Acts of Philip

Acta Philippi

Standard abbreviation: Acts Phil.

Other titles: none

Clavis numbers: ECCA 980; CANT 250.I, CANT 250.II

VIAF: 182467455; 946145857085222921984

Category: Apocryphal Acts

Related literature: Ever-New Tongue, Encomium on Philip, Encomium on Philip by Nicetas of Paphlagonia, Hypomnema on Philip by Symeon Metaphrastes, Miracle of Michael the Archangel at Chonae

Compiled by Denise Dunbar-McFarlane (York University) under the supervision of Tony Burke, York University

Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Dunbar-McFarlane, Denise. “Acts of Philip.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/acts-of-philip/.

Created May 2018. Current as of January 2024.

1. SUMMARY

Acts Phil. is divided into 15 separate “acts,” of which the tenth, the beginning of the eleventh, and parts of 14 and 15 are still missing. In the first act Philip comes out of Galilee. He sees a widow carrying her dead son. She believes she has been cursed by her conduct (hating Christians and seeking false seers). Philip raises her son, who then describes the suffering he saw. Guided on a tour of hell by the archangel Michael, the son witnesses various sinners being tortured for such crimes as lying, bearing false witness, and assaulting bishops. The son and his mother become believers and convert many. Philip departs with the son to Athens.

In act 2 Philip is greeted in Athens by 300 philosophers. They write to Ananias, the high priest, in Jerusalem about Philip’s legitimacy. Ananias comes to Athens with 500 strong men to capture Philip and bring him back to Jerusalem where their king Archelaus could kill him. The high priest tries to strike Philip but his hand withers and he is blinded. The 500 men also are blinded. At Philip’s prayer, Jesus reveals himself and the idols and demons in Athens flee. Philip heals Ananias but he refuses to believe, so the ground swallows him up to his neck. The 500 men, however, repent and their sight is restored. Ananias remains stubborn and sinks into the abyss. Philip spends two years in Athens, where he builds a church and appoints a bishop.

In act 3 Philip journeys to Parthia. There he sees Peter and John and they speak of the activities of several other apostles (Andrew in Achaia and Thrace, Thomas in India, and Matthew’s encounters with the Troglodytes). John assures Philip that he has God’s protection and several miracles occur in Philip’s travels demonstrating that he is being safeguarded, including a dialogue with Jesus in the form of an eagle. Philip travels by sea to the region of the Candacians and then on to Azotus. The ship encounters a storm but Jesus settles the wind and a bright cross lights up the night sky. Philip reaches Azotus but before he enters the city he delivers a discourse on continence and then heals and baptizes many sick people.

In act 4 Philip becomes famous for his healings and exorcisms, and notorious for separating wives from their husbands with his preaching of abstinence. He stays at a storehouse belonging to Nikokleides,a friend of the king. His daughter Charitine has a disfigured eye that no physician has been able to cure. Philip heals her and Charitine adopts a male appearance and clothing and follows Philip.

In act 5 Philip goes to the city of Nicatera. The Jewish community in the city seek to expel Philip but one of their leaders, Ireos, asks the crowd to examine his teachings and not resort to violence. Philip tells Ireos that he will be rewarded with eternal life for his kindness and instructs him to separate from his wife Nercella, which causes some discord between the couple. Ireos brings Philip to his home and his household, including Nercella, the housekeeper, and his daughter Artemilla, become believers.

In act 6 Ireos is confronted by seven elite men. He is told to bring Philip to them for questioning. When Philip arrives, he threatens to blind the crowd. Aristarchus, one of the prominent Jews of the city, grabs Philip by the beard and his hand withers, becomes deaf, and his right eye blinded. Aristarchus begs for mercy and when he is healed, he enters into debate with Philip about the Messiah. The crowd bring a dead boy named Theophilus to Philip so he can demonstrate his power. Philip raise shim to life and the people of the city become believers. In act 7 Nereus, the father of Theophilus, and Ireus build a synagogue in the name of Christ. Philip departs the city on a ship.

In act 8 the text changes direction, beginning with Jesus commissioning the apostles to evangelize various cities. Peter is sent to the Greeks accompanied by his sister Mariamne and Bartholomew. Mariamne is praised for having the strength of a man, whereas Philip exhibits the will of a woman. Jesus tells Mariamne to dress a s a man and go with Philip to Opheorymos where the people worship the Viper, the mother of the serpents. Jesus teaches Philip not to repay evil for evil, since he is quick to resort to violence. Philip is distraught about his mission but Jesus tells him not to be fainthearted and describes with examples from Scripture, how good increases in the world while evil diminishes. The three travellers set on their journey and encounter a leopard who tells them how he was told by a young goat that the apostles were about to pass through the land. Philip prays for them to receive human hearts and they glorify Philip and follow the apostles.

In act 9, the group are confronted by a dragon attended by serpents. Philip tells his companions to their cups with water and sprinkle the air with the sign of the cross. The dragon and all the serpents are blinded, they dry up, and their eggs are destroyed.

Act 10 is no longer extant. When the story resumes in act 11, Philip, Mariamne, and Batholomew are rejoicing when a great earthquake occurs and the voices of 50 demons are heard. Philip approaches the demons, who are revealed to be serpents, and a great dragon appears. This dragon claims to have aided Solomon in constructing the temple. He asks to be spared by Philip and in return will build him a church. Once the church is completed, Philip sends the dragon and his serpents into the wilderness. Thousands of men, women, and children gather and worship Christ.

In acts 12–13 the leopard and the goat weep to be worthy of communion. Philip gets a cup with water, sprinkles some of water on the two animals and they slowly transform into humans. The group arrive in the city of Hierapolis and are greeted by two men, each carrying a serpent on his shoulders. They throw down their serpents and the serpents bow before the apostles; the men conclude that they too are worshippers of the Viper and let them proceed into the city. The dragons who guard the gate die as the apostles pass through. They set up a surgery to practice healing.

In act 14 a man named Stachys who has been blind for 40 years, cries to be brought to Philip for healing. Philip smears Stachys’ eyes with saliva from Marianne’s mouth and his sight is restored. The people rejoice and a great crowd gathers at Stachys’ house to witness healings and exorcisms. Philip baptizes the men and Mariamne the women.

In act 15 Philip places his staff in Stachys’ courtyard and it becomes a healing laurel plant. Stachys’ house becomes a place of healing and care for the poor. Nicanora, the wife of the governor, hears about Stachy regaining her sight and comes to the house to be healed of her many ailments and inflamed eyes. Philip heals her; however, her husband Turannognophos enters and demands to know what his wife is doing with these magicians. Nicanora tells him to let go of his idolatry and false Gods and she will always be with him. He drags her away in anger to kill her. He orders Philip, Bartholomew and Mariamne to be stripped and killed. The apostle John joins the group while they are being tortured. Philip prays for the abyss to swallow Turannognophos and his men. Jesus appears and tells Philip he must spend 40 days outside of paradise as punishment for repaying evil for evil. Jesus frees the crowd from the abyss. Philip then asks Mariamne and Bartholomew to bury him right where he dies and build a church in his honour. Philip draws his last breath while his devoted followers watch.

Named Historical Figures and Characters: Aaron, Abel, Adam (patriarch), Andrew (apostle), Ananias (high priest), Apollo, Archelaus, Ares, Aristarchus, Artemilla, Artemis, Athena, Bartholomew (apostle), Cain, Cerberus, Charitine, David (king), Eleides, Eve (matriarch), Hermes, Holy Spirit, Ireos, Isaac (patriarch), James (the Righteous), Jesus Christ, John (son of Zebedee), Leucius (doctor), Mansemat (Satan), Mariamne (sister of Philip), Matthew (apostle), Michael (angel), Moses (patriarch), Nerkela, Nereus (father of Theophilus), Nicanora, Nikokleides, Noah (patriarch), Onesimus, Ouriel (angel), Peter (apostle), Philip (apostle), Raphael (angel), Selgia, Simon (the Canaanite/Zealot), Stachys, Theophilus (son of Nereus), Thomas (apostle), Trajan (emperor), Tyrannus, Tyrannognophos, Viper, Zeus.

Geographical Locations: Achaia, Asia, Ashdod (Azotus), Athens, Candacea, Egypt, Galilee, Hades, hell, Hellas, Hierapolis, India, Jerusalem, Jordan River, Judea, Lycaonia, Lydia, Macedonia, Nikatera, Opheorymos, Ophiana, Parthia, Pontus, Rome, Spain, Syria, Thrace.

2. RESOURCES

2.1 Websites and Other Online Resources

“The Acts of Philip.” Wikipedia.

“Acta Philippi.” Perseus. Digitized Greek text from Bonnet and English translation from M. R. James.

Bread Stamp with the Apostle Philip (from Hierapolis; 6th/7th cent.): bears an image of Philip standing between two buildings—a domed martyrium and a basilical church containing the apostle’s tomb. The image is carved in reverse in order to make an impression on eulogia bread, distributed at the saint’s shrine.

Harvard Gazette Staff. “Women Priests, Vegetarianism–An Early Christian Manuscript Holds Some Surprises.” Harvard Gazette. Posted 3 February 2000. An interview with François Bovon on the discovery of Xenophōntos, 32.

2.2 Commemorative Sites

San Pedro de la Nave (created ca. 9th/10th cent.), in Campillo, Spain: a capital in the church bears the inscription “SCS Filippus apostolus” and the figure wears a crown on his head adorned with precious stones. In the martyrdom there is a reference to a “crown of victory” for which Philip asks in his prayer immediately before his death.

First-century tomb in modern Pamukkale (ancient Hierapolis) identified as an ancient pilgrimage site dedicated to Philip.

2.3 Art and Iconography

Image of Philip being crucified upside down from the Menologion of Basil II, Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 1613, p. 182 (10th cent.).

Icon of Philip (Arsos): 13th/14th-century icon of Philip surrounded by 18 vignettes depicting stories from Acts Phil. Mariamne, Bartholomew, and the two animals do not appear until Acts Phil. 8, though they are depicted throughout the scenes on the icon. Notably absent are depictions of acts 2, 8, 9, 11, and 12.

Philip battling a serpent in Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Urb. lat. 603, fol. 382^v (14th cent.).

3. BIBLIOGRAPHY

3.1 Manuscripts and Editions

3.1.1 Armenian

3.1.1.1 Recension 1 (BHO 980)

Venice, Biblioteca dei Padri Mechitaristi San Lazzaro degli Armeni, 653 (228) (1847)

3.1.1.2 Recension 2 (BHO 981)

Venice, Biblioteca dei Padri Mechitaristi San Lazzaro degli Armeni, 239 (222) (1335)

3.1.1.3 Abridgement (BHO 986–87)

Venice, Biblioteca dei Padri Mechitaristi San Lazzaro degli Armeni, 1014 (201) (12th/13th cent.) (base text)

Venice, Biblioteca dei Padri Mechitaristi San Lazzaro degli Armeni, 986 (257) (14th/15th cent.)

Venice, Biblioteca dei Padri Mechitaristi San Lazzaro degli Armeni, 569 (234) (1518)

Venice, Biblioteca dei Padri Mechitaristi San Lazzaro degli Armeni, 1447 (223) (15th cent.)

Tchérakian, Chérubin. Ankanon girkh arakhelakankh: Thankgaran haykakan hin ew nor deprutheankh. Venice: Òazar, 1904 (parallel editions of recension 1 and 2, pp. 300–20; abridgement, 321–28).

Leloir, Louis. Écrits apocryphes sur les apôtres: Traduction de l’édition arménienne de Venise. 2 vols. CCSA 3–4. Turnhout: Brepols, 1986–1992 (French translation of editions by Tchérakian, vol. 2, pp. 432–47, 438–59, 464–70; additional manuscripts listed, pp. xvii–xxxv, 419–20).

3.1.1.4 Armenian Synaxarion (14 November)

Bayan, George. “Les synaxaire arménien de ter-Israel IV: Mois de Tré.” Patrologia Orientalis 16.1 (1922): 5–185 (pp. 28–33).

3.1.2 Church Slavic

Lviv, Vasyl Stefanyk National Scientific Library of Ukraine in Lviv, Oss. 38, fols. 152v–156 (16th cent.) (de Santos Otero 26; listed as Wroclaw, Biblioteka Nac. Instituta im. Ossolińskich, 38)

Lviv, Scientific Library of Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, 203.III., pp. 466–473 (16th cent.)

Moscow, Russian State Library, Troice-Sergieva Lavra 669 (1616), fols. 243–245^v (15th cent.) (de Santos Otero 9)

Moscow, Russian State Library, Troice-Sergieva Lavra 670 (406), fols. 395^v–401^v (15th cent.) (de Santos Otero 11)

Moscow, Russian State Library, N. S. Tichonravov 247, fols. 23^v–32 (16th cent.) (de Santos Otero 12)

Moscow, State Historical Museum, Čudovskij Monastyr’ 62 (264), fols. 325^v–329^v(16th cent.) (de Santos Otero 13)

Moscow, State Historical Museum, Uspenskij Sobor, Carskij spisok 988, fols. 767–769 (16th cent.) (de Santos Otero 14)

Moscow, Russian State Library, V. M. Undol’skij 1300, fol. 59 (16th cent.) (de Santos Otero 15)

Moscow, Russian State Library, Moskovskaja Duchovnaja Akademija, Volokolamsk Codex I.61 (Iosif 194/592), fols. 297–301 (16th cent.) (listed twice as de Santos Otero 10 and 16)

Moscow, State Historical Museum, A. S. Uvarov 1781 (348), fols. 163^v–168^v(16th cent.) =BHG 1528e (de Santos Otero 17)

Moscow, State Historical Museum, A. S. Uvarov 1048 (163), fols. 232^v–245 (16th cent.) =BHG 1528e (de Santos Otero 18)

Moscow, Russian State Library, N. S. Tichonravov 702, fols. 268–274^v (17th cent.) (de Santos Otero 19) ~ 17th century Bulgarian vita

Moscow, Russian State Library, N. S. Tichonravov 587, fol. 282 (17th cent.) (de Santos Otero 20)

Moscow, State Historical Museum, A. S. Uvarov 335 (758) (Carskij 729), fols. 359–369 (17th cent.) (de Santos Otero 21)

Moscow, Russian State Library, T. F. Bol’šakov 112, fols. 1–24 (17th cent.) (de Santos Otero 22)

Moscow, State Historical Museum, Sinodal Coll., Uspenskij spisok 798 (176), fols. 1000–1003 (16th cent.) (de Santos Otero 27)

*Prilep, Codex CP, M-3. fols. 164–170 (1385–1390) =BHG 1528e (de Santos Otero 23) (=BHG 1528e)

St. Petersburg, National Library of Russia, Osnovnoe sobranie (P. D. Bogdanov) 69, fols. 219–226 (15th cent.) (de Santos Otero 1)

St. Petersburg, National Library of Russia, Peterburgskaja Duchovnaja Akademija (Sofijskaja biblioteka) 1319, fols. 533–534^v (16th cent.) (de Santos Otero 2)

St. Petersburg, National Library of Russia, Peterburgskaja Duchovnaja Akademija (Sofijskaja biblioteka) 1354, fols. 489–494 (16th cent.) (de Santos Otero 3)

St. Petersburg, National Library of Russia, Soloveckij Monastyr’ 623 (505 u. 504), fol. 3 (16th cent.) (de Santos Otero 4)

St. Petersburg, National Library of Russia, Soloveckij Monastyr’ 647 (806), fols. 574–580 (16th/17th cent.) (de Santos Otero 5)

St. Petersburg, National Library of Russia, Osnovnoe sobranie 84 (Pogodin 798), fols. 31v–38 (16th cent.) (de Santos Otero 6)

St. Petersburg, National Library of Russia, P. P. Vjazemskij 37, fols. 124^v–131^v (16th/17th cent.) (de Santos Otero 7)

St. Petersburg, National Library of Russia, Obščestvo ljubitelej drevnej pis’mennosti 97, fols. 124^v–131^v (16th/17th cent.) (de Santos Otero 8)

St. Petersburg, The National Library of Russia, Soloveckij Monastyr’ 643 (830), fols. 424–431^v (16th cent.) (de Santos Otero 28)

*Vil’na, Central’naja Biblioteka Akademii Nauk Litovskoj SSR, 103 (227), fols. 423–427 (16th cent.) (de Santos Otero 24)

*Vil’na, Central’naja Biblioteka Akademii Nauk Litovskoj SSR, 79 (192), fols. 484–489 (16th cent.) (de Santos Otero 25)

Archeografičeskaja Kommissîja, Velikîja minei četîi. (12.–15. November). Saint Petersburg: Tipografǐja Imperatorskoj Akademǐi Naukǔ, 1899, cols. 1996–2002 (edition of Moscow, Carskij spisok 988, cols. 1996–2002).

Demina, Evgenija I. Tichonravovskij Damaskin. 17 vols. Sofia: Izdat. na B’lgarskata Akad. na Naukite, 1968– (edition of Moscow, Tichonravov 702, vol. 2, pp. 286–90).

Franko, Ivan. Apokrifi î legendy z ukraïnsǐkich rukopisiv. 5 vols. Lviv: Nakladom Naukovoho Tovaristva îmeni Ševčenka, 1898 (edition of Wroclaw 38, vol. 3, 174–79).

Lavrov, Petr A. Apocrifičeski tksty . . . Saint Petersburg 1899 (edition of Moscow, Tichonravov 702, pp. 129–35).

Otero, Aurelio de Santos. Die handschriftliche Überlieferung der altslavischen Apokryphen. 2 vols. PTS 20 and 23. Berlin: De Gruyter, 1978–1981 (vol. 1, pp. 124–29).

Petrovsky, S. “Istoricheskaya tsennost’ apokrificheskikh skazaniy ob apostol’skoy propovedi po severovostochnomu chernomorskomu poberezh’yu.” Zapiski Imperatorskogo Odesskogo Obschchestua istorii i drevnostey 21 (1898): 6–10 (edition of Leningrad 97).

Thomson, Francis J. Review of Aurelio de Santos Otero, Die handscriftliche Überlieferung der altslavischen Apokryphen, vol. 1. Slavonic and East European Review 58 [1980]: 256–68 at 261–62 (with corrections to de Santos Otero).

3.1.3 Georgian

Tblisi, Simon Janashia Museum of Georgia, H.341 (11th cent.)

Mount Athos, Iviron, Geor. 11 (olim 80)

K‘urc‘ikiże, C‘iala. Kartuli versiebi aṗoḳripebis mocikulta šesaxeb [Georgian Versions of the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles]. Tbilisi: Sakartvelos SSR mecnierebata akademiis gamomcemloba, 1959 (text based on Tblisi H.341, pp. 55–91).

3.1.4 Greek

3.1.4.1 Acts and Martyrdom (CANT 250.I; BHG 1516–1524; BHG^a 1524c, 1524d, 1524e, 1524f)

A Athos, Monē Xenophōntos, 32 (Lambros 734), fols. 30^r–109^v (14th cent.) — acts 1–15 (including martyrdom) but lacks 8 (it has the title and a few lines), 9–10, and the first part of 11

G Athens, Ethnikē Bibliothēkē tēs Hellados, gr. 346, fols. 77^r–93^v (15th cent.) – large portion of act 8, followed by martyrdom; Pinakes

K Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, G63 sup (Martini-Bassi 405), fols. 26^r–32^r (11th cent.) — Pinakes; includes act 2

P Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 881, fols. 330^v–348^v (10th cent.) — includes act 2 and martyrdom

V Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 824, fols. 66^v–105^v, 308^v (11th cent.) — first nine acts plus martyrdom; Pinakes

X Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 866, fols. 86^v–89^r(11th/12th cent.) —includes act 2

3.1.4.2 Martyrdom (CANT 250.II; BHG 1525, 1526m; BHG^a 1526d).

Fifty extant manuscripts (sigla from Bonnet), including:

B Oxford, Bodleian Library, Barocci 180, fols. 69^v–81^r (11th/12th cent.)

C St. Petersburg, Russian National Library/Rossijskaja Nacional’naja biblioteka, Ф. № 906 (Gr.) 94 (Granstrem 334), fols. 45–54^v (12th cent.) ~ Pinakes

D Sinai, Monē tēs Hagias Aikaterines, gr. 526, fols. 105–112^v (10th cent.) ~ Pinakes; LOC

E Escorial, Real Biblioteca, Y.II.9 (Andrés 264), fols. 81^v–94 (11th cent.) ~ Pinakes

F Escorial, Real Biblioteca, Y.II.6 (Andrés 314), fols. 197^v–207 (12th cent.) ~ Pinakes

M Venice, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, gr. Z 349 (coll. 693), fols. 248–258 (11th/12th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Q Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 1485, fols. 100^r–108^r (10th cent.)

R Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 1454, fols. 171^r–180^v (10th cent.)

S Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 1219, fols. 45^r–85^v (11th cent.)

T Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 1468, fols. 326^v–332^r (11th cent.)

U Rome, Biblioteca Vallicelliana, B 35, fols. 44^v– 51^r(11th cent.)

W Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, hist. gr. 5, fols. 235–245 (11th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Y Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 797, fols. 357–364 (11th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Library, Special Collections, 36, fols. 42–54^v (13th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Athens, Ethnikē Bibliothēkē tēs Hellados, gr. 363, fols. 287^v–306 (16th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Athens, Ethnikē Bibliothēkē tēs Hellados, gr. 1027, fols. 96–103^v (12th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Athens, Ethnikē Bibliothēkē tēs Hellados, gr. 2535, fols. 327–339 (11th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Brussels, Bibliothèque des Bollandistes, 194 (286), fols. 226–280 (17th/18th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Brussels, Bibliothèque des Bollandistes, IV.459, fols. 95^r–95^v (8th/9th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Gjirokastër, Bibliothēkē tēs Mētropoleōs, 5, fols. 48v–58 (17th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Jerusalem, Patriarchikē bibliothēkē, Panagios Taphos 66, fols. 106^v–120^v (15th/16th cent.)

London, British Library, Add. 26114, fols. 4^r–8^v (12th cent.)

Mount Athos, Monē Esphigmeonou, 44 (Lambros 2057) (12th/13th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Mount Athos, Monē Karakallou, 8 (Lambros 1521; Mon. 48) (10th/11th cent.) ~ Pinakes; Athos

Mount Athos, Monē Kouloumousiou, 38 (Lambros 3107) (9th/10th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Mount Sinai, Monē tēs Hagias Aikaterinēs, gr. 519, fols. 115^r–120^r (10th cent.)

Mount Sinai, Monē tēs Hagias Aikaterinēs, gr. 1716, fols. 119^r–134^r (17th cent.) ~ not yet examined

Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, gr. 524, fols. 140^v–148^v (14th cent.) ~ Pinakes; Munich

Mutilene, Monē tou Leimonōs, 15 (15th cent.) ~ Pinakes; Mutiline

Oxford, Bodleian Library, Clarke 43, fols. 114^v–118^v (12th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Reading, Douai Abbey, no shelf no., fols. 140–149 (11th cent.) ~ Pinakes

St. Petersburg, Russian National Library/Rossijskaja Nacional’naja biblioteka, Ф. № 906 (Gr.) 213 (Granstrem 283), fols. 292–299^v (12th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Sinai, Monē tēs Hagias Aikaterines, gr. 519, fols. 116–121 (10th cent.) ~ Pinakes; LOC

Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Chig. R.VI.39, fols. 174^v–182^r (12th cent.)

Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 544, fols. 45, 138, 111, 84, 106, 143, 44, 114, 95, 124, 125, 90, 119 (11th cent.) ~ palimpsest

Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 803, fols. 36–42^v (12th cent.) ~ Pinakes; DigiVatLib

Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 807, fols. 123^v–130^r (10th cent.)

Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 808, fols. 184^r–204^v (11th cent.)

Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 1190, fols. 414^r–419^r (1542)

Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 1631, fols. 46–54 (12th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 1636, fols. 19–25^v (11th cent.) ~ Pinakes; DigiVatLib

Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 1669, fols. 379^v–389 (10th cent.) ~ Pinakes; DigiVatLib

Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 1989, fols. 74^r–87^r (11th/12th cent.)

Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 2123 (11th/12th cent.) ~ Pinakes; DigiVatLib

Venice, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, gr. VII.31 (coll. 1018), fols. 38^v–47^v (14th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Bonnet, Maximilien. “Acta Philippi.” Pages 1–98 in vol. 2.2 of Acta apostolorum apocrypha. 2 vols. in 3 parts. Edited by Richard A. Lipsius and Maximilien Bonnet. Leipzig: Mendelssohn, 1889–1903; reprinted Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1959 (text based on Vat gr. 824 along with Paris 881 and Vatican 866, and divided the martyrdom MSS into three recensions: Γ, Θ, Δ)

Bovon, François, Bertrand Bouvier, and Frédéric Amsler, eds. Acta Philippi: Textus. CCSA 11. Turnhout: Brepols, 1999 (parallel texts of V and A, with other manuscripts where extant, with French translations).

Bovon, François, and Bertrand Bouvier. “Actes de Philippe I, d’après un manuscrit inédit.” Pages 367–94 in Oecumenica et Patristica. Festschrift für Wilhelm Schneemelcher zum 75.Geburtstag. Edited by D. Papandruow, W. A. Bienert, and K. Schäferdiek. Geneva: Chambésy, 1989 (first publication of act 1 from Xenophōntos 32).

Piñero, Antonio, and Gonzalo del Cerro. Hechos apócrifos de los Apóstoles. 3 vols. Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, 2011 (Greek edition based primarily on A with facing Spanish translation, vol. 3, pp. 5–213).

Tischendorf, Constantin. Acta apostolorum apocrypha. Leipzig: Avenarius et Mendelssohn, 1851 (edition of the martyrdom from Paris gr. 881 and 1454 and Venice 349, and ch. 2 from Paris gr. 881, pp. xxxi–xxxviii, 75–104).

Tischendorf, Constantin. Apocalypses Apocryphae. 1866. Repr., Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1966 (includes two versions of the martyrdom based on Paris gr. 1468 and Oxford, Barocci 180, pp. 141–56).

Batiffol, P. “Actus sancti Philippi apostoli nunch primum edidit R. D. Petrus Batiffol.” AnBoll 9 (1890): 204–49 (first publication of chs. 1 and 3–9 based on Vat. gr. 824 with Latin translation).

3.1.4.3 Martyrdom and Translation (BHG 1529).

Escorial, Real Biblioteca, Y.II.6 (Andrés 314), fols. 197^v–207 (12th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, C123 sup (Martini-Bassi 213), fols. 62–69 (11th/12th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, F 144 sup., 36^r–41^r(10th/11th cent.)

Oxford, Bodleian Library, Barocci 180, fols. 69^v–81^r (11th/12th cent.)

Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 1810, fols. 103^v, 57 (10th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 1992, fols. 250^r–251^v (11th cent.) ~ fragmentary; Pinakes; DigiVatLib

James, M. R. Apocrypha Anecdota: A Collection of Thirteen Apocryphal Books and Fragments. Texts and Studies 2.3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1893 (Greek text of portions of Oxford, Barocci 180 not published by Tischendorf, pp. 161–63).

3.1.4.4 Abridged Martyrdom (BHG 1526m)

Messina, Biblioteca Universitaria, San Salvatoris 30, fols. 120^r–126^v (1307)

3.1.4.5 Epitome (BHG 1528) ~ contains NT references to Philip, a summary of acts 1, 3–7, 2, and an abbridged martyrdom

Jerusalem, Patriarchikē bibliothēkē, Hagiou Saba 30, fols. 131^r–139^v (10th/11th cent.) ~ LOC; Pinakes

Moscow, Gosudarstvennyj Istoričeskij Musej, Sinod. gr. 161 (Vlad. 379), fols. 186^v–196^v (11th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 1551, fols. 67^r–78^v (14th cent.) ~ Gallica; Pinakes

3.1.4.6 Menaea of 14 November (BHG 1528f) ~ summary of acts 1–7, with 5–7 taking place in Hierapolis (rather than Nikatera) and ends with the ordination of Ieros and the construction of churches; Pinakes

Combefis, François. Bibliothecae graecorum patrum auctarium novissimum. 2 vols. Paris: Aegidii Hotot, 1672 (Greek text with Latin translation, vol. 1, 387–91).

3.1.4.7 Synaxary of Constantinople (BHG 1528e) (summary) ~ Pinakes

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 1579, fols. 108–112 (15th cent.) ~ Gallica; Pinakes

Hippolyte Delehaye, Synaxarinum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae e códice Sirmondiano, nunc Berolinensi adiectis synaxariis selectis. Brussels: Société des Bollandistes, 1902 (cols. 221–24).

3.1.4.8 A Synaxary of Constantinople (summary)

Bolland, Jean et al., eds. Acta Sanctorum, Maii. Vol. 1. Antwerp: P. Jacobs, 1680 (discussion, p. 8).

Tischendorf, Constantin. Acta apostolorum apocrypha. Leipzig: Avenarius et Mendelssohn, 1851 (Latin translation, p. xxxiv)

3.1.4.9 Menologion of Basil II (summary) ~ here Philip is accompanied not only by Mariamne and Bartholomew but also his seven (!) daughters

Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 1613, p. 182 (10th cent.) ~ Pinakes; BAV

Migne, Jacques-Paul. Patrologiae cursus completus: Series graeca. Vol. 117. Paris: Cerf, 1903 (Greek text with facing Latin translation, cols. 160–61).

3.1.4.10 Mount Athos Synaxary (summary) ~ here the death of the Viper leads to Philip’s death, not the conversion of Nikanora

Mount Athos, Monē Batopediou, 568 (11th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Lipsius, Richard A. Die Apokryphen Apostelgeschichten und Apostellegenden. Ein Beitrag zur altchristlichen Literaturgeschichte. 2 vols. Braunschweig: Schwetschke, 1883–1887 (partial edition Ergänzungsband, 71).

3.2 Concordances

Amsler, Frédéric and Albert Frey. Concordantia Actorum Philippi. CCSA Instrumenta 1. Turnhout: Brepols, 2002.

3.3 Modern Translations

3.3.1 English

Bovon, François and Christopher R. Matthews. The Acts of Philip: A New Translation. Waco, TX: Baylor, 2012 (based on the critical edition of Bovon, Bouvier, and Amsler).

Elliott, J. K. The Apocryphal New Testament: A Collection of Apocryphal Christian Literature in English Translation. Oxford: Clarendon, 1993 (ch. 8 and summary of the martyrdom, pp. 512–518).

James, M. R. The Apocryphal New Testament: Being the Apocryphal Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Apocalypses. Oxford: Clarendon, 1924; corrected edition, 1953 (partial translation based on Bonnet, pp. 439–50).

Walker, Alexander. Apocryphal Gospels, Acts and Revelations. The Ante-Nicene Christian Library 16. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1873 (act 2 and the martyrdom from Paris BNF gr. 881 and the martyrdom from Venice, Marc. 349, pp. 301–34).

3.3.2 French

Amsler, Frédéric, François Bovon, and Bertrand Bouvier. Actes de l’apôtre Philippe. Introduction, traductions et notes. Apocryphes 8. Turnhout: Brepols, 1996 (translations drawn from the 1999 edition; main text pimarily based on A, pp. 91–240; with variant readings from V in appendix I, pp. 241–45; and V’s longer martyrdom in appendix II, pp. 247–81).

Bouvier, Bertrand, François Bovon, and Frédéric Amsler. “Actes de Philippe.” Pages 1181–320 in Écrits apocryphes chrétiens. Vol. 1. Bibliothèque de la Pléiade 442. Edited by François Bovon and Pierre Geoltrain. Paris: Gallimard, 1997 (translation based primarily on A—largely identicial to their 1996 translation— with variant readings provided in the notes).

3.3.3 Italian

Erbetta, Mario. Gli Apocrifi del nuovo Testamento. 3 vols. in 4. Turin: Marietti, 1966–1981 (vol. 2, pp. 453–85).

Moraldi, Luigi. Apocrifi del Nuovo Testamento. 2 vols. Classici delle religioni, Sezione quarta, La religione cattolica 24. Turin: Unione Tipografico-Editrice Torinese, 1971 (summary in vol. 2, pp. 1625–31).

3.3.4 Spanish

3.4 General Works

Amsler, Frédéric. “Les Actes de Philippe. Aperçu d’une compétition religieuse en Phrygie.” Pages 125–40 in Le mystère apocryphe. Introduction à une littérature méconnue. Essais Bibliques 26. Edited by J.-D. Kaestli, and D. Marguerat. Genève: Labor et Fides, 1995.

__________. “Remarques sur la réception liturgique et folklorique des Actes de Philippe (APh VIII-XV et Martyre).” Apocrypha 8 (1997): 251–64

__________. Acta Philippi. Commentarius. CCSA 12. Turnhout: Brepols, 1999.

Bovon, François. “Philip, Acts of.” Page 312 in vol. 5 of The Anchor Bible Dictionary. New York: 1993.

__________. “Les Actes de Philippe.” ANRW II.25.6 (1988): 4431–527.

__________. “Le privilège pascal de Marie-Madeleine.” NTS 30 (1984): 50–62.

__________. “Editing the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles.” Pages 1–35 in Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles. Edited by François Bovon, Ann Graham Brock, and Christopher R. Matthews. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions, 1999.

__________. “Facing the Scriptures: Mimesis and Intertextuality in the Acts of Philip.” Pages 138–53 in Mimesis and Intertextuality in Antiquity and Christianity. Studies in Antiquity and Christianity. Edited by D. R. MacDonald. Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 2001.

__________. “Mary Magdalene in the Acts of Philip.” Pages 75–89 in Which Mary? The Marys in Early Christian Traditions. Edited by F. Stanley Jones. SBL Symposium 19. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2002.

__________. “Women Priestesses in the Apocryphal Acts of Philip.” Pages 109–21 in Walk in the Ways of Wisdom: Essays in Honor of Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza. Edited by Shelly Matthews, Cynthia Briggs Kittredge and Melanie Johnson-Debaufre. Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 2003.

__________. “From Vermont to Cyprus: A New Witness of the Acts of Philip.” Apocrypha 20 (2009): 9–27.

Berglund, Carl Johan. “Discipleship Ideals in the Acts of Philip.” Pages 314–32 in The Apostles Peter, Paul, John, Thomas and Philip with Their Companions in Late Antiquity. Edited by Tobias Nicklas, Janet E. Spittler, and Jan N. Bremmer. Studies on Early Christian Apocrypha 17. Leuven: Peeters, 2021.

Bucher, Debra J. “Converts, Resisters, and Evangelists: Jews in Acts of Philip V-VII.” Pages 9–16 in A Most Reliable Witness: Essays in Honor of Ross Shepard Kraemer. Edited by Susan Ashbrook Harvey, Nathaniel DesRosiers, Shira L. Lander, Jacqueline Z. Pastis, and Daniel Ullucci. Brown Judaic Studies 358. Providence: Brown University, 2015.

Czachesz, István. Commission Narratives: A Comparative Study of the Canonical and Apocryphal Acts. Leuven: Peeters, 2007 (pp. 140–61).

Dobbeler, Axel von. Der Evangelist Philippus in der Geschichte des Urchristentums: Eine prosopographische Skizze. TANZ 30. Tübingen: Francke, 2000.

Flamion, Joseph. “Les trois recensions grecques du martyre de l’apôtre Philippe.” Pages 215–25 in vol. 1 of Mélanges d’histoire offerts a Ch. Moeller. Recueil de travaux publiés par les membres des conferences d’histoire et de philologie 40. Leuven: Bureaux du Redueil and Paris: Picard et Fils, 1914.

Fredrikson, N. I. “La douceur et l’amertume dans le langage spirituel des saveurs.” VC 57.1 (2003): 62–93.

Holob, Kelly. “Magical Procedures and Voces Magicae in the Acts and Martyrdom of Philip (APh II.18 and APh Mart 26).” Apocrypha 33 (2022): 219–45.

Klauck, Hans-Josef. The Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles: An Introduction. Translated by Brian McNeil. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2008. English trans. of Apokryphe Apostelakten. Stuttgart: Katholisches Bibelwerk, 2005 (pp. 232–43).

Kurfess, Alfons. “Zu den Philippus-Akten.” ZNW 44 (1952–1953): 145–51.

Matthews, Christopher R. “Acts of Philip.” Pages 272–89 in Early New Testament Apocrypha. Edited by J. Christopher Edwards. Ancient Literature for New Testament Studies 9. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2022.

__________. Philip: Apostle and Evangelist. Configurations of a Tradition. NovTSup 105. Leiden: Brill, 2002.

__________. “Peter and Philip Upside Down: Perspectives on the relation of the Acts of Philip to the Acts of Peter.” Pages 23–34 in Society of Biblical Literature 1996 Seminar Papers. SBLSP 35. Atlanta: Scholars press, 1996.

__________. “Philip and Simon, Luke and Peter: A Lukan Sequel and Its Intertextual Success.” Pages 133–46 in Society of Biblical Literature 1992 Seminar Papers. Edited by E. H. Lovering. SBLSP 31. Atlanta: Scholars press, 1992.

__________. “Articulate Animals: A Multivalent Motif in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles.” Pages 205–32 in Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles. Edited by François Bovon, Ann Graham Brock, and Christopher R. Matthews. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions, 1999.

Molinari, Andrea Lorenzo. “Canonical and Noncanonical Petrine Traditions in the Acts of Philip.” Proceedings – Eastern Great Lakes and Midwest Biblical Societies 19 (1999): 137–51.

———. “Petrine Traditions in the Acts of Philip: Letter of Peter to Philip, a Variant of a Q Saying Found in Matthew 18:21–22, Acts of Peter and the Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles.” Pages 1–23 in the Society of Biblical Literature 2000 Seminar Papers. SBLSP 39. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2000.

———. “Canonical and Noncanonical Petrine Traditions in the Acts of Philip Revisited.” Proceedings – Eastern Great Lakes and Midwest Biblical Societies 20 (2000): 135–48.

Otero, Aurelio de Santos. “Later Acts of Apostles.” Pages 426–82 in New Testament Apocrypha. Vol. 2: Writings Relating to the Apostles; Apocalypses and Related Subjects. Edited by Wilhem Schneemelcher. Translated by R. McLachlan Wilson. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1992 (see pp. 468–73).

Peterson, Erik. “Die Häretiker der Philippus-Akten.” ZNW 31 (1932): 97–111.

__________. “Die Philippus-Akten in Armenischen Synaxar.” TQ 113 (1933): 289–98.

__________. “Zum Messalianismus der Philippus-Akten.” OrChr NS 7 (1932): 172–79.

Slater, Richard N. “An Inquiry into the Relationship between Community and Text: The Apocryphal Acts of Philip 1 and the Encratites of Asia Minor.” Pages in 281–306 in The Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles. Harvard Divinity School Studies. Religions of the World. Edited by F. Bovon, A. G. Brock, and C. R. Matthews. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999.

Snyder, Julia A. Language and Identity in Ancient Narratives: The Relationship between Speech Patterns and Social Context in the Acts of the Apostles, Acts of John, and Acts of Philip. WUNT 2/370. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014.

__________. “Sieg durch Wunder (Totenerweckung in Nikatera): ActPhil 6,16-20.” Pages 935–52 in Kompendium der frühchristlichen Wundererzählungen. Band 2: Die Wunder der Apostel. Edited by Ruben Zimmermann. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2017.

__________. “Simon, Agrippa, and Other Antagonists in the Vercelli Acts of Peter.” Pages 311–31 in Gegenspieler: Zur Auseinandersetzung mit dem Gegner in frühjüdischer und urchristlicher Literatur. WUNT428. Edited by Ulrich Mell and Michael Tilly, WUNT, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2019.

__________. “Prooftexting from Other People’s Scriptures? ‘Prophets and Patriarchs’ in Acts of Philip 5–7.” Harvard Theological Review 116 (2023): 66–90.

Spittler, Janet E. “Wild Kingdom: Animal Episodes in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles.” Pages 65–76 in The Ancient Novel and Early Christian and Jewish Narrative: Fictional Intersections. Edited by Marília P. Futre Pinheiro, Judith Perkins, and Richard Pervo. Ancient Narrative Supplementum 16. Groningen: Barkhuis, 2012.

__________. Animals in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles: The Wild Kingdom of Early Christian Literature. WUNT II 247. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008.

Stölten, H. O. “Zur Philippuslegende.” Jahrbücher für protestantische Theologie 17 (1891): 149–60.

Wilson, Mark. “Philip in Text and Realia: Contextualizing a Biblical Figure Within Roman Hierapolis.” JECS 12.2 (2022): 73–101.

Zimmermann, Ruben et al., eds. Kompendium der frühchristlichen Wundererzählungen. Band 2: Die Wunder der Apostel. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2017.