Laudatio Iacobi Alphaei auctore Niceta Paphlagone
Standard abbreviation: Encom. Jas. Alph.
Other titles: none
Clavis numbers: ECCA 379
Category: Apocryphal Acts
Related literature: Martyrdom of James, Son of Alphaeus; List of the Apostles and Disciples, by Pseudo-Dorotheus of Tyre; Nicephorus Callistus Xanthopoulos, Historia ecclesiastica 2.40 (likely drawing from Nicetas; PG 145:864)
Compiled by Tony Burke, York University
Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Burke, Tony. “Encomium on James, Son of Alphaeus, by Nicetas of Paphlagonia.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/encomium-on-james-son-of-alphaeus-by-nicetas-of-paphlagonia/
Created February 2023. Current as of January 2024.
1. SUMMARY
Much of the encomium heaps praise upon James but is so unspecific that the subject of the text could be any apostle. No information is provided about his early life and very little about his ministry and death. It is possible, however, that Nicetas was aware of an earlier account of James; the contents of this account are expressed in a series of rhetorical questions:
“For who can enumerate the sand of the seas, or the drops of rain, or the days of the age, as the divine oracles say? But who will investigate the abyss of miracles, the most perspicacious wisdom of James in divine knowledge, and the profound celestial doctrine and theology? Who can record the defeat of demons and their expulsion, the cure and removal of human passions and illnesses, the raising of the dead, the strengthening of the limbs of the lame, the restoration of sight to the blind, the complete removal of bodily blemishes by the name of Jesus? Who can recount the long journeys, the uncertain abodes and places, the agitations, the manifold insults and outrages of the Greeks, and the sufferings endured by the blessed man in defense of piety in Eleutheropolis, Gaza, Tyre, and neighboring alien cities and towns, where he preached Christ? Who can explain in words and deeds the true knowledge (that is, piety) and the following words and deeds? Not even in one day can speech accurately describe the apostolic preaching and the action accomplished by God, let alone praise all that was accomplished by him in the Paraclete, in a long series of years, in order.”
The same three cities are ascribed to the ministry of Simon Judas (presumably the “Judas son of James” from Luke’s list) in List of the Apostles and Disciples, by Pseudo-Dorotheus of Tyre. Nicetas goes on to say that James was crucified in Ostracine (Egypt). From the cross he spoke kindly and smiled at his persecutors and encouraged them, in a lengthy speech of orthodox doctrine (from Nicetas’s source or his own imagination), to recognize Jesus as Lord.
Named historical figures and characters: Andrew (apostle), Holy Spirit, James (son of Alphaeus), James (son of Zebedee), Jesus Christ, Paraclete, Peter (apostle), Thomas (apostle).
Geographical locations: Eleutheropolis, Gaza, Ostracine, Tyre.
2. RESOURCES
3. BIBLIOGRAPHY
3.1 Manuscripts and Editions
3.1.1 Greek (BHG 763)
Istanbul, Patriarchikē Bibliothēkē, Theologikē scholē 33, item 21 (16th cent.) ~ Pinakes
Istanbul, Patriarchikē Bibliothēkē, Panaghia 1, fols. 104v–108v (14th cent.) ~ Pinakes
Moscow, Gosudarstvennyj Istoričeskij Musej, Sinod. gr. 176, fols. 295r–303v (11th cent.) ~ Pinakes
Moscow, Rossijskaja Gosudarstvennaja Bibliotekaj, Φ. 270 Sinod. gr. 176, fols. 114v–120r (12th cent.) ~ Pinakes
Mount Athos, Monē Dionusiou, 168 (Lambros 3702) (17th cent.) ~ Pinakes
Mount Athos, Monē Iberon, 426 (Lambros 4546) (17th cent.) ~ Pinakes
Mount Athos, Monē Koutloumousiou, 624 (Polites 684), pp. 369–384 (16th cent.) ~ Pinakes
Mount Athos, Monē Megistes Lauras, Β 11, fols. 232–235 (11th cent.) ~ Pinakes
Mount Athos, Monē Megistes Lauras, Δ 78 (Eustratiades 454), fols. 129–134 (13th/14th cent.) ~ Pinakes
Mount Athos, Monē Megistes Lauras, Ε 160 (Eustratiades 622), fols. 144–149, 211–217 (1705) ~ Pinakes
Mount Athos, Monē Xēropotamou, 149 (Lambros 2482), fols. 200–209 (17th cent.) ~ Pinakes
Mutiline, Monē tou Leimōnos, 123, 168v–180v (17th cent.) ~ Pinakes
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 755, fols. 143r–151v (11th cent.) ~ Pinakes
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 1180, fols. 31v–36r (10th cent.) ~ Pinakes
Bolland, Jean et al., eds. Acta Sanctorum, Maii. Vol. 1. 1680. 2nd ed. Paris: Victor Palme, 1866 (excerpt of Latin translation from Combefis, pp. 2-–31).
Combefis, François. Bibliothecae graecorum patrum auctarium novissimum. 2 vols. Paris: Aegidii Hotot, 1672 (Greek text from Paris gr. 1180 with Latin translation, vol. 1, pp. 372–79).
Latyšev, Vasilij V. “Ad Nicetae David Paphlagonis laudationes ss. apostolorum.” Bulletin de l’Académie impériale des sciences de St. Pétersbourg Ser. 6 vol. 10 (1916): 1505–1522 (variant readings from Moscow, Sinod. gr. 176, pp. 1516–19).
Migne, Jacques-Paul. Patrologiae cursus completus: Series graeca. Vol. 115. Paris: Cerf, 1862 (reproduction of text and Latin translation by Combefis, cols. 145–64).
3.2 Modern Translations
3.3 General Works
Bovon, François. “Byzantine Witnesses for the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles.” Pages 87–98 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 (esp. 91–97).
Lipsius, Richard A. Die apokryphen Apostelgeschichten und Apostellegenden. 2 vols. in 3. Braunschweig: Schwetschke und Sohn, 1883–1887 (see vol. 2.2:229–38).
McDowell, Sean. The Fate of the Apostles: Examining the Martyrdom Accounts of the Closest Followers of Jesus. Abingdon: Ashgate, 2008. Repr. London and New York: Routledge, 2015 (pp. 231–35).