Barnabas Acts

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5th century basilica in Kourion, one of the sites of the Acts of Barnabas

The Barnabas Acts ( Acta Barnabae ) are an ancient pseudepigraphic Christian script. The author pseudo- Johannes Markus presupposes the Acts of the Apostles of Luke and fills gaps in the biblical presentation with his own material. The source value for the missionary journeys of Paul and Barnabas in the 1st century AD is insignificant; But the Barnabas Acts are interesting as a source for their time of writing, the 5th century AD.

content

The author introduces himself to the reader as John, a former servant of a Zeus priest Kyrillos, who was converted by Paul, Barnabas and Silas and baptized in Iconium . In a vision he is given the nickname Markus by a figure dressed in white and great fame is prophesied. He tells this to Barnabas, who in turn gives him a vision according to which he should take John Mark with him as a companion.

After a long stay in Iconium, the apostles travel to Cyprus via Seleukia and wander through the island, with John Markus in their service. But at the next travel station, Perge in Pamphylia, the ways separate, because John Mark stays here (cf. Acts 13,1  EU ) to embark for the West, which is denied him by the Holy Spirit. He tries to reconnect with the apostles he meets in Antioch . Paul is exhausted from the journey and at times bedridden; Despite all his requests, he does not forgive Johannes Markus for staying behind in Perge, mainly because he kept most of the parchment scrolls in Pamphylia. From now on, Barnabas and Paul proselytized from each other because Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with him. However, both pray together and say goodbye to each other in reconciled form (cf. Acts 15: 35–39  EU ). Barnabas asked Paul to pray for him because his end was imminent and they would not see each other again.

Barnabas and the narrator embark for Cyprus in Laodikeia , but are driven to Korasion by an adverse wind . They keep themselves hidden so that the separation from Paul is not known. Other travel destinations are Palaiai, the island of Pityoussa and Anemourion . Here they convert and baptize two Hellenes who receive a holy robe.

The crossing to Cyprus follows. First they find quarters in Krommyakites with two "servants of the sanctuary", Timon and Ariston, who also cure them of diseases. Timon becomes her companion. The next stop is Lapithos , where they stay in the theater in front of the city gate because of a pagan festival and continue to Lampadistos in the mountains, the hometown of Timon. Here they meet Herakleios; Barnabas baptized him, gave him the new name Herakleidios and installed him as Bishop of Cyprus. He remains in Tamassos . The missionaries wander through the Chionodes Mountains and meet in Palaia Paphos the Jewish adversary Barjesus (known from the Acts of the Apostles) , who does not allow them into the city. So they turn around and go to Kourion , where a race is being held. Outraged by this pagan event, Barnabas threatens the place, whereupon the stadium partially collapses and the people seek protection in the Temple of Apollo. Barnabas and his companions follow them there, but are prevented from entering the city by an aggressive group of Jews. They spend the night under a tree and find their next quarters in a cave in the mountains. They meet Aristoklianus, the bishop appointed by Paul, who lives here in the country. In Amathous , the next place on the route, a pagan festival is in progress, and again it is Jews incited by Barjesus who prevent them from entering the city. The journey continues to Kition , where a spectacle is currently taking place in the circus, so that Barnabas and his companions cannot return to the city. They embark from Kition to Salamis .

In Salamis, Barnabas visits the synagogue and instructs the Jews from the Gospel book he received from Matthew . After the first successful mission, Barjesus appears again as an aggressive adversary; Barnabas is seized and lynched by Jews at night. His ashes are to be poured into the sea. But Johannes Markus, the narrator, is able to save the ashes of the martyr and buries them in a cave together with the book that he had received from Matthew. The companions of Barnabas succeed in shaking off their Jewish persecutors and embarking for Alexandria . Here John Mark appears as the preacher of the gospel that he learned from the apostles.

Text transmission

There are various Latin reviews of the originally Greek script περίοδοι Βαρνάβα. The Greek text was published by Konstantin von Tischendorf based on a manuscript from the 9th century (cod. Paris gr. 1470).

Pseudepigraphy and / or forgery

The Barnabas Acts claim to have been written by the companion of Paul, John Mark , and thus to date from the 1st century. Since this does not apply historically, it is a religious pseudepigraphy , as it occurs more frequently in ancient Christian literature. “The concept of the religious does not fall under any circumstances if claims, rights and possessions are justified by counterfeit documents in the guise of religious pseudepigraphs. The famine stele of Elephantine , the exchange of letters , the Barnabas files of John Marcus ... are likely to be such forgeries in the guise of religious documents, ”said Wolfgang Speyer .

In the background is the dispute over the independence of the Church of Cyprus. During the reign of Emperor Zenon, Petros Fullo claimed that it had to be under the jurisdiction of Antioch. It is said that the bishop of Cyprus, Anthemios, had a vision that showed him the place where the relics of Barnabas and his copy of the Gospel of Matthew lay. At the beginning of the 6th century, Theodoros Anagnostes established a direct connection between the relic finding and the claim of the Church of Cyprus to independence.

Text output

  • Max Bonnet: Acta Philippi et Acta Thomae accedunt Acta Barnabae. Leipzig 1903. pp. 292–303 ( online )
  • Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, A. Cleveland Coxe: The Twelve Patriarchs, Excerpts and Epistles, The Clementina, Apocrypha, Decretals, Memoirs of Edessa and Syriac Documents, Remains of the First Ages (= Ante-Nicene Fathers. Volume 8) ( online )
  • Bernd Kollmann : Joseph Barnabas. Life and impact history (= Stuttgart Biblical Studies. Volume 175). Catholic Biblical Works, Stuttgart 1998. ISBN 978-3-460-04751-8 . (= Joseph Barnabas - His Life and Legacy , Collegeville / Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2004)

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Philipp Pilhofer: The early Christianity in the Kilikisch-Isaurischen mountain country . S. 132 .
  2. ↑ Wolfgang Speyer: Religious pseudepigraphy and literary forgery in antiquity . In: Early Christianity in the ancient radiation field: selected essays . Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 1989, p. 48 .
  3. ↑ Wolfgang Speyer: The literary forgery in pagan and Christian antiquity. An attempt at their interpretation . CH Beck, Munich 1971, p. 297 .