Zusammenfassung
Zusammenfassung von The Acts of Peter and Paul
Go deeper: the whole of The Acts of Peter and Paul
The full book, start to finish.Für wen es gedacht ist
Readers who enjoy ancient adventures, courtroom confrontations and contests of miracles will love this book. It also draws those who like early Christian tales of Peter and Paul in real Roman settings.
Worum es in diesem Buch geht
What happens when a man who says he is the Son of God stands before the emperor of Rome, and two apostles stand beside him? That is the scene at the heart of The Acts of Peter and Paul, an ancient story of how the two great apostles meet in Rome, face a rival sorcerer named Simon, and come to the end of their lives.
The text has no named author. It survives in Greek, Latin and other languages, and scholars place its forms in late antiquity. It stands outside the New Testament, yet Christians in many places loved it.
In dieser Zusammenfassung
- 1Rival leaders ask Nero to bar PaulFree
- 2A shipmaster dies in Paul's place
- 3Paul hears a warning and meets Peter
- 4A quarrel in Rome calms into belief
- 5Simon wins the crowd, then faces Nero
- 6Peter answers a secret test with a loaf
- 7Paul speaks and Simon names his test
- 8True power and joined apostles
Punkt 1 von 8
Rival leaders ask Nero to bar Paul
The story opens as Paul leaves the island of Gaudomeleta and heads for Italy. He wants to appear before Caesar. The news fills the Jews who live in Rome with dread. They say Paul has troubled their kin across Judea and Samaria, and they fear he will ask the emperor to destroy them.
So they gather a large number of gifts and go to Nero. They ask him to send orders to every province so that Paul may not come near. Nero agrees at once. He promises to write that Paul must not land on the shores of Italy, and word of the ban reaches Simon the Magician as well.
Meanwhile some Gentiles in Rome, baptized through Peter's preaching, send elders to Paul with a letter. They have heard that Paul is to be put to death wherever he is found. Yet they believe that just as God does not part the two great lights he has made, he will not part Peter from Paul. Paul receives the messengers on the twentieth of May and is eager to set out.
The Jewish leaders are drawn as enemies who bribe an emperor, and scholars read this as a mark of the rivalries of the age, not as a record of events.
The takeaway is that the story ties Peter and Paul together from its first page against a world that wants them separated.
That’s 1 of 8 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
- Nothing to pay today · Renews every year
- We email you before you pay
- Cancel online in two clicks
Go deeper: the whole of The Acts of Peter and Paul
The full book, start to finish.Questions about The Acts of Peter and Paul
What is The Acts of Peter and Paul about?
It tells how Paul reaches Rome under an imperial ban, how he and Peter meet, and how they face the sorcerer Simon the Magician before the emperor Nero in a contest of wonders and words.
Who is Simon the Magician?
Simon is the apostles' rival. The New Testament mentions a Simon who tried to buy spiritual power. Here he becomes a shape-changing sorcerer who claims to be the Son of God and wins Nero's trust.
Is The Acts of Peter and Paul in the Bible?
No. It is not in the New Testament, and its anonymous authors wrote after the apostles rather than as eyewitnesses from their circle. Many early Christians still read it with affection, and scholars study it as a source.
When was The Acts of Peter and Paul written?
Scholars place the forms we have in late antiquity, well after the apostles. They draw on older traditions and survive in Greek, Latin and other languages, with differences between versions.
Is The Acts of Peter and Paul easy to read?
Yes, in the sense that matters. It moves in short scenes of speech, with a clear cast, real Roman places and an exchange of challenges between Nero and the contestants, so it is easy to follow.
Cite this edition
Leucius Charinus. The Acts of Peter and Paul. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-acts-of-peter-and-paul.
Leucius Charinus. (2026). The acts of Peter and Paul. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-acts-of-peter-and-paul (Original work published ca. 350)
Leucius Charinus. The Acts of Peter and Paul. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-acts-of-peter-and-paul.
@book{leuciuscharinus2026acts,
author = {Leucius Charinus},
title = {The Acts of Peter and Paul},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-acts-of-peter-and-paul},
note = {First published ca. 350}
}
