Apocryphal Acts of Thomas

The Apocryphal Acts of Thomas is the first modern collection of studies on the most important aspects of the Acts of Thomas, an early Christian kind of novel, which was originally written either in Greek or Syriac. The volume starts with the memoirs of the Altmeister Fre Klijn regarding his own role in the study of the Acts. He is followed by an analysis of the elusive phenomenon of Thomas Christianity. The major part of the book studies various aspects and passages of the Acts: narrative strategies, the heavenly palace, factors of plot, the famous Hymn of the Pearl, the serpent, women, and the much-debated connection of Thomas with India. As a kind of summary of the results of some of our previous investigations, the penultimate chapter takes a fresh look at the authors, place, time and readership of the major Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles. As has become customary, the volume is rounded off by a bibliography and a detailed index.