AU critics with this last exception, but Preu- schen included (cf., however, his art. in Hennecke, i. 479), agree in ascribing the 'Hymn of the Soul' to Bardesanes or to his school. Bevan {op. cit. p. 5 f.) has shown that it contains just those ' heresies' for which Bardesanes, according to Ephraim, was excluded by the Edessene Church. With regard to its inclusion in the Acts, Burkitt remarks {Early Eastern Christianity, p. 212 note) :
' I cannot help expressing a private opinion that the Hymn was inserted by the author himself, just as he used the Lord's Prayer in a later prayer of Judas Thomas. That the Hymn itself is independent of the Acts is certain, but it is not so clear that the Acts is independent of the Hymn. It may, in fact, have become a part of the recognised teaching of the sect to which the author of the Acts belonged (cf. Ephraim's Com- mentary on 3 Corinthians, p. 119).'
(7) Theology of the Acts. — The Acts presupposes the universal acceptance of a theology counting only the supernatural world as real, and individual salvation as the chief end of man. Asceticism, especially abstinence from sexual relations even in marriage, is urged as self-evident. Even before meeting the Apostle, Vazanes had seen this (Act xiii.). Mygdonia shows a firmer gi-asp of the implications of his doctrine than Thomas himself (Act X.). The supernatm-al world is not described : the Gnostic cosmogonies and esoteric doctrines are absent. Against this fact coincidences in plu-ase- ology seem to carry little weight. Perhaps it is only its reckless Puritanism which separates the Acts of Thomas from the B'nai Q'yama, Aphi-a- ates, and other leaders of early Syi-iac Christianity (cf. Burkitt, Early East. Christianity, pp. 118-154; Schwen, Afrahat, BcrUn, 1907, pp. 96-99, 130-132).
The Church and its dignitaries are practically absent (cf. Acts v. vi. and the Martyriuni). The sacraments are much in evidence as the only means of attaining to the fife among the inhabitants of the world of fight (chs. 121, 132, 15S)._ Baptism immediately followed by the Eucharist is the rule. It occurs in the story of the woman in Act v. (ch. 40), Mygdonia, Act x. (ch. 121), Siphor, Act x.
ACTS (APOCRYPHAL)
ADAM
39
(ch. 132), Vazanes, Act xiii. (chs. 153-158). In the story of Gundaphorus and Gad, Act ii. (chs. 25-27), the Greek and SjTiac differ ; both omit the Eucharist.
(8) Ritual. — (a) Instruction (132) ; (b) prayer (25, 156) ; (c) consecration of the oil (157) ; (d) imposi- tion of hands (49) ; (e) outpouring of oil on the head (27 Gr. et rcll.) ; (/) u7}ction (27 Gr. 157) ; (g) prayer over the unction (27 Gr. 121, 157) ; (//) iynmersion (27 Syr. 121, 132, 157) ; (i) chrism (27 Syr.); (/) prayer over the chrism (27 Syr.); {k) prayer for the Eucharist (49, 121, 132, 158) ; (0 allocution before partaking (49, [121], 132, 158) ; {m) partaking of the bread (49, 121, 132, 158) ; {n) of the cup (121, 158). A response from heaven occurs in ch. 121, and a Christophany in chs. 27, 153. The fullest* account is that of chs. 153-158. The whole act of unction and immersion is called 'sealing' (121), therefore in chs. 49 and 27 (Gr.) the immersion may have been omitted. Outpour- ing and unction constitute a double act (157). Unction may have extended to more parts of the body for exorcistic purposes (cf. ch. 5 and JThSt, i. 71 ; F. E. Brightman, The Sacramentary of Serapion of Thmuis, p. 251 ; Hennecke, Neutest. Apokr. ii. 565). While the Greek in 27 has a double unction {JThSt i. 251) or, perhaps, unction and chrism, the Syriac has baptism followed by chrism. Elsewhere the Eucharist seems always to occupy the place of the last part of later baptismal ritual, viz. the confirmation and 'sealing' by the chrism. Renunciation in a formal way is absent, renunciation from sexual intercourse is understood (promised, 152). Consecration of the water is not found, though running water is but once used (121). Trinitarian formulre and Logos-terminology are used rather indiscriminately. Gnostic phrase- ology occiurs side by side with it. The baptismal formula is always Trinitarian. Ordinary bread and water appear as Eucharistic elements. The bread seems to be more essential (body and blood in ch. 1.58).
(9) The most impressive element in the Acts is Thojnas's character as a twin of tJie Christ (see above (1)). W. Bauer (Das Leben Jesu iin Zeitaller der neutest. Apokr., Tubingen, 1909, p. 445, note 3) takes this as proof that the Acts wishes to reduce the Vu-gin birth ad absurdum, and quotes ch. 2 : 'I, Jesus, son of Joseph the carpenter.' This would be quite a solitary cloud of scepticism in an atmosphere saturated with syncretistic thought. Reitzenstein seems to open a field where Rendel Harris (The Dioscuri in the Christian Legends, London, 1903, and Cult of the Heavenly Twins, Cambr., 1906) had already found a way. That, in fact, Dioscm-ic attainments are ascribed to Thomas is evident, and just here a parallel between Bar- desanian literature and our Acts comes in (cf. Burkitt, 170 note and 199). The name Thomas = 'twin' has been the point de depart, the cult of Aziz (the morning star) a presupposition. Prob- ably it was this Dioscuric god, whose month of free-markets (cf. Harris, Cult of the Heavejily T'wins, p. 158) and whose place as a patron of Edessa Thomas was honoured with (cf . Jn 11^^ 20-'' ; Pauly-Wissowa, i. 2644 [Cumont] ; R. Duval, His- toire politique, relig. et litt. d Edesse, Paris, 1892, p. 74 ff.). The ways and by-paths of syncretistic monotheism are still obscure to us, but research in this field is certainly destined to cast light on the dark places of the Acts of Thomas.