Lentulus letter
According to the Res gestae divi Augusti , Publius Lentulus is said to have been the Roman prefect in Judea and the immediate predecessor of Pontius Pilate .
Origin and authenticity
The existence of a Roman procurator or prefect in Judea named Lentulus is considered fictitious, his letter apocryphal , since no Judean prefect named Lentulus is known and such a prefect would not have turned to the Senate, but to Caesar . A Roman writer would not have used the phrases “prophet of truth”, “sons of man” and “Jesus Christ”. The first two are Hebrew terms, the third is from the New Testament . The letter therefore gives us a description of Jesus Christ as she understood Christian piety .
From a literary and artistic point of view, the Lentulus letter clearly bears characteristics of the Renaissance . The letter is therefore generally regarded as a pseudepigraphy from the Renaissance or Protenaissance period (11th – 16th centuries) and its date of origin falls into the 13th century at the earliest.
content
Jesus' description of the Lentulus letter :
“During these days a very virtuous man named Jesus Christ appeared, who still lives among us and is regarded by the Gentiles as a prophet of truth, but is called the Son of God by his disciples. He raises from death and heals all kinds of diseases. A man of medium height, well-built and very dignified, so that those who see him must both love and fear him. His hair is the color of a completely ripe hazelnut, almost straight up to the ears, from there downwards, flowing somewhat curled over his shoulders and parted in the middle according to the custom of the Nazarenes . His forehead is open and smooth, his face without spots or wrinkles, beautiful, a lovely red. Nose and mouth are so shaped that nothing can be criticized about them. The beard is not very strong, the color matches the hair, and is not very long. His eyes are dark blue, clear and lively. His body is shapely and taut, his hands and arms are well proportioned. In censure he is terrible, in exhortation friendly and engaging, in speech he is moderate, wise and humble, mixed with dignity. Nobody can remember seeing him laugh, but many saw him cry. A man whose peculiar beauty surpasses human children. "
literature
- Ernst von Dobschütz : Images of Christ. Research on the Christian legend. Leipzig 1899 ( texts and studies on the history of early Christian literature 18), supplement VIII B 6, pp. 308 ** - 330 ** ( digitized version ).
- Cora E. Lutz: The Letter of Lentulus Describing Christ. In: The Yale University Library Gazette 50 (1975) 2, pp. 91-97 ( JSTOR 40858588 )
Remarks
- ^ Catholic Encyclopedia . An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church , Vol. 9 (1913).
- ↑ The so-called 'Lentulus letter about the figure of Christ'. In: Author's Lexicon . Volume V, Col. 705 ff.