The Act of Peter

BG 8502, 4

The following translation has been committed to the public domain and may be freely copied and used, changed or unchanged, for any purpose. It is based on the Coptic text of the Berlin Codex. The Berlin Codex was produced in the fifth century, subsequently buried, and then rediscovered in Akhmim, Egypt, late in the nineteenth century and acquired by Carl Reinhardt from an antiquities dealer in Cairo in 1896.This tractate narrates an account of Peter’s daughter and her disability.

This translation from the Coptic is by Samuel Zinner and was edited by Mark M. Mattison.

Symbols

  [  ] Gap in the text (known as a “lacuna”)
  (  ) Editorial insertion to clarify the text
{ } Scribal addition
 [128] Page number of the Coptic codex

Introduction: Peter is Challenged

[128] Now it was the first of the week, being the day of the Lord. A crowd had come together and brought to Peter several sick people so that he could heal them, and someone in the crowd dared to address Peter: “Peter, look how among us you have given sight to several who could not see, and you have given hearing to those who could not hear, and you have given the ability to walk to those who could not walk, and you have assisted the feeble and have restored strength to them. Your daughter, who is a young maiden, however, who has matured and become beautiful, and who has [129] been faithful to the name of God, why have you not come to her assistance? Because look, she is entirely paralyzed on her one side, and over there in the corner she is lying disabled. We see those you have healed, but you have ignored your daughter.”

Peter Heals His Daughter

Peter then grinned, and said to him: “My son, God is the only one who sees the reason for her afflicted body. So understand that it was not the case that God was feeble or powerless to impart his gift to my daughter, but (he has not healed her) in order that you may be convinced, and that those present might acquire (even) more faith.”

[130] He next gazed at his daughter, and said to her: “Stand up where you are! Do not allow anyone to assist you, but only Jesus, and having recovered (your health), walk in front of everyone! Walk to me!”

And she stood up and walked to him. The crowd celebrated over what occurred. Peter said to them: "See, your minds have been convinced that God is not incapable in relation to anything we request from him.” They then celebrated even more, and they gave praise to God.

Peter said [131] to his daughter: “Walk to the place where you were, and return to being disabled, because this is to your advantage and to mine.” The girl once more returned, sat down in the place she had been, and returned to her previous condition. The entire multitude cried and beseeched Peter to restore her health.

Peter Shares His Daughter’s Story

Peter said to them: “As the Lord lives, this is to her advantage and to mine, because the day she was born to me I beheld a vision, even the Lord saying to me: ‘Peter, today is born to you a great [132] trial, because this one will injure several lives should her body continue healthy.’ I, however, believed the vision was taunting me.

“When the girl turned ten years old, several were enticed by her, and a wealthy man with property, Ptolemy, after watching the girl bathe together with her mother, dispatched (someone) to take her, in order that he could have her as his wife. Her mother remained unconvinced. He dispatched (someone) several times. He was unable to stop [...].

(Pages 133-134 missing)

“[The male attendants of] [135] Ptolemy [sent back] the girl, and placed her down in front of the house and left, and when I and her mother noticed this, we walked down and found that the girl was paralyzed and shriveled from her toes up to her head on an entire side of her body. We lifted her up, giving praise to the Lord who had rescued his servant from desecration, [and] contamination, and [ruin]. This is the reason for [the circumstance] that the girl [continues] in this way until today.

What Happened to Ptolemy

“Now, then, it is appropriate for you to be aware of Ptolemy’s actions. [136] He was love-struck in his heart, and was pained both night and day over what had happened to him, and he cried copious tears, which made him go blind. He planned to die by suicide, and lo, on that day, in the ninth hour, even when he was by himself in his bedroom, [he] beheld an intense light shining throughout the entire house, and he heard a voice speaking [137] to him: ‘Ptolemy, God did not give his vessels for perversion and defilement. This,[1] however, was required of you, given that you had been faithful to me, so that you would not defile my young maiden, whom you ought to have acknowledged as your sister, given that I have become one spirit for the two of you. Stand up, though, and hasten to the house of the apostle Peter, and you will witness my glory. He will interpret the situation for you.’

“And Ptolemy delayed not. He ordered his male attendants [138] to guide him, even to escort him to me, and when he had arrived to me, with the power of Jesus Christ, our Lord, he recounted everything that had come to pass concerning him. Next, he saw with his bodily eyes and with his spiritual eyes, and several put their trust in Christ. He performed beneficial things for them, and he bestowed on them the gift of God.

“Ptolemy died after this, departing from life, and going to his Lord. [139] And [when he had prepared] his will, he wrote that a portion of land would go to my daughter, naming her, given that on account of her he had been faithful to God, and had been rescued (from temptation). As for me, I managed the administration delegated to me with the utmost attention. I sold off the land, and God is the only one who knows, not I, not my daughter, {that I sold off the land}, keeping for myself nothing from the price for which the land sold. Instead, I gave all of the money to the poor.

Conclusion

“So be aware, O servant of Christ Jesus, that God [140] [guards those who] belong to him, and he prepares what is beneficial for each person. We, however, believe that God has neglected us, so now, brethren, let us repent, and be vigilant, and pray, and the beneficence of God will look down upon us, even while we await it.”

And Peter spoke {every} other teaching among all of them. While he gave praise to the name [141] of the Lord Christ, he distributed bread to all of them. When he had doled it out, he stood up and entered his house. 

The Act of Peter

Note

[1] “This,” referring either to Ptolemy’s blindness, or to not defiling Peter’s daughter.