Letter of Peter to Philip
Encyclopedia
The Letter of Peter to Philip, found in the cache of texts at Nag Hammadi
(bound into Codex VIII), contains a brief letter purporting to be from Saint Peter
to Saint Philip
, followed by a narrative and gnostic
discourse upon the nature of Christ. It was probably written in the late 2nd century or the beginning of the 3rd, originally in Greek, but translated into Coptic in the Nag Hammadi text. Another copy of the letter has more recently been found in the Codex Tchacos
.
Nag Hammâdi
Nag Hammadi , is a city in Upper Egypt. Nag Hammadi was known as Chenoboskion in classical antiquity, meaning "geese grazing grounds". It is located on the west bank of the Nile in the Qena Governorate, about 80 kilometres north-west of Luxor....
(bound into Codex VIII), contains a brief letter purporting to be from Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
to Saint Philip
Philip the Apostle
Philip the Apostle was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. Later Christian traditions describe Philip as the apostle who preached in Greece, Syria, and Phrygia....
, followed by a narrative and gnostic
Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
discourse upon the nature of Christ. It was probably written in the late 2nd century or the beginning of the 3rd, originally in Greek, but translated into Coptic in the Nag Hammadi text. Another copy of the letter has more recently been found in the Codex Tchacos
Codex Tchacos
The Codex Tchacos is an ancient Egyptian Coptic papyrus containing early Christian Gnostic texts from approximately 300 AD:*The Gospel of Judas*The First Apocalypse of James*The Letter of Peter to Philip...
.
External links
- Early Christian writings: Letter of Peter to Philip
- Letter of Peter to Philip: from James M. Robinson, editor, The Nag Hammadi Library, revised edition. HarperCollins, San Francisco, 1990. e-text (in English)