in Ashdod.” Pages 264–77 in New Testament Apocrypha: More Noncanonical Scriptures. Volume 2. Edited by Tony Burke. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2020.
3.2.2 French
Bovon, François, and Bertrand Bouvier. “Un fragment grec inédit des Actes de Pierre?” Apocrypha 17 (2006): 9–54.
3.3 General Works
de’Cavalieri, Pio Franchi, and Giorgio Muccio. “Index codicum graecorum bibliothecae Angelicae.” Studi italiani di filologia classica 4 (1896): 7–184, esp. 144–50.
Chiesa, Paolo. “Il dossier agiografico latino dei santi Gurias, Samonas e Abibos.” Aevum 65 (1991): 221–58, esp. 224 n. 16.
Devos, Paul. “Appendice. Une recension nouvelle de la Passion grecque BHG 639 de saint Eusignios.” AnBoll 100 (1982): 209–28, esp. 210, 213, 228.
Lipsius, Richard Adelbert. Die apokryphen Apostelgeschichten und Apostellegenden. 2 vols. Braunschweig: Schwetschke und Sohn, 1883–1887 (vol. 2, pp. 233–35).
__________. Die apokryphen Apostelgeschichten und Apostellegenden. Ergänzungsheft. Braunschweig: Schwetschke und Sohn, 1890 (pp. 225–28).