The Gospel of Nicodemus

The oldest parts of the text first appeared in ancient Greek . The text contains several parts that are heterogeneous in writing style, which suggests that they were written by different authors. The oldest part of the text allegedly dates from the 4th century . The Hebrew original alleged by the early Christians was attributed to Nicodemus , hence the name of the text that he received in the Middle Ages - “The Gospel of Nicodemus”.

The Gospel of Nicodemus consists of a main part called Acts of Pilate ( Acts of Pilate , lat. Acta Pilati , Greek Πράξεις Πιλάτου , in turn consists of two parts), and its annex - Descent into Hell ” , Which is absent in the Greek version of the text, being a later addition in the Latin version. The first part of the Acts of Pilate describes the trial of Jesus (based on the 23rd chapter of the Gospel of Luke ), and the second part describes the resurrection of Jesus .

According to the ESBE , the “Acts of Pilate” is false news (report), which seems to have been sent by the Roman prosecutor of Judea, the governor Pontius Pilate to the emperor Tiberius about the condemnation and death of Jesus Christ . ^{[1] [2]}

The Gospel of Nicodemus describes, among other things, the descent of Jesus into hell , the crushing of his gates and the exodus from heaven to the hellish depths of all the Old Testament righteous , including the ancestors of Adam and Eve . A story is also given of the entry into paradise before all the righteous by the robber Dismas , who, crucified next to Christ, repented and asked Jesus to remember him in the Kingdom of God.

This apocrypha had a great influence on the formation and systematization of church teaching on the issue of the death of Christ, his coming to hell and the Resurrection, as well as on the iconography of these events. Excerpts from it are found in the writings of both early Christian theologians and the Fathers of the Church (for example, John Chrysostom ).

Some works based on motives.

• Urstende - poem by Konrad von Gamezfurt , 13th century.

The oldest Greek lists (very spoiled from careless copying) date back to the 5th century . They primarily contain the first part of the apocrypha. The oldest Latin manuscript of the Apocrypha from the Enzeydlinsky monastery (Codex Einsidlensis) also dates back to the V century . The oldest surviving Slavic list - of the 13th century - comes from the library of St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod .

The text of the Gospel of Nicodemus served as one of the plot foundations of The Grail Novel by Robert de Boron ( 13th century ), as well as the Golden Legend and The Passion of Christ collections.

• Golden legend
• Pilate's Court
• The Passion of Christ (collection)
• Ivanova S. V. On the issue of the apocryphal "Gospel of Nicodemus" as a literary source of the icon of the Resurrection

• Lipsius , Die Pilatus Akten kritisch untersucht (Kiel, 1871).
• Tupikov N.M. Nikodimovo Gospel // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.

• The Gospel of Nicodemus
• Apocryphal tales of Jesus, the Holy Family, and the Witnesses of Christ // Comp., Authors intro. stat. and comment. I. S. Sventsitskaya , A. P. Skogorev - M., “Kogelet”, 1999
• Boris Derevensky , Jesus Christ in the documents of history : Jesus in the New Testament apocrypha of the 2nd — 5th centuries