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Audiobook edition · 1 h 7 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 40 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 40 pagesAbout this book
In imperial Rome, a sorcerer wins the crowd’s wonder—and an apostle challenges what they believe.
The Acts of Peter and Simon is an early Christian legend about rival wonder-workers in Rome. Simon Magus claims divine power and gathers admirers among the powerful. Peter arrives to confront him and strengthen the small Christian community. According to the tale, their struggle becomes a public contest of wonders, with Emperor Nero watching and the believers’ confidence at stake.
The story sets talking animals and astonishing miracles beside questions about faith, deception, and the pull of spectacle. Can a crowd tell spiritual authority from a dazzling display? Written by an unknown author, this apocryphal narrative stands outside the New Testament. Read it as a window into early Christian storytelling, rather than a firm historical record of Peter’s life.
What you’ll discover
- Rivals before Rome Follow Peter and Simon as their competing claims draw the attention of crowds and rulers.
- Wonders that unsettle Encounter a speaking dog and a revived smoked fish within the tale’s imaginative world.
- The lure of spectacle Explore how dazzling displays shape belief when Simon wins admiration among Rome’s powerful.
- A community under strain Meet Roman believers who look to Peter for guidance as Simon’s fame shakes their confidence.
- Beyond the biblical account Discover how later storytellers expand Simon’s brief biblical appearance into an extended rivalry with Peter.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love ancient adventure, early Christian stories, tales of rival wonder-workers and scenes in Nero's court. It also rewards anyone curious about how the first Christians thought about miracles, magic and trust.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Paul sails toward a Rome that fears him
- A bald captain dies and a city sinks
- A vision on the road and a reunion
- Quarrels in the crowd and Simon's growing envy
- Before Nero a loaf of bread defeats the dogs
- A false rising, a teacher's creed and the tower
- Power, discernment and how the tale is told
Who’s who
- PeterThe chief apostle, living in Rome, who heals and teaches, and who faces Simon before the emperor with prayer and a blessed loaf.
- PaulThe apostle who sails to Rome under a ban, survives a false report of his death, and stands beside Peter before Nero.
- Simon the magicianA sorcerer who claims to be the Son of God, wins crowds with wonders, and wants the apostles destroyed.
- NeroThe emperor who sits as judge, wavers between belief and doubt, and demands proof from all three men.
- DioscorusThe ship's captain, bald like Paul, who accompanies the apostle out of gratitude for his son's rescue.
- JuvenaliusA bishop ordained by Peter, warned by Paul's vision, who runs to Peter in tears.
- MarcellusA man of high standing who leaves Simon and comes to believe through Peter.
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The Acts of Peter and Simon
by Attributed to Leucius Charinus · 180
A sorcerer promises to fly to heaven before Nero while two apostles wait below.
Medium levelUnder 2 hours to readDeutsch
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In short
What happens when a man who claims to be the Son of God promises to rise into the sky above Rome, while two apostles stand below and watch him? That is the scene this story builds toward.
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Listen freeOr hold it in print: paperback, hardcover or large print, at costFrom the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Paul sails toward a Rome that fears him
The story opens with Paul leaving an island and heading for Italy. He has asked to be heard by Caesar, and the news runs ahead of him to Rome. The Jews of the city fall into grief. They say Paul has already afflicted their families in Judea and Samaria, and now he has come to destroy them here.
So they act. They gather many gifts and carry them to the emperor Nero with a petition. They ask him to send orders through every province so that Paul is kept away from Italy. They complain about Peter too, whose preaching weighs on them. Nero agrees. Simon the magician is told not to come into the regions of Italy as well.
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Details
- First published
- 180
- Language
- Deutsch
- Listening time
- 1 h 7 min
- Level
- Medium level
- Paperback
- 40 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Hardcover
- 40 pages · 6 × 9 in
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Cite this edition
Leucius Charinus. The Acts of Peter and Simon. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-acts-of-peter-and-simon.
Leucius Charinus. (2026). The acts of Peter and Simon. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-acts-of-peter-and-simon (Original work published ca. 180)
Leucius Charinus. The Acts of Peter and Simon. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-acts-of-peter-and-simon.
@book{leuciuscharinus2026acts,
author = {Leucius Charinus},
title = {The Acts of Peter and Simon},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-acts-of-peter-and-simon},
note = {First published ca. 180}
}
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What is The Acts of Peter and Simon about?
It tells how Peter and Paul meet in Rome and face the sorcerer Simon Magus before the emperor Nero. The contest tests whose wonders come from God and whose are tricks, and it ends with the apostles' deaths.
Who was Simon Magus?
Simon Magus is a Samaritan magician who appears in the New Testament book of Acts, where he offers money for spiritual power. Later Christian writers made him the great rival of the apostles, and this story shows him in Rome.
Is The Acts of Peter and Simon in the Bible?
No. It belongs to the apocryphal acts of the apostles. Early Christians read such tales for devotion and entertainment, but church leaders later kept them out of the New Testament, partly because their authors and dates were uncertain.
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