Acta Thomae, auctore Niceta Thessalonicensi
Standard abbreviation: Acts Thom. (Nicetas)
Other titles: none
Clavis numbers: ECCA 297; CANT 247
Category: Apocryphal Acts
Related literature: Acts of Thomas, Acts of John by Prochorus
Compiled by Tony Burke, York University
Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Burke, Tony. “Acts of Thomas by Nicetas of Thessalonica.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/acts-of-thomas-by-nicetas-of-thessalonica/
Created April 2024.
1. SUMMARY
Nicetas of Thessalonica, writing in the early eleventh century, produced two epitomes of apocryphal acts: Acts Thom. and Acts of John by Prochorus. For both, the author expresses a desire to reduce the verbosity of his sources. Only the prologue and the Hymn of the Pearl have been published from the epitome of Acts Thom., so the precise contours of the text are yet to be determined. It is believed, however, that the author had a text before him similar to Rome, Biblioteca Vallicelliana, B 35—the only Greek manuscript of Acts Thom. that includes the Hymn.
Named Historical Figures and Characters: not yet determined
Geographical Locations: not yet determined
2. RESOURCES
3. BIBLIOGRAPHY
3.1 Manuscripts and Editions
3.1.1 Greek (BHG 1832)
A Mount Athos, Mone Pantokratoros, 21, fols. 260r–302v (11th cent.) ~ Pinakes
O Oxford, Bodleian Library, New College C.149, fols. 40r–96v (11th cent.)
P Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 1516, fols. 167r–207v (11th cent.) ~ Pinakes; Gallica
R St. Petersburg, Russian National Library/Rossijskaja Nacional’naja biblioteka (RNB), Ф. № 906 (Gr.) 95 (Granstrem 234), fols. 57r–114r (11th cent.) ~ Pinakes
S Sinai, Mount Sinai, Monē tēs Hagias Aikaterinēs, gr. 516, fols. 173r–211r (11th/12th cent.) ~ LOC; Pinakes
Beneševic, V. N. Catalogus codicum manuscriptorum graecorum qui in monasterio Sanctae Catharinae in Monte Sina asservantur. 2 vols. 1911–1917. Repr., Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1965 (text of the prologue from S, vol. 1, pp. 190–91).
Bonnet, Max. “Actes de saint Thomas, apôtre. Le poème de l’âme. Version grecque remaniée par Nicétas de Thessalonique.”AnBoll 20 (1901): 159–64 (edition of the Hymn of the Pearl portion based on P and R).
———. Acta Thomae graece partim cum novis codicibus contulit partim primus edidit, latine recensuit. Supplementum Codicis Apocryphi 1. Lipsiae: Hermann Mendelssohn, 1883 (excerpt from P, p. viii–ix).
Poirier, Paul-Hubert. L’Hymne de la Perle des Actes de Thomas. Homo religiosus 8. Louvain-la-Neuve: Centre d’histoire des religions, 1981. 2nd augmented ed. Turnhout: Brepols, 2021 (excerpts based on AOPS with facing French translation; prologue, pp. 290–91; Hymn of the Pearl, pp. 346–51).
3.2 Modern Translations
3.2.1 French
Poirier, Paul-Hubert. L’Hymne de la Perle des Actes de Thomas. Homo religiosus 8. Louvain-la-Neuve: Centre d’histoire des religions, 1981. 2nd augmented ed. Turnhout: Brepols, 2021 (excerpts based on AOPS with facing French translation; prologue, pp. 290–91; Hymn of the Pearl, pp. 346–51).
3.3 General Works
Poirier, Paul-Hubert. L’Hymne de la Perle des Actes de Thomas. Homo religiosus 8. Louvain-la-Neuve: Centre d’histoire des religions, 1981. 2nd augmented ed. Turnhout: Brepols, 2021 (pp. 274–85).
———. “Nicétas de Thessalonique, hagiographe. Bref plaidoyer pour un auteur méconnu.” Pages 455–65 in Philologie, herméneutique et histoire des textes entre Orient et Occident. Mélanges en hommage à Sever J. Voicu. Instrumenta Patristica et mediaevalia 73. Turnhout: Brepols, 2017.