From a Bodleian ms.²²⁷⁹

2279 [This is thems. frequently referred to in the previous pages.  The Greek text of this fragment is given by Tischendorf in the supplement to Apocalypses Apocr., pp. 161–167.—R.]

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Acts of the Holy Apostles Peter and Andrew.

It came to pass when Andrew the apostle of Christ went forth from the city of the man-eaters, behold a luminous cloud snatched him up, and carried him away to the mountain where Peter and Matthew and Alexander were sitting.  And when he saw them, they saluted him with great joy.  Then Peter says to him:  What has happened to thee, brother Andrew?  Hast thou sown the word of truth in the country of the man-eaters or not?  Andrew says to him:  Yes, father Peter, through thy prayers; but the men of that city have done me many mischiefs, for they dragged me through their street three days, so that my blood stained the whole street.  Peter says to him:  Be a man in the Lord, brother Andrew, and come hither, and rest from thy labour.  For if the good husbandman laboriously till the ground, it will also bear fruit, and straightway all his toil will be turned into joy; but if he toil, and his land bring forth no fruit, he has double toil.

And while he was thus speaking, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to them in the form of a child, and said to them:  Hail, Peter, bishop of the whole of my Church! hail, Andrew!  My co-heirs, be courageous, and struggle for mankind; for verily I say unto you, you shall endure toils in this world for mankind.  But be bold; I will give you rest in one hour of repose in the kingdom of my Father.  Arise, then, and go into the city of the barbarians, and preach in it; and I will be with you in the wonders that shall happen in it by your hands.  And the Lord Jesus, after saluting them, went up into the heavens in glory.

And Peter, and Andrew, and Alexander, and Rufus, and Matthias, went into the city of the barbarians.  And after they had come near the city, Andrew answered and said to Peter:  Father Peter, have we again to undergo toils in this city, as in the country of the man-eaters?  Peter says to him:  I do not know.  But, behold, there is an old man before us sowing in his field:  if we go up to him, let us say to him, Give us bread; and if he give us bread, we may know that we are not to suffer in this city; but if he say to us, We have no bread, on the other hand, we shall know that suffering again awaits us.  And when they came up to the old man, Peter says to him:  Hail, farmer!  And the farmer says to them:  Hail you too, merchants!  Peter says to him:  Have you bread to give to these children, for we have been in want?  The old man says to them:  Wait a little, and look after the oxen, and the plough, and the land, that I may go into the city, and get you loaves.  Peter says to him:  If you provide hospitality for us, we shall took after the cattle and the field.  The old man says:  So be it.  Peter says to him:  Are the oxen your own?  The old man says:  No; I have them on hire.  Peter says to him:  Go into the city.  And the old man went into the city.  And Peter arose, and girded up his cloak and his under-garment, and says to Andrew:  It is not right for us to rest and be idle; above all, when the old man is working for us, having left his own work.  Then Peter took hold of the plough, and sowed the wheat.  And Andrew was behind the oxen, and says to Peter:  Father Peter, why dost thou bring toil upon us, especially when we have work enough already!  Then Andrew took the plough out of Peter’s hand, and sowed the wheat, saying:  O seed cast into the ground in the field of the righteous, come up, and come to the light.  Let the young men of the city therefore come forth, whom I found in the pit of destruction until to-day; for, behold, the apostles of Christ are coming into the city, pardoning the sins of those who believe in them, and healing every disease, and every sickness.  Pray ye for me, that He may have mercy upon me, and that I may be delivered from this strait.

And many of the multitude believed in Christ, because of the saying of the woman;²²⁸⁰

2280 Something seems to have fallen out here.

And there was a certain rich man in the city, by name Onesiphorus.  He, having seen the miracles done by the apostles, says to them:  If I believe in your God, can I also do a miracle like you?  Andrew says to him:  If thou wilt forsake all that belongs to thee, and thy wife and thy children, as we also have done, then thou also shalt do miracles.  When Onesiphorus heard this, he was filled with rage, and took his scarf and threw it over Andrew’s neck, and struck him, and said to him:  Thou art a sorcerer.  How dost thou force me to abandon my wife, and my children, and my goods?  Then Peter, having turned and seen him striking Andrew, says to him:  Man, stop now striking Andrew.  Onesiphorus says to him:  I see that thou art more sensible than he.  Do thou then tell me to leave my wife, and my children, and my goods.  What dost thou say?  Peter says to him:  One thing I say unto thee:  it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to go into the kingdom of heaven.²²⁸¹

2281 Matt. xix. 24, etc.

And after he had said this, the Saviour appeared in the form of a child of twelve years old, wearing a linen garment; and He says to them:  Be courageous, and tremble not, my chosen disciples; for I am with you always.  Let the needle and the camel be brought.  And after saying this, He went up into the heavens.  And there was a certain merchant²²⁸²

2282 πανταπωλης.

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