The publication of the epoch-making work by Lipsius on the Apocryphal A cts of the Apostles comprising about 1800 pages closely printed; Schmidt s Coptic Acta Pauli, more especially the critical edition of the Apocryphal A cts by Lipsius and Bonnet, have opened a large, but very little cultivated field of ancient Christian literature. The oldest of these A cts are those which are treated in the present volume. They give us a picture of Christianity towards the end of the second century. They are important for the history of the Christian cultus in the second and third cent., and by their description of the divine service in the houses they supplement of picture delineated in the A cts of the A postles. They are also important for the history of Christian poetry which commences among the Gnostics; in short: though these A cts contain both truth and fiction, they cannot be ignored by the teacher and preacher, the missionary and historian. What has hitherto been a terra incognita generally speaking, has now been made accessible, especially by the beautiful edition of Lipsius and Bonnet, whose text must now be considered as textits receptus.(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don"t occur in the book.)About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.Forgotten Books" Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the aged text. Read books online for free at www.forgottenbooks.org