Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation (27 page)

45
These two lines are quoted from, respectively, the Secret Revelation of John,
NHL II, 1,
in
CGL
vol. 2: I, 18;
BG
21.1, 18–19; and the Secret Revelation of James
, NHC I, 2,
in
CGL
vol. 1, 31, line 25.

46
While examining the arrangement of texts in the volumes found at Nag Hammadi, a kind of study initiated by Michael Williams in “…And What They Left Behind,” chapter 11 of
Rethinking “Gnosticism”: An Argument for Dismantling a Dubious Category
(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996), 235–262, I realized that many of them, including Codex I and Codex II, open with a scene apparently intended to confound the belief that direct contact with Jesus happened only in the past and to invite the hearer to engage in such contact in the present. For discussion, see Jenott and Pagels, “Anthony’s Letters,” 558–575.

47
The Secret Revelation of James,
NHL I,
2, 3, 11; 6, 20, in
CGL
vol. 1, 33–37.

48
The Gospel of Truth, in
NHL I, 3;
17, 5–24, 9, in
CGL
vol. 1, 82–93, 117; also 18, 30–11,
CGL
vol. 1, 84–85

49
See, for example, Paul’s first Letter to the Corinthians 15:3, and the Gospel of John 1:29.

50
This point is also noted by David Brakke in his intriguing recent book
The Gnostics: Myth, Ritual, and Diversity in Early Christianity
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010), 102. See, too, Harry Attridge’s article on Sethian and Valentinian apocalypses, “Valentinian and Sethian Apocalyptic Traditions,” in
Journal of Early Christian Studies,
vol. 8, 2 (Summer 2000): 173–211.

51
The Gospel of Truth,
NHL I, 3;
18, 30–32,
CGL
vol. 1, 84–85.

52
The Gospel of Truth,
NHL I, 3;
43, 23–25, in
CGL
vol. 1, 116–117.

53
Treatise on the Resurrection,
NHL I, 4,
in
CGL
vol. 1, 148–149, 44, lines 11–12.

54
For example, Matthew 28:9; Luke 24:36–43; John 20:26–29. As Charles H. Dodds has shown, however, the gospel writers juxtapose with such accounts others that suggest that Jesus appeared in
visions.
For reference to his seminal article, and for a fuller discussion, see Pagels, “Visions, Appearances, and Apostolic Authority: Gnostic and Orthodox Traditions,” in
Gnosis: Festscrift für Hans Jonas,
ed. Barbara Aland (Göttingen, Germany: Vandenhoek and Ruprecht,1978), 415–430.

55
Acts 10:40–41.

56
I Corinthians 15:50.

57
Treatise on the Resurrection
, NHL I, 4,
in
CGL
vol. 1, 154–155; 49, lines 21–24.

58
Treatise on the Resurrection,
NHL I, 4,
in
CGL
vol. 1, 154–155; 48, lines 32–36, 50–151.

59
See the Prayer of Thanksgiving, in
NHL VI, 7,
in
CGL
vol. 3, 378–387, which apparently includes a scribe’s additional note that, after praying in unison, those gathered for worship “embraced each other and went to eat their holy food, which has no blood in it” (apparently, a “pure” vegetarian meal that includes no meat). In the discussion above, I have inferred that the change of tense in the note may suggest that those reading the Discourse, followed by the prayer, in devotions, may have then proceeded to share a “holy meal.” For this prayer, placed as it is after the Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth, is known from other
sources, as Jean P. Mahé has pointed out in
Hermès en Haute Égypte. Tome I: Les Textes hermétiques de Nag Hammadi et leurs parallèles grecs et latins,
Bibliotheque Copte de Nag Hammadi, Section “Textes,” 3 (Québec: Les Presses de l’Université Laval, 1978) 11–15. See also the discussion by Michael Williams and Lance Jenott, “Inside the Covers of Codex VI,” in
Coptica—Gnostica—Manichaica: Mélanges offerts a Wolf-Peter Funk,
ed. Louis Painchaud and Paul H. Poirier (Québec: Les Presses de l’Université Laval, 2006), 1039–1043.

60
Tripartite Tractate,
NHL I, 5,
in
CGL
vol. 1, 192–337, 62, lines 7–10.

61
Tripartite Tractate,
NHL I, 5,
in
CGL
vol. 1, 336–337, 138, lines 22–26.

62
For discussion of a wide range of ancient sources, see Pierre Hadot,
Philosophy as a Way of Life
, cited here from the English translation by Michael Chase (Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 1995).

63
For an excellent review of the long scholarly debate and discussion on this topic, see Goerhing, “The Provenance of the Nag Hammadi Codices Once More.”

64
Letters long attributed to Anthony often had been disregarded as pseudonymous, since their content conflicts with much that is found in Athanasius’ classic
Life of Anthony.
Like many others, however, I am persuaded by the analysis offered in Samuel Rubenson’s book
The Letters of St. Anthony: Monasticism and the Making of a Saint
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995), that the letters he identifies there are most likely to be genuine.

65
See Thomas Merton,
The Wisdom of the Desert
(New York: New Directions, 1970), 5: “What the Fathers sought most of all, is their own true self, in Christ.”

66
The Letters of St. Anthony,
Letter 6, 84, 222.

67
The Letters of St. Anthony
, Letter 7, 12, 226; see also Letter 6, 45, 219.

68
The Letters of St Anthony
, Letter 3, 40, 208.

69
The Letters of St. Anthony,
Letter 6, 63–71, 220–221.

70
The Letters of St. Anthony,
63.

71
The Letters of St. Anthony,
64.

72
Peter Brown,
The Body and Society
:
Men, Women, and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1988), adopts this injunction from Origen as the title of his brilliant discussion of Origen’s theology, “‘I beseech you: Be transformed’: Origen,” 160–177.

73
James Goehring has carefully investigated the sources to evaluate the number of these monasteries; for his review of the evidence, see his article “The Ship of the Pachomian Federation: Metaphor and Meaning in a Late Account of Pachomian Monasticism,” forthcoming in the
Festschrift for Tito Orlandi.
I very much appreciate his expert help in sorting out this question.

74
See, for example, James Goehring, “Monastic Diversity and Ideological Boundaries in Fourth-Century Egypt,” in
Ascetics, Society, and the Desert
, 196–220. Notable, too, is the influential study by Elizabeth Clark,
The Origenist Controversy
, which offers a careful and fascinating study of this controversy and concludes by observing that by the early fifth century, “in the West particularly, the broad cosmic vision that had pervaded Origen’s theology had shrunk: Christianity now clung more snugly to assertions of human sinfulness, ecclesiastical unity, and obedience to episcopal authority. This more rigid doctrinal dogmatism, coupled with a retreat from issues from cosmology and theodicy, created the religious grounding for the opposition to Origenism,” 245–246.

75
For primary sources and incisive discussion, see David Brakke,
Athanasius and Asceticism
, 116–120; also discussion in Jenott and Pagels, “Sources of Religious Conflict,” 568ff.

76
Brakke,
Athanasius and Asceticism,
139.

77
Brakke,
Athanasius and Asceticism
, 115.

78
Many scholars have discussed this issue, notably Robert Gregg and Dennis Groh, “Claims on the Life of St. Anthony,” in
Early Arianism,
131–160, and David Brakke, “The Spirituality and Politics of the Life of Anthony,” in
Athanasius and Asceticism
, 201–265, especially 245ff.

79
Athanasius,
Life of Anthony
, 69: “He publically denounced the Arians, declaring that this was the last heresy, the forerunner of Antichrist.”

80
The various accounts of Pachomius’ life, written in both Coptic and Greek, date from the time after his death, and differ in many details. For discussion, see Rousseau,
Pachomius,
“The Sources,” 37–56.

81
Brakke,
Athanasius and Asceticism,
138–139.

82
Athanasius,
Festal Letter
, 39. David Frankfurter, in his article “The Legacy of Jewish Apocalypses,” notes that besides saying that “heretics” value such secret writings, he mentions that some heretics, “particularly the wretched Melitians,” boasted of having such books, and so suggests that these may have been Jewish apocalypses that appealed to monks who valued martyrdom, as followers of Melitius did (171). His argument persuasively suggests that the writings Athanasius denounced included such texts. Even if Athanasius were using his polemical words more precisely here than he often did, the evidence of the writings buried near Nag Hammadi suggests, of course, that the banned writings also included other kinds of apocrypha as well.

83
Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:28–32; Revelation 22:18–19; Athanasius,
Festal Letter
, 39, apparently referring to his “list of the books of the New Testament,” alludes to Deuteronomy 12:32 when he declares, “Let no one add to or subtract from them.”

84
Revelation 22:18–19.

85
For references and discussion of fourth-century discussion on the canon, see Bruce Metzger,
The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance
(Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1987), 209–247.

86
Eusebius,
HE,
3, 25.1–3.

87
Eusebius,
HE,
25.4–5.

88
Eusebius,
HE,
7, 1.

89
For Dionysius’ discussion, see Eusebius,
HE,
7, 24.1–25.27.

90
Revelation 22:18–19.

91
Athanasius,
Letter to the Bishops of Egypt,
22. I am grateful to David Brakke for pointing out that here Athanasius could have seen himself as following precedent set by Dionysius.

92
Revelation 20:11–21:4.

93
Athanasius,
Defense of Dionysius,
27.

94
Revelation 20:10.

95
Athanasius,
Festal Letter
, 39.

96
I am grateful to David Brakke for his helpful comments in his letter of March 14, 2011, in which he reminded me of this passage in
Festal Letter
, 39.

97
Eusebius,
Life of Constantine,
Book 3, 3, in Cameron and Hall, 122.

98
Eusebius
, Life of Constantine,
Book 2, 46, in Cameron and Hall, 115.

99
Eusebius,
Life of Constantine
, Book 1, 45, in Cameron and Hall, 88.

100
Eusebius,
Life of Constantine
, Book 2, 62, in Cameron and Hall,115.

101
Eusebius,
Life of Constantine,
Book 3, 12, 2, in Cameron and Hall, 116.

102
Eusebius,
Life of Constantine
, Book 4, 27, 1, in Cameron and Hall, 163.

1
Revelation 20:21.

2
Matthew 25:35–36.

3
Revelation 21:8.

4
For an incisive and learned discussion, see David Frankfurter,
Elijah in Upper Egypt: The Apocalypse of Elijah ad Early Egyptian Christianity
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993).

5
See Kirsti Barrett Copeland,
Mapping the Apocalypse of Paul: Geography, Genre, and History,
unpublished dissertation, June 2001, Princeton University.

6
The actual quotation is from Theodore Parker, cited by K. Boyle, in
Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age
(New York: Henry Holt, 2004).

7
Athanasius, Canons of Athanasius 8

8
Paul, I Corinthians 13:12.

9
Tertullian,
Prescription Against Heresies,
1–10.