Editing New Testament apocrypha (section)

==History==

===Development of the New Testament canon===
{{Main article|Development of the New Testament canon}}

That some works are categorized as New Testament apocrypha is indicative of the wide range of responses to the ministry of [[Jesus]]. During the first centuries following Jesus' ministry, considerable debate was held in regards to safeguarding the authenticity of his teachings. Three key methods developed to address this survive to the present day: [[ordination]], where groups authorize individuals as reliable teachers of the message; [[creed]]s, where groups define the boundaries of interpretation of the message; and [[Biblical canon|canon]]s, which list the primary documents certain groups believe contain the message originally taught by Jesus.

The first centuries of Christianity saw substantial debate in regards to which books should be included in the canons. In general, those books that the majority regarded as the earliest books about Jesus were the ones included. Books that were not accepted into the canons are now termed ''[[apocrypha]]l''; some were vigorously suppressed and survive only as fragments, or only in mention in the writings of those condemning them. The earliest lists of canonical works of the [[New Testament]] were not quite the same as modern lists; for example, the [[Book of Revelation]] was regarded as disputed by some Christians (see [[Antilegomena]]), while the [[Shepherd of Hermas]] was considered genuine by others, and appears (after the Book of Revelation) in the [[Codex Sinaiticus]].{{cn|date=September 2022}}

The [[Syriac Peshitta]], used by all the various Syrian churches, originally did not include 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John, Jude and Revelation. This [[Biblical canon|canon]] of 22 books is the one cited by [[John Chrysostom]] (~347–407) and [[Theodoret]] (393–466) from the [[School of Antioch]].<ref name="ntcanon1">[http://www.ntcanon.org/Peshitta.shtml Peshitta]</ref> Western Syrians have added the remaining five books to their New Testament canons in modern times<ref name="ntcanon1"/> (such as the ''Lee Peshitta'' of 1823). Today, the official [[lectionary|lectionaries]] followed by the [[Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church]] and the [[East Syrian Rite|East Syriac]] [[Chaldean Catholic Church]], which is in communion with the [[Holy See]], still only present lessons from the 22 books of the original Peshitta.<ref name="ntcanon1"/>

The [[Armenian Apostolic]] church at times has included the [[Third Epistle to the Corinthians]] in its biblical canon, but does not always list it with the other 27 canonical New Testament books. The church did not accept Revelation into its Bible until 1200 CE.<ref>[http://www.theologicalperspectives.com/RELIABILITY4.html Reliability] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008124635/http://www.theologicalperspectives.com/RELIABILITY4.html |date=October 8, 2007 }}</ref>

===Modern scholarship and translation===
English translations were made in the early 18th century by [[William Wake]] and by [[Jeremiah Jones (tutor)|Jeremiah Jones]], and collected in 1820 by [[William Hone]]'s ''Apocryphal New Testament''.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = London, W. Hone| title = The apocryphal New Testament, being all the gospels, epistles, and other pieces now extant | date = 1820| url = https://archive.org/details/apocryphalnewte00wakegoog}}</ref> The series ''[[Ante-Nicene Fathers (book)|Ante-Nicene Fathers]]'', volume 8, contains translations by Alexander Walker.<ref>[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf08.vii.i.html ANF08...Apocrypha of the New Testament.]</ref> New translations by [[M. R. James]] appeared in 1924, and were revised by J.K. Eliott, ''The Apocryphal New Testament'', Oxford University Press, 1991. The "standard" scholarly edition of the New Testament Apocrypha in German is that of [[Schneemelcher]],<ref>James McConkey Robinson, Christoph Heil, Jozef Verheyden, ''The Sayings Gospel Q: Collected Essays'', Leuven, Peeters 2005, p. 279 "Not only has a third, fourth, fifth, and sixth edition of the standard German work by [[Edgar Hennecke]] and Wilhelm Schneemelcher prepared under the editorship of Schneemelcher appeared, but independent editions are being produced ..."</ref> and in English its translation by Robert McLachlan Wilson.<ref>''New Testament Apocrypha'', Vol. 1: ''Gospels and Related Writings'' (1990), Vol. 2: ''Writings Relating to the Apostles Apocalypses and Related Subjects'' (1992), Westminster John Knox Press.</ref>

[[Constantin von Tischendorf]] and other scholars began to study New Testament apocrypha seriously in the 19th century and produce new translations. The texts of the [[Nag Hammadi library]] are often considered separately but the current edition of Schneemelcher also contains eleven Nag Hammadi texts.<ref>Stephen J. Patterson, James McConkey Robinson, Hans-Gebhard Bethge, ''The fifth Gospel: the Gospel of Thomas comes of age''. 1998. pg. 105. quote: "The current edition of Wilhelm Schneemelcher's standard New Testament Apocrypha contains eleven Nag Hammadi tractates."</ref>

Books that are known objectively not to have existed in antiquity are usually not considered part of the New Testament apocrypha. Among these are the [[Libellus de Nativitate Sanctae Mariae]] (also called the "Nativity of Mary") and the Latin Infancy gospel. The latter two did not exist in antiquity, and they seem to be based on the earlier Infancy gospels.{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}