APOCRYPHAL New Testament. A modern title for various early Christian books outside the Canon of the NT which are similar in form or content to the corresponding canonical Scriptures. The epithet ‘apocryphal’ does not of itself convey the modern sense of fictitious invention.

Gospels. Many of these exist. It is possible that some may embody trustworthy traditions, but this applies only to the earliest, not much later than the Gospels recognized as canonical (e.g. the Egerton Papyrus or perhaps the Coptic Gospel of Thomas). A second group was clearly and unmistakably intended to support heretical, and esp. Gnostic, views (e.g. the Gospel of the Ebionites, the Gospel of Philip; see also below). A third group set out to satisfy popular curiosity with tales about the childhood of Christ (the Infancy Gospel of Thomas), His Passion (the Gospel of Peter, the Gospel of Nicodemus), or His meetings with His disciples in the period between the Resurrection and the Ascension (the Dialogue of the Redeemer, Apocryphon of John, and the (orthodox) Testament of Our Lord in Galilee). ‘Revelation Gospels’ of this last type were popular among the Gnostics, who extended the period from 40 days to 18 months. Another feature is that subordinate figures in the canonical narratives sometimes become the central characters, as with the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Protevangelium or Book of James, or Joseph in the History of Joseph the Carpenter. Most of these works lie between the 1st and 3rd cent., but some of their content was incorporated into works of later centuries.

Acts. Of the Apocryphal Acts, the most important are those of Peter, Paul, John, Andrew, and Thomas, all probably late 2nd cent. They are sometimes known collectively as the ‘Leucian Acts’, because all were ascribed by Photius to one Leucius Charinus; but wide differences of style, matter, and doctrinal standpoint forbid the assumption of common authorship. Their subject-matter is partly made up of stories parallel to and perhaps inspired by the canonical Acts of the Apostles, partly credible oral traditions, partly evident romance. The Acts of Paul (from which the Acts of Paul and Thecla, which was current as a separate work, was later extracted) is not markedly heretical; but nearly all the others in varying degrees reflect current heretical influences.

Epistles and Other Writings. Of the non-canonical epistles the best known are those of Clement (‘ep. 1’) and Barnabas (qq.v.; c. AD 100), though these hardly rank as NT apocrypha in the normal sense. Among others are the spurious Epistles of St. Paul To the Corinthians and To the Laodiceans. There are also various apocryphal apocalypses besides the Revelation of St John, which itself long remained on the borders of the NT canon.

M. R. James, The Apocryphal New Testament (Oxford, 1924); J. K. Elliott, The Apocryphal New Testament (ibid., 1993); both give the principal texts in Eng. tr. C. *Tischendorf (ed.), Evangelia Apocrypha (Leipzig, 1853; 2nd edn., 1876). A. de Santos Otero (ed.), Los Evangelios Apócrifos (1956; 6th edn., 1988; convenient edn. of Gk. and Lat. texts, with Sp. tr.). R. A. *Lipsius and M. Bonnet, Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha (2 vols., Leipzig, 1891–1903). Ger. tr. by E. Hennecke, Neutestamentliche Apokryphen (1904; 5th edn. by W. Schneemelcher, 2 vols., 1987–9; Eng. tr., with tr. of texts from their original languages, 1991–2). M. R. James, Anecdota Apocrypha (Cambridge ‘Texts and Studies’; 1893 and 1897). J. Hervieux, Ce que l’Évangile ne dit pas ([1958]; Eng. tr. as What are Apocryphal Gospels?, 1960). F. Bovon and others (eds.), The Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles (Harvard Divinity School Studies [1999]). J. R. Porter, The Lost Bible: Forgotten Scriptures Revealed (2001), pp. 130–235. J. H. Charlesworth and others, The New Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha: a guide to publications, with excursuses on apocalypses (American Theological Library Association, Bibliography Series, 17; 1987). See also lit. under separate items.