Martyrdom of Pilate

Homilia de morte Pilate

Standard abbreviation: Mart. Pil.

Other titles: Homily on the Resurrection and on the Martyrdom of Pilate

Clavis numbers: ECCA 600; CANT 75

Category: Pseudo-Apostolic Memoirs

Related literature: Lament of the Virgin

Compiled by Tony Burke, York University

Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Burke, Tony. “Martyrdom of Pilate.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/martyrdom-of-pilate/.

Created February 2019. Current as of January 2024.

1. SUMMARY

The Martyrdom of Pilate is attributed to Cyriacus of Behnessa and is a sequel to another text credited to Cyriacus: the Lament of the Virgin. In both texts, Cyriacus claims to have drawn his information from Gamaliel (from Acts 5:34–40), who narrates the events and participates in them. Likely the text was composed in Coptic but now it survives only in Arabic, Garšūnī, and Ethiopic. Egyptian Christianity celebrates Pilate as a martyr and this text takes great pains to tell why he deserves such honors.

The story begins, in the Arabic and Garšūnī traditions, with the scene of the resurrected Jesus appearing to his mother in the garden (in the Egyptian and Syrian tradition it is the Virgin Mary who sees the resurrected Jesus, not Mary Magdalene). Jesus tells his mother that he has fulfilled his purpose of delivering Adam from Hades and then ascends to heaven. The Ethiopic traditions begins when the text moves to a series of episodes recounting Pilate’s conflicts with Jewish authorities and his martyrdom at the hand of Tiberius Caesar. In the first episode, Pilate’s wife Procla goes to worship at Jesus’ tomb. The Jewish authorities, portrayed in the text as continually scheming to confute or kill Pilate, find out and lie in wait in order to kill her. They are joined by Barabbas, who is said to be the brother-in-law of Judas. The plot to kill Procla is thwarted by Gamaliel. He learns of their plans and tells Joseph of Arimathea, who informs Pilate. Pilate’s soldiers kill the would-be assassins and Barabbas is crucified.

In the second episode, the Jewish authorities conspire with Herod Antipas to bring Pilate before Tiberius on charges of treason. But the emperor is much more concerned about Pilate killing Jesus, a miracleworker, without consulting him first. He sends a messenger (named Petronius in the Ethiopic tradition) to Pilate and Pilate tells the messenger Herod Antipas is the one who is responsible for Jesus’ death. Then Pilate declares his faith in Jesus. As punishment, the emperor’s messenger has Pilate and his wife dragged through the streets, and Joseph and Nicodemus are flogged. To Herod and the Jewish authorities, the punishment is for killing Barabbas, not Jesus. Pilate is put in prison, where he is visited by a “spiritual man” from heaven (clearly intended to be Jesus) who tells him that he will be crucified by the Jewish leaders and crowned as a martyr but he will not die yet; his death will come with a second crucifixion ordered by Tiberius. Like Jesus before him, Pilate is crucified by the Jews, even on the same cross as Jesus, while Procla, like the Virgin Mary, looks on weeping. Then two crowns come down from heaven and a voice declares that Pilate and his wife receive the martyr’s crown for the sufferings they have endured. The crowns vanish. Convinced of their innocence, the crowds take Pilate down from the cross, but the emperor’s messenger orders Pilate to be brought to Tiberius.

The third episode focuses on Tiberius’s son, who was killed by an evil spirit. Tiberius’s wife hopes the power of Jesus’ tomb can bring him back to life. The boy’s body is exhumed and sent to Jerusalem with a letter from Tiberius asking Jesus to heal him. Pilate is visited again by Jesus, who again likens Pilate’s suffering to his own. When the soldiers arrive with the boy, Herod and the Jewish authorities hide the body and accuse Pilate, Joseph, and Nicodemus of taking it. The angel Gabriel appears and reveals that the body is hidden in a Jewish house, so the emperor’s soldiers kill Herod and those who hid the body are burnt in their homes. Joseph and Nicodemus pray over the body of the boy, then place the coffin in the tomb and close it up; after four days the boy rises and exits the tomb. The boy journeys home and is greeted by his parents. Tiberius asks his son what Jesus looked like; he says he never saw him as he looked when he was on earth, only in “brightness of splendor.” Tiberius asks Pilate about Jesus’ appearance and he responds, “he was the color of fire, and once I saw him like a bird flying to the heights of Heaven and the angels speaking to him” (p. 272). Still angry that Pilate killed Jesus, Tiberius has him crucified, his side pierced with a spear, and his head severed. At Pilate’s request, he is buried, along with his wife and children, near the tomb of Jesus. The Ethiopic text published by van den Oudenrijn terminates just prior to Pilate’s execution.

The final episode focuses on Mary and John. Tiberius’s wife sends for Mary from Jerusalem to crown her and send her back so that “no wicked Jew” may harm her. In Jerusalem, Jesus appears to the apostles and Mary and takes Mary with him to heaven. John goes to Rome in her place. There Tiberius asks him to paint an image of Jesus on the cross and he places it on a high pedestal. John is then taken back to the Mount of Olives on a column of light and tells the apostles everything he did. Mary appears to them and reports she had seen Pilate and his family in the abode of rest. The text closes with another statement about Gamaliel’s authorship of the text and a final blessing from Cyriacus.

Named Historical Figures and Characters: Adam (patriarch), Annas (scribe/high priest), Barabbas, Basilius (servant of Pilate), Caesar (son of Tiberius), Caiaphas, Cyriacus of Behnessa, Gamaliel, Gabriel (angel), Herod Antipas, Herodias, Holy Spirit, Horus, Jacob (patriarch), John (son of Zebedee), Jesus Christ, Job, John (son of Zebedee), James (son of Zebedee), Joseph of Arimathea, Judas Iscariot, Lazarus, Mary (Virgin), Mary (of Bethany), Martha (of Bethany), Nicodemus, Petronius, Pontius Pilate, Procla (wife of Pilate), Tiberius (emperor), Widow of Nain, Wife of Judas, Wife of Tiberius.

Geographical Locations: Behnessa, Cana, Egypt, Galilee, Golgotha, Hades, Jerusalem, Mount of Olives, Nain, Nazareth, Paradise, Rome.

2. RESOURCES

3. BIBLIOGRAPHY

3.1 Manuscripts and Editions

3.1.1 Arabic

3.1.1.1 Arabic Script

P Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 152, fols. 3^r–49^r (16th cent.)

Additional manuscripts:

Aleppo, Fondation Georges et Mathilde Salem, Sbath Fihris 441

Cairo, Coptic Museum, 25 (Graf 720), fols. 175^r–196^r (1687)

Cairo, Coptic Museum, 64(A), fols. 2^r–3^v (18th cent.) ~ fragmentary

Edgbaston, University of Birmingham, Mingana Chr. Arab. Add. 145, fol. 2 (upper writing ca. 1000) ~ fragmentary

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 300, fols. 411–438 (14th cent.) ~ unconfirmed

Vatican, Bibloteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. ar. 498, fols. 57^r–92^r (17th cent.)

Vatican, Bibloteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. ar. 55 ~ unconfirmed

Wadi El Natrun, Dayr Qiddīs Anbā Maqqār, 406, pp. 272–328 (16th cent.)

Wadi El Natrun, Dayr Qiddīs Anbā Maqqār, 410, pp. 416–465 (1735)

Cairo, Franciscan Centre of Christian Oriental Studies, 109

Cairo, Cloister of St. Mena, 48, fols. 124^v–150^r (18th cent.)

Cairo, Khasrîat ar-Rihân, 112, fols. 118^r–154^r (18th cent.)

Galtier, Émile. Mémoires et fragments inédits réunis et publiés par. M. Émile Chassinat. Mémoires publiés par les membres de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale 27. Cairo: Impreimerie de l’IFAO, 1912 (introduction pp. 31–41; text of Paris arabe 152, pp. 42–73; translation, pp. 75–103).

Graf, Georg. Geschichte der christlichen arabischen Literatur. 5 vols. Studi e testi 118, 133, 146–147, 172. Vatican: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1944–1953 (additional witnesses listed in vol 1:240, vol. 2:488).

3.1.1.1 Garšūnī Script

Aleppo, Syrian Catholic Archdiocese of Aleppo, 52 K, fols. 44^v–68^v (17th cent.)

Aleppo, Syrian Catholic Archdiocese of Aleppo, 127 M, fols. 75^r–109^r (16th cent.) ~ HMML

Edgbaston, University of Birmingham, Mingana Syr. 127, fols. 136^v–181^v (1683)

Edgbaston, University of Birmingham, Mingana Syr. 355, fols. 58^v–93^v (ca. 1800)

Edgbaston, University of Birmingham, Mingana Syr. 369, fols. 117^r–130^r (1481)

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, syr. 273, fols. 22^r–47^r (16th cent.)

Montserrat, Biblioteca de Montserrat, Or. 8, fols. 1^r–31^v (18th cent.)

Montserrat, Biblioteca de Montserrat, Or. 36, fols. 1^r–34^r (18th cent.)

Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Sbath 125 + Edgbaston, University of Birmingham, Mingana Syr. 88, fols. 1^r–7^r (1440)

Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. sir. 199, fols. 345^v–375^r (1545)

Mingana, Alphonse. “Martyrdom of Pilate.” Pages 241–333 in Woodbrooke Studies. Vol. 2. Cambridge: W. Heffer & Sons, 1928 (edition based on Mingana Syr. 127, 355 and the Arabic Paris arabe 152; translation pp. 243–82, text pp. 283–333).

3.1.2 Ethiopic

Recension A

Z London, British Library, Or. 690, fols. 97^v–108^v(15th cent.) ~ terminates just prior to Pilate’s death

B Ambāssal (Wallo), Monastery of Hayq Estifānos, EMML 1826, fols. 149^v–164^r (14th/15th cent.)

A Ambāssal (Wallo), Monastery of Hayq Estifānos, EMML 1827, fols. 150^v–169^r (15th cent.)

V Vatican, Bibloteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. et. 264, fols. 24^r–33^v (1362–1363)

Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Tānāsee 122, fols. 80^r–92^v(15th cent.)

EMML 6834, fols. 123^v–135^r (14th cent.)

Recension B (the final two episodes, though not Pilate’s martyrdom, are incorporated in several manuscripts of the Miracles of Mary):

B Berlin, Staatsbibliothek, Petermann II Nachtrag 45 (=Dillman 68), fols. 48^v–50^v, 133^v–134^r (18th cent.)

Z Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Éth. 62 (16/17th cent.)

D’A Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, D’Abaddie 165 (18th cent.)

G Veroli, Biblioteca Giovardiana, Etiopico (15th cent.)

U Upsala, Universitet-Bibliothek, Et. XI (17th cent.)

Cerulli, Enrico. “L’Oriente Cristiano nell’unità delle sue tradizioni.” Pages 9–43 in Atti del Convegno Internazionale sul tema: L’Oriente Cristiano nella storia della civiltà (Roma 31 marzo – 3 aprile 1963) – (Firenze 4 aprile 1963). Quaderno no. 62, Problemi Attuali di Scienza e di Cultura. Rome: Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, 1964 (edition based on Recension B, manuscript B, pp. 14–25, Italian translation, pp. 25–29).

__________. Storia della letteratura etiopica. Con un saggio sull’oriente cristiano. 3rd ed. Firenze: Sansoni-Accademia, 1968 (an abbreviated reprint of Cerulli 1964; pp. 193–229).

Beylot, Robert. Le Martyre de Pilate. Édition critique de la version éthiopienne et traduction française. PO 45/4. Turnhout: Brepols, 1993 (edition and French translation based on ABOV).

van den Oudenrijn, Marcus-Antonius. Gamaliel. Äthiopische Texte zur Pilatusliteratur. Spicilegium Friburgense 4. Freiburg: Universitätsverlag, 1959 (Ethiopic edition based on Z with German translation, pp. 112–69).

3.2 Modern Translations

3.2.1 English

3.2.2 French

Beylot, Robert. Le Martyre de Pilate. Édition critique de la version éthiopienne et traduction française. PO 45/4. Turnhout: Brepols, 1993 (edition and French translation based on BAV Vat. et. 264, EMML 1826 and 1827, and BL Or. 690).

Lanchantin, Ève. “Une homélie sur le Martyre de Pilate, attribuée à Cyriaque de Behnessa.” Apocrypha 13 (2002): 135–202 (translation of Paris syr. 273, pp. 166–99).

3.2.3 German

3.2.4 Italian

Erbetta, Mario. Gli apocrifi del Nuovo Testamento. 3 vols. Italy: Marietti, 1975–1981 (translation of Ethiopic, vol. 1.2:367–80).

3.3 General Works

Bausi, Alessandro. “Su alcuni maoscritti presso communità monastliche dell’Eritrea.” Rassegna di studi etiopici 38 (1994): 13–69 (see pp. 26–27).

Beylot, Robert. “Bref aperçu des principaux textes éthiopiens dérivés des Acta Pilati.” Langues orientales anciennes, philologie et lingustique 1 (1988): 181–95.

Cerulli, Enrico. “Tiberius and Pontius Pilatus in the Ethiopian Tradition and Poetry.” Proceedings of the British Academy 59 (1975): 141–58.

Coquin, René-Georges. “Cyriacus.” Pages 669–71 in vol. 3 of The Coptic Encyclopedia. Edited by in Aziz S. Atiya. 8 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1991.

Elliott, James Keith, ed. and trans. The Apocryphal New Testament: A Collection of Apocryphal Christian Literature in an English Translation. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993 (pp. 159–60).

Harris, Rendel. “Introduction.” Pages 163–77 in Woodbrooke Studies. Vol. 2. Cambridge: W. Heffer & Sons, 1928.

Horn, Cornelia B. “Apocryphal Gospels in Arabic, or Some Complications on the Road to Traditions about Jesus.” Pages 583–609 in Jesus in apokryphen Evangelienüberlieferungen. Edited by Jörg Frey and Jens Schröter. WUNT 254. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010 (pp. 602–604).

Lanchantin, Ève. “Une homélie sur le Martyre de Pilate, attribuée à Cyriaque de Behnessa.” Apocrypha 13 (2002): 135–202.

Ladeuze, Paulin. “Apocryphes évangéliques coptes. Pseudo-Gamaliel; Évangile de Barthélemy.” RHE 7 (1906): 245–68.

van den Oudenrijn, Marcus-Antonius. “Das Gamalielevangelium.” Pages 441–43 in Neutestamentliche Apokryphen in deutscher Übersetzung, Bd. 1. Evangelien und Verwandtes. Edited by Wilhelm Schneemelcher. 6th ed. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1990. English translation: “The Gospel of Gamaliel.” Pages 558–60 in New Testament Apocrypha, Vol. 1, Gospels and Related Writings. Edited by Wilhelm Schneemelcher. Translated by R. McL. Wilson. Rev. ed. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1991.

Suciu, Alin. The Berlin-Strasbourg Apocryphon: A Coptic Apostolic Memoir. WUNT 370. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2017 (see pp. 85–88).