Apocryphal gospels, acts and revelations of the early Church, in the translation of the Ante-Nicene Fathers. This page has 1 chapter and about 254 words.
The age of Nicaea2nd–7th centuryNew Testament apocrypha1 chaptersEnglish translation: Public domain
Authorship. These books were written in the names of apostles and others long after their time. They are not scripture, and what they tell is legend, not history. They are kept here as ancient writings that show what some early Christians read and believed.
The Letter of Pontius Pilate, Which He Wrote to the Roman Emperor, Concerning Our Lord Jesus Christ. Pontius Pilate to Tiberius Cæsar the emperor, greeting. Upon Jesus Christ, whose case I had clearly set forth to thee in my last, at length by the will of the people a bitter punishment has been inflicted, myself being in a sort unwilling and rather afraid. A man, by Hercules, so pious and strict, no age has ever had nor will have. But wonderful were the efforts of the people themselves, and the unanimity of all the scribes and chief men and elders, to crucify this ambassador of truth, notwithstanding that their own prophets, and after our manner the sibyls, warned them against it: and supernatural signs appeared while he was hanging, and, in the opinion of philosophers, threatened destruction to the whole world. His disciples are flourishing, in their work and the regulation of their lives not belying their master; yea, in his name most beneficent. Had I not been afraid of the rising of a sedition among the people, who were just on the point of breaking out, perhaps this man would still have been alive to us; although, urged more by fidelity to thy dignity than induced by my own wishes, I did not according to my strength resist that innocent blood free from the whole charge brought against it, but unjustly, through the malignity of men, should be sold and suffer, yet, as the Scriptures signify, to their own destruction. Farewell. 28th March.
Source. English translation from the Ante-Nicene Fathers (edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson and A. Cleveland Coxe; New York, 1885–1896; public domain), translated by Alexander Walker, as transcribed by volunteers of English Wikisource. SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short sections; the wording is the translator’s own. Footnotes are left out. No Greek or Latin text is shown beside it, and no modern English version has been made.
Licence. The translation is in the public domain (published before 1929). The Wikisource transcription is offered under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licence; we credit it here.
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