jane abraham
2007-01-15 05:11:26 UTC
The Gospel of Barnabas was accepted as a Canonical Gospel in the
Churches of Alexandria till 325 C.E. Iranaeus (130-200) wrote in
support of pure monotheism and opposed Paul for injecting into
Christianity doctrines of the pagan Roman religion and Platonic
philosophy. He had quoted extensively from the Gospel of Barnabas in
support of his views. This shows that the Gospel of Barnabas was in
circulation in the first and second centuries of Christianity.
In 325 C.E., the Nicene Council was held, where it was ordered that
all original Gospels in Hebrew script should be destroyed. An Edict was
issued that any one in possession of these Gospels will be put to
death.
In 383 C.E., the Pope secured a copy of the Gospel of Barnabas and
kept it in his private library.
In the fourth year of Emperor Zeno (478 C.E. ), the remains of
Barnabas were discovered and there was found on his breast a copy of
the Gospel of Barnabas written by his own hand. (Acia Sanctorum Boland
Junii Tom II, Pages 422 and 450. Antwerp 1698) . The famous Vulgate
Bible appears to be based on this Gospel.
Pope Sixtus (1585-90) had a friend, Fra Marino. He found the Gospel
of Barnabas in the private library of the Pope. Fra Marino was
interested because he had read the writings of Iranaeus where Barnabas
had been profusely quoted. The Italian manuscript passed through
different hands till it reached "a person of great name and authority"
in Amsterdam, "who during his life time was often heard to put a high
value to this piece". After his death it came in the possession of J.
E. Cramer, a Councillor of the King of Prussia. In 1713 Cramer
presented this manuscript to the famous connoisseur of books, Prince
Eugene of Savoy. In 1738 along with the library of the Prince it found
its way into Hofbibliothek in Vienna. There it now rests.
Toland, in his "Miscellaneous Works" (published posthumously in
1747), in Vol. I, page 380, mentions that the Gospel of Barnabas was
still extant. In Chapter XV he refers to the Glasian Decree of 496 C.E.
where "Evangelium Barnabe" is included in the list of forbidden books.
Prior to that it had been forbidden by Pope Innocent in 465 C.E. and by
the Decree of the Western Churches in 382 C.E.
Barnabas is also mentioned in the Stichometry of Nicephorus Serial
No. 3, Epistle of Barnabas . . . Lines 1, 300.
Then again in the list of Sixty Books
Serial No. 17. Travels and teaching of the Apostles.
Serial No. 18. Epistle of Barnabas.
Serial No. 24. Gospel According to Barnabas.
A Greek version of the Gospel of Barnabas is also found in a solitary
fragment. The rest is burnt.
The Latin text was translated into English by Mr. and Mrs. Ragg and was
printed at the Clarendon Press in Oxford. It was published by the
Oxford University Press in 1907. This English translation mysteriously
disappeared from the market. Two copies of this translation are known
to exist, one in the British Museum and the other in the Library of the
Congress, Washington, DC. The first edition was from a micro-film copy
of the book in the Library of the Congress, Washington, DC.
For more detail visit
http://barnabas.net/
----
[The problem is that it is very unlikely that the current version has
much to do with the document referred to. I'd also like to see
documentation on the supposed Nicene order to destroy it. Proceedings
of the early councils are available online, so there should be no
problem finding it. If it's there.
For a standard account of the two different Gospels of Barnabas (even
the earlier one is first mentioned after Nicea), see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_barnabas
--clh]
Churches of Alexandria till 325 C.E. Iranaeus (130-200) wrote in
support of pure monotheism and opposed Paul for injecting into
Christianity doctrines of the pagan Roman religion and Platonic
philosophy. He had quoted extensively from the Gospel of Barnabas in
support of his views. This shows that the Gospel of Barnabas was in
circulation in the first and second centuries of Christianity.
In 325 C.E., the Nicene Council was held, where it was ordered that
all original Gospels in Hebrew script should be destroyed. An Edict was
issued that any one in possession of these Gospels will be put to
death.
In 383 C.E., the Pope secured a copy of the Gospel of Barnabas and
kept it in his private library.
In the fourth year of Emperor Zeno (478 C.E. ), the remains of
Barnabas were discovered and there was found on his breast a copy of
the Gospel of Barnabas written by his own hand. (Acia Sanctorum Boland
Junii Tom II, Pages 422 and 450. Antwerp 1698) . The famous Vulgate
Bible appears to be based on this Gospel.
Pope Sixtus (1585-90) had a friend, Fra Marino. He found the Gospel
of Barnabas in the private library of the Pope. Fra Marino was
interested because he had read the writings of Iranaeus where Barnabas
had been profusely quoted. The Italian manuscript passed through
different hands till it reached "a person of great name and authority"
in Amsterdam, "who during his life time was often heard to put a high
value to this piece". After his death it came in the possession of J.
E. Cramer, a Councillor of the King of Prussia. In 1713 Cramer
presented this manuscript to the famous connoisseur of books, Prince
Eugene of Savoy. In 1738 along with the library of the Prince it found
its way into Hofbibliothek in Vienna. There it now rests.
Toland, in his "Miscellaneous Works" (published posthumously in
1747), in Vol. I, page 380, mentions that the Gospel of Barnabas was
still extant. In Chapter XV he refers to the Glasian Decree of 496 C.E.
where "Evangelium Barnabe" is included in the list of forbidden books.
Prior to that it had been forbidden by Pope Innocent in 465 C.E. and by
the Decree of the Western Churches in 382 C.E.
Barnabas is also mentioned in the Stichometry of Nicephorus Serial
No. 3, Epistle of Barnabas . . . Lines 1, 300.
Then again in the list of Sixty Books
Serial No. 17. Travels and teaching of the Apostles.
Serial No. 18. Epistle of Barnabas.
Serial No. 24. Gospel According to Barnabas.
A Greek version of the Gospel of Barnabas is also found in a solitary
fragment. The rest is burnt.
The Latin text was translated into English by Mr. and Mrs. Ragg and was
printed at the Clarendon Press in Oxford. It was published by the
Oxford University Press in 1907. This English translation mysteriously
disappeared from the market. Two copies of this translation are known
to exist, one in the British Museum and the other in the Library of the
Congress, Washington, DC. The first edition was from a micro-film copy
of the book in the Library of the Congress, Washington, DC.
For more detail visit
http://barnabas.net/
----
[The problem is that it is very unlikely that the current version has
much to do with the document referred to. I'd also like to see
documentation on the supposed Nicene order to destroy it. Proceedings
of the early councils are available online, so there should be no
problem finding it. If it's there.
For a standard account of the two different Gospels of Barnabas (even
the earlier one is first mentioned after Nicea), see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_barnabas
--clh]