The Apocalypse of Peter

This episode contains “The Apocalypse of Peter,” the last in a series of imaginative and creative works presented here. It is impossible to identify the author or date of this writing with any certainty, but it represents something that may have been in the popular imagination of Christians in the Early Church period. This genre is similar to the modern-day video series “The Chosen,” as they both represent imaginative retellings of real stories with the theological worldview of the author underpinning the narrative. 

The Apocalypse of Peter is framed as a vision shown to Peter while Jesus was still on the Earth. The copy presented here is, unfortunately, fragmentary. While more complete copies have been found in various libraries and languages across the world, I have chosen to present what was available in the Ante-Nicene Fathers collection on CCEL.org. This copy was discovered in Upper Egypt and published in 1886. This document was known in the Early Church period, as attested by Eusebius, who did not classify it as scripture. 

Despite being incomplete, it represents something unique to this period, as it is one of the first works to imagine, in graphic detail, what Heaven and Hell might look like. In calling out specific sins such as abortion and homosexuality it also provides a window into the ethical worldview of the Early Church. Because of this, it connects, in some small way, with other apocalyptic and spiritual works such as Dante’s Inferno, Pilgrim's Progress, or the more modern Left Behind series.

If you would like to read more of the writings of the Early Christian Fathers, please visit ccel.org to view the full collection.