On Docetic Christology in Early Christianity. Pt. 4.1

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Abstract

Continuing to explore the question of how, where and when the so-called docetic Christology arose, the author turns to the Gnostic texts of the 2nd and 3rd centuries C.E., which, having come down to us in Coptic in translation from Greek, reliably testify to such a Christology in all its diversity. Having previously analyzed the synoptic gospels (see Pt. 1), the epistles of St. Paul (see Pt. 2.1; 2.2; 2.3; 2.4) and the writings of the John corpus (Pt. 3.1; 3.2), the author draws attention in this part of the article to such texts from Nag Hammadi and from the so-called Tchacos Codex as “The Second Treatise of the Great Seth”, “The Apocalypse of Peter”, “The Gospel of Judas”, etc., in which the docetic idea (in the form of the idea of a substitute crucifixion, i.e., that someone else was crucified instead of Jesus) found its clear expression.

About the authors

Alexandr L. Khosroyev

Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, RAS

Author for correspondence.
Email: akhos@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-8406-8720

Dr. Sci. (History), Researcher-in-Chief, the Department of Middle Eastern and Near Eastern Studies

Russian Federation, St. Petersburg

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