- - A classic work of reference for scholars and students of the Bible and the early Church- Includes modern English translations of many famous and significant non-canonical Christian writings- Each translation is accompanied by a short introduction and bibliographyThis collection of apocryphal writings supersedes the best-selling edition by M. R. James, first published in 1924. Since then, several new works have come to light, and the textual base for some of the works previously translated by James is now more secure. In this volume, J. K. Elliott presents new translations of the texts into modern English, together with a short introduction and bibliography for each of them. The collection is designed to give readers the most important and famous non-canonical Christian writings, many of them popular legends with an enormous influence on later, particularly medieval, art and literature, as well as on later beliefs and practices of the Church.