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| The Teaching of Simon Cephas in the City of Rome.
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Ancient Syriac Documents.
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3125
| 3125 This is found
in the same ms. as the preceding, quoted as
A. There is also another copy of it in Cod. Add. 14,609, referred
to here as B. [It looks like an afterthought of a later age, when
the teaching of Peter was elevated into a specialty.] | The Teaching of Simon Cephas3126
in the
City of Rome.3127
In the third3128
| 3128 The
reading of the ms. is
“thirtieth.” | year of Claudius Cæsar, Simon
Cephas departed from Antioch to go to Rome. And as he passed on
he preached in the divers countries the word of our Lord.
And, when he had nearly arrived there,3129
| 3129 From this place to
“the light” (last line of text on this page), A. is lost,
and the text has been supplied from B. | many had heard of it and went out
to meet him, and the whole church received him with great joy.
And some of the princes of the city, wearers of the imperial
headbands,3130
| 3130 The
ms. gives, “clad in the
white.” | came to him,
that they might see him and hear his word. And, when the whole
city was gathered together about him, he stood up to speak to them, and
to show them the preaching of his doctrine, of what sort it was.
And he began to speak to them thus:—
Men, people of Rome, saints of all Italy, hear ye
that which I say to you. This day I preach and proclaim Jesus the
Son of God, who came down from heaven, and became man, and was with us
as one of ourselves, and wrought marvellous mighty-works and
signs and wonders before us, and before all the Jews that are in the
land of Palestine. And you yourselves also heard of those things
which He did: because they came to Him from other countries also,
on account of the fame of His healing and the report of the marvellous
help He gave;3131
| 3131 Lit.
“His marvellous helps.”—Tr. [See p. 652, supra.] | and whosoever
drew near to Him was healed by His word. And, inasmuch as He was
God, at the same time that He healed He also forgave sins: for
His healing, which was open to view, bore witness of His hidden
forgiveness, that it was real and trustworthy. For this Jesus did
the prophets announce in their mysterious sayings, as they were looking
forward to see Him and to hear His word: Him who was with His
Father from eternity and from everlasting; God, who was hidden in the
height, and appeared in the depth; the glorious Son, who was from His
Progenitor, and is to be glorified, together with His Father, and His
divine Spirit, and the terrible power of His dominion. And He was
crucified of His own will by the hands of sinners, and was taken up to
His Father, even as I and my companions saw. And He is about to
come again, in His own glory and that of His holy angels, even as we
heard Him say to us. For we cannot say anything which was not
heard by us from Him, neither do we write in the book of His Gospel
anything which He Himself did not say to us: because this word is
spoken in order that the mouth of liars may be shut, in the day when
men shall give an account of idle words at the place of
judgment.
Moreover, because we were catchers of
fish,3132
and not skilled in books, therefore did
He also say to us: “I will send you the Spirit, the
Paraclete, that He may teach you that which ye know not;” for it
is by His gift that we speak those things which ye hear.
And, further, by it we bring aid to the sick, and healing to the
diseased: that by the hearing of His word and by the aid of His
power ye may believe in Christ, that He is God, the Son of God; and may
be delivered from the service of bondage, and may worship Him and His
Father, and glorify His divine Spirit. For when we glorify the
Father, we glorify the Son also with Him; and when we worship the Son,
we worship the Father also with Him; and when we confess the Spirit, we
confess the Father also and the Son: because in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Spirit, were we commanded to baptize
those who believe, that they may live for ever.
Flee therefore from the words of the wisdom of
this world, in which there is no profit, and draw near to those which
are true and faithful, and acceptable before God; whose reward also is
laid up in store, and whose recompense standeth sure. Now,
too,3133
| 3133 The text
A. is resumed after this word. The reading “and now that
the light,” etc., seems faulty. The *** (that) might easily
have been occasioned by the *** of the word which it
precedes.—Tr. | the light has arisen on the
creation, and the world has
obtained the eyes of the mind, that every man may see and understand
that it is not fit that creatures should be worshipped instead of the
Creator, nor together with the Creator: because everything which
is a creature is made to be a worshipper of its Maker, and is
not to be worshipped like its Creator. But this One who
came to us is God, the Son of God, in His own nature, notwithstanding
that He mingled3134
| 3134 The word so
rendered is much effaced in B., but it seems to be ***,
“humbled.”
This, however, might require
further change of the text, such as Cureton suggests, so as to give the
sense, “He humbled His Godhead on account of our
manhood,” unless we translated “in our
manhood”—neither of which renderings seems to give so good
a sense as that in the text of A.—Tr.
Respecting the word
“mingled” (***), which was supposed to countenance the
Eutychian heresy, see Assemani, Bibl. Orient., vol. i. p.
81. | His Godhead
with our manhood, in order that He might renew our manhood by the aid
of His Godhead. And on this account it is right that we should
worship Him, because He is to be worshipped together with His Father,
and that we should not worship creatures, who were created for the
worship of the Creator. For He is Himself the God of truth and
verity; He is Himself from before all worlds and creatures; He
is Himself the veritable Son, and the glorious fruit3135
which is from the exalted
Father.
But ye see the wonderful works which accompany and
follow these words. One would not credit it: the time lo!
is short since He ascended to His Father, and see how His Gospel has
winged its flight through the whole creation—that thereby it may
be known and believed that He Himself is the Creator of creatures, and
that by His bidding creatures subsist. And, whereas ye saw the
sun become darkened at His death, ye yourselves also are
witnesses. The earth, moreover, quaked when He was slain, and the
veil was rent at His death. And concerning these things the
governor Pilate also was witness: for he himself sent and made
them known to Cæsar,3136
| 3136 [On the
Acts of Pilate see Lardner, Credib., vi. p. 605, and
Jones, On the Canon, vol. ii. p. 342. If Leucius Charinus
forged what goes by the name, it does not prove that genuine records of
the kind never existed. The reverse is probable. See vol.
i. p. 179. | and these
things, and more than these, were read before him, and before the
princes of your city. And on this account Cæsar was angry
against Pilate because he had unjustly listened to the persuasion of
the Jews; and for this reason he sent and took away from him the
authority which he had given to him. And this same thing was
published and known in all the dominion of the Romans. That,
therefore, which Pilate saw and made known to Cæsar and to your
honourable senate, the same do I preach and declare, as do also my
fellow-apostles. And ye know that Pilate could not have written
to the imperial government of that which did not take place and which
he had not seen with his own eyes; but that which did take place and
was actually done—this it was that he wrote and made known.
Moreover, the watchers of the sepulchre also were witnesses of those
things which took place there: they became as dead men; and, when
those watchers were questioned before Pilate, they confessed before him
how large a bribe the chief-priests of the Jews had given them, so that
they might say that we His disciples had stolen the corpse of
Christ. Lo! then, ye have heard many things; and moreover, if ye
be not willing to be persuaded by those things which ye have heard, be
at least persuaded by the mighty-works which ye see, which are done by
His name.
Let not Simon the sorcerer delude you by semblances
which are not realities, which he exhibits to you, as to men who have
no understanding, who know not how to discern that which they see and
hear. Send, therefore, and fetch him to where all your city is
assembled together, and choose you some sign for us to do before you;
and, whichever ye see do that same sign, it will be your part to
believe in it.
And immediately they sent and fetched Simon the
sorcerer;3137
| 3137 [Vol. vii. p.
453. Compare vol. vi. p. 438, note 15; also vol. i. p. 171.
On Justin’s simple narrative all the rest was embroidered by a
later hand.] | and the men
who were adherents of his opinion said to him: As a man
concerning whom we have confidence that there is power in thee to do
anything whatsoever,3138
| 3138 From this place
to “a gathering-place,” p. 675, line 20, col. 2, the text
of A. is lost. | do thou some
sign before us all, and let this Simon the Galilæan, who preaches
Christ, see it. And, whilst they were thus speaking to
him, there happened to be passing along a dead person, a son of one of
those who were chiefs and men of note and renown among them. And
all of them, as they were assembled together, said to him:
Whichever of you shall restore to life this dead person, he is true,
and to be believed in and received, and we will all follow him in
whatsoever he saith to us. And they said to Simon the
sorcerer: Because thou wast here before Simon the Galilæan,
and we knew thee before him, exhibit thou first the power which
accompanieth thee.3139
| 3139 [St.
Peter’s visit could not have been previous to St. Paul’s,
and up to that time Simon had certainly not corrupted the Romans
(Rom. i. 8). The subject may be
elucidated by what follows, infra.] |
Then Simon reluctantly drew near to the dead person; and
they set down the bier before him; and he looked to the right hand and
to the left, and gazed up into heaven, saying many words: some of
them he uttered aloud, and some of them secretly and not aloud.
And he delayed a long while, and nothing took place, and nothing was
done, and the dead person was lying upon his bier.
And forthwith Simon Cephas drew near boldly towards the
dead man, and cried aloud before all the assembly which was standing
there: In the name of Jesus Christ, whom the Jews crucified at
Jerusalem, and whom we preach, rise up thence. And as soon as the
word of Simon was spoken the dead man came to life and rose up from the
bier.
And all the people saw and marvelled; and they said to
Simon: Christ, whom thou preachest, is true. And many cried
out, and said: Let Simon the sorcerer and the deceiver of us all
be stoned. But Simon, by reason that every one was running to see
the dead man that was come to life, escaped from them from one street
to another and from house to house, and fell not into their hands on
that day.
But the whole city took hold of Simon Cephas, and
they received him gladly and affectionately; and he ceased not from
doing signs and wonders in the name of Christ; and many believed in
him. Cuprinus,3140
| 3140 Perhaps Cyprianus,
which is found written in Syriac in the same manner as the word
here. | moreover, the
father of him that was restored to life, took Simon with him to his
house, and entertained him in a suitable manner, while he and all his
household believed in Christ, that He is the Son of the living
God. And many of the Jews and of the pagans became disciples
there. And, when there was great rejoicing at his teaching, he
built churches there, in Rome and in the cities round about, and in all
the villages of the people of Italy; and he served there in the
rank of the Superintendence of Rulers twenty-five years.3141
| 3141 This is the time
often allotted to Peter’s episcopate at Rome, although it is
certain that he did not constantly reside there during that
period: we find him the year after at Jerusalem. [The
chronological incredibility of this residence in Rome has been fully
demonstrated; but it is so entirely inconsistent with the scriptural
history, and with that of St. Paul in particular, that no other
argument is necessary. On the other hand, it appears to me
conclusively established, that St. Peter closed his life in Rome, under
Nero. And I think this apostle’s visit fully explained by
the fact that the Roman Christians were so largely “of the
circumcision,” that St. Paul himself might naturally have invited
him to share his own labours in Rome, on the well-known rule of his
conduct (Rom. xv. 20; 2 Cor.
x. 13–; 16). See
vol. vi. elucid. p. 47.] |
And after these years Nero Cæsar seized him
and shut him up in prison. And he knew that he would crucify him;
so he called Ansus,3142
| 3142 B. has
Lainus = Linus, the person undoubtedly meant. The error
arose chiefly from the *** [L] being taken as the sign of the
accusative case. Below, the name appears as Isus, and in the
Acts of Barsamya we have Anus.
This sign of the accusative may be
omitted.—Tr. | the deacon, and
made him bishop in his stead in Rome. And these things did Simon
himself speak; and moreover also the rest, the other things which he
had in charge, he commanded Ansus to teach before the people,
saying to him: Beside the New Testament and the Old let there not
be read before the people3143
| 3143 In canon x.
(see next note) it is said “in the pulpit of the church;”
and in the Teaching of Addæus it is said that “a
large multitude of the people assembled for the reading of the Old
Testament and the New.” The inhibition seems, therefore, to
refer only to public reading. [See p. 661,
supra.] | anything
else:3144
| 3144 This agrees
with the tenth canon in the Teaching of the Apostles. [See
p. 668, supra.] | which is not right.
And, when Cæsar had commanded that Simon should be
crucified with his head downwards, as he himself had requested of
Cæsar, and that Paul’s head should be taken off, there was
great commotion among the people, and bitter distress in all the
church, seeing that they were deprived of the sight of the
apostles. And Isus the guide arose and took up their bodies by
night, and buried them with great honour, and there came to be a
gathering-place there for many.
And at that very time, as if by a righteous
judgment, Nero abandoned his empire and fled, and there was a cessation
for a little while from the persecution which Nero Cæsar had
raised against them. And many years after the great
coronation3145
| 3145 That is, their
martyrdom. But B. reads “labour.” | of the apostles,
who had departed out of the world, while ordination to the priesthood
was proceeding both in all Rome and in all Italy, it happened then that
there was a great famine in the city of Rome.3146
| 3146 This abrupt
termination seems to indicate that there was something more which
followed. The famine referred to seems to be the same as that
mentioned in the interpolated passage at the end of the Acts of
Sharbil. |
Here endeth the teaching of Simon Cephas.
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