The Acts of John in Antiochus the Monk's Pandect

Journal article

In the Pandect (c. 630), Antiochus the Monk draws heavily on Scripture and early church writings to counsel his fellow monks in Christian life and doctrine. To date, a comprehensive exploration of the text's abundant sources has not been attempted. One text that is overlooked in existing partial catalogues is the Acts of John (AJ). Antiochus quotes twice (Pand. 26 and 114) from three chapters (AJ 106, 107, and 108) of this second- or third-century apocryphal work, a century before its condemnation at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. In this article, I edit, translate, and comment on the relevant passages in the Pandect. My edition more closely resembles Junod and Kaestli's critical texts of the Acts of John than the standard Migne edition of Antiochus’ work. I then contextualize Antiochus’ engagement with AJ 106–8, first by considering their seventh-century setting in the Pandect and beyond, and then by discussing the Pandect's prologue, in which the author gives a threefold division of his source material: canonical Scripture, apocryphal works, and the ‘writings of the Church's teachers’.

Authors: Bailey, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Journal: The Journal of Theological Studies
• Article number: flaf080
• Publication date: 2025-11-17
• DOI: 10.1093/jts/flaf080
• EISSN: 1477-4607
• ISSN: 0022-5185
• Language: English