Agrapha (; Greek for "non written"; singular ) are sayings of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

that are not found in the canonical

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

s. The term was used for the first time by J.G. Körner, a German

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

scholar, in 1776.

Definition of agrapha

According to A. J. Maas, supposed agrapha must satisfy three conditions: * They must be sayings, not discourses – works like the " Didascalia" and the " Pistis Sophia", that speak of Jesus, but do not quote him, are not considered agrapha * They must be sayings of Jesus – agrapha are not sayings found in religious romances such as those found in apocryphal Gospels, the

apocryphal Acts The Acts of the Apostles is a genre of early Christian literature, recounting the lives and works of the Apostles in the New Testament, apostles of Jesus. The ''Acts'' (Latin: ''Acta''; Ancient Greek, Greek: Πράξεις ''Práxeis'') are impor ...

, or the Letter of Christ to Abgar, etc. * They must not be in the canonical

Gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the second century AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message was reported. In this sen ...

Mere additions to pre-existing sayings are not considered agrapha.

Examples

According to A. J. Maas, for agrapha to be genuine, they must be supported by external and internal evidence. This means that early writers, like Papias, Clement, Irenaeus, and

Justin Martyr Justin, known posthumously as Justin Martyr (; ), also known as Justin the Philosopher, was an early Christian apologist and Philosophy, philosopher. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue did survive. The ''First Apolog ...

would have quoted them, and the message of the agrapha must not conflict with the teachings of Jesus contained in the canonical Gospels.

New Testament

* Acts 20:35: "Remember the word of the Lord Jesus, how he said: It is a more blessed thing to give, rather than to receive."

Church Orders

* Apostolic Church Order, 26: "For he said to us before, when he was teaching: That which is weak shall be saved through that which is strong."

Patristic citations

Clement of Rome Clement of Rome (; ; died ), also known as Pope Clement I, was the Pope, Bishop of Rome in the Christianity in the 1st century, late first century AD. He is considered to be the first of the Apostolic Fathers of the Church. Little is known about ...

, ''

First Epistle of Clement The First Epistle of Clement () is a letter addressed to the Christians in the city of Corinth. The work is attributed to Clement I, the fourth bishop of Rome and was almost certainly written by him. Based on internal evidence some scholars say ...

'', 13: "For thus He spoke: 'Be ye merciful, that ye may obtain mercy; forgive, that it may be forgiven to you; as ye do, so shall it be done unto you; as ye judge, so shall ye be judged; as ye are kind, so shall kindness be shown to you; with what measure ye mete, with the same it shall be measured to you.'" * Polycarp of Smyrna, '' Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians'', 2, "but being mindful of what the Lord said in His teaching: 'Judge not, that ye be not judged; forgive, and it shall be forgiven unto you; be merciful, that ye may obtain mercy; with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again;' and once more, 'Blessed are the poor, and those that are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of God.'" *

Papias of Hierapolis Papias () was a Greeks, Greek Apostolic Father, Bishop of Hierapolis (modern Pamukkale, Turkey), and author who lived c. 60 – c. 130 AD He wrote the ''Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord'' () in five books. This work, which is lost apart fr ...

, ''The Expositions of the Saying of the Lord'', 4: "As the elders who saw John the disciple of the Lord remembered that they had heard from him how the Lord taught in regard to those times, and said: 'The days will come in which vines shall grow, having each ten thousand branches, and in each branch ten thousand twigs, and in each true twig ten thousand shoots, and in every one of the shoots ten thousand clusters, and on every one of the clusters ten thousand grapes, and every grape when pressed will give five-and-twenty metretes of wine. And when any one of the saints shall lay hold of a cluster, another shall cry out, I am a better cluster, take me; bless the Lord through me.' In like manner, e saidthat a grain of wheat would produce ten thousand ears, and that every ear would have ten thousand grains, and every grain would yield ten pounds of clear, pure, fine flour; and that apples, and seeds, and grass would produce in similar proportions; and that all animals, feeding then only on the productions of the earth, would become peaceable and harmonious, and be in perfect subjection to man.'" *

, '' Dialogue with Trypho'', 47: "Wherefore also our Lord Jesus Christ said, In whatsoever things I apprehend you, in those I shall judge you." *

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria (; – ), was a Christian theology, Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and Alexander of Jerusalem. A ...

, ''

Stromata The ''Stromata'' (), a mistake for ''Stromateis'' (Στρωματεῖς, "Patchwork," i.e., ''Miscellanies''), attributed to Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c. 215), is the third of a trilogy of works regarding the Christian life. The oldest ...

'', I, 24, 158: "For ask, he says for the great things, and the small shall be added to you." * Clement of Alexandria, ''Stromata'', I, 28, 177: "Rightly therefore the Scripture also in its desire to make us such dialecticians, exhorts us: Be approved moneychangers, disapproving some things, but holding fast that which is good." * Clement of Alexandria, ''Stromata'', V, 10, 64: "For not grudgingly, he saith, did the Lord declare in a certain gospel: My mystery is for me and for the sons of my house." *

Origen Origen of Alexandria (), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, Asceticism#Christianity, ascetic, and Christian theology, theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Early cent ...

, ''Homily on Jeremiah'', XX, 3: "But the Saviour himself saith: He who is near me is near the fire; he who is far from me, is far from the kingdom." This saying is in the

Gospel of Thomas The Gospel of Thomas (also known as the Coptic Gospel of Thomas) is a non-canonical Logia, sayings gospel. It was discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945 among a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library. Scholars speculate the works ...

(Saying 82).

References

External links

Catholic Encyclopedia: Agrapha: Sayings of Jesus that have come down to us outside the canonical Gospels
*

Bibliography

The Catholic Encyclopedia-"Agrapha" - 1907, therefore free of copyright {{Authority control Christian genres Agrapha of Jesus and apocryphal fragments Christian terminology