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Authorship, Date, and Context
The Acts of Barnabas (Acta Barnabae, bearing the liturgical title The Journeyings and Martyrdom of St. Barnabas the Apostle) purports to be an eyewitness narrative penned by John Mark, the apostolic companion of Paul and Barnabas. The text recounts his initial conversion in Iconium and his ministry alongside Barnabas across Cyprus. Modern patristic and literary criticism unanimously rejects this authorial claim as pseudepigraphical, identifying the work as an anonymous Greek hagiographical composition.
Critical scholars including Richard Adelbert Lipsius, Maximilien Bonnet, Hippolyte Delehaye, and Tony Burke date the composition to the late fifth century CE (circa 485–488 CE during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Zeno) or the beginning of the sixth century. The political and ecclesiastico-historical backdrop was the jurisdiction dispute between the Patriarchate of Antioch (which claimed administrative supremacy over Cyprus) and the Cypriot hierarchy led by Archbishop Anthemios of Salamis. The text provided foundational apostolic credentials for the autocephaly of the Church of Cyprus, reinforced by the legendary discovery of Barnabas's tomb containing an autograph copy of the Gospel of Matthew resting upon his chest.
Structure
The text is cast as a continuous, unified narrative in a single comprehensive chapter (1 chapter), uninterrupted by formal chapter divisions in early manuscripts.
The plot unfolds across four consecutive biographical episodes: the baptism of John Mark in Iconium, the contention in Antioch over Mark's previous delays in Pamphylia, and the emotional, tearful separation between Paul and Barnabas; the voyage along the Cilician coast to Cyprus, healing fever-stricken temple servants through the physical imposition of Matthew's Gospel; the missionary circuit through Cypriot cities, including the episcopal ordination of Heracleides at Tamasus, the miraculous collapse of a pagan shrine in Curium during an idolatrous naked race, and fierce obstruction by the sorcerer Bar-Jesus; and the tragic culmination in Salamis, where Barnabás preaches from Matthew's scroll, is lynched and burned to ashes by opponents, and his sacred remains and Gospel are rescued by Mark and entombed in a cavern before fleeing to Alexandria.
Key Themes and Passages
Prominent theological themes center on the apostolic autonomy of the Cypriot Church founded by Barnabas, the physical and somatic healing efficacy of the written Gospel of Matthew (treated as a thaumaturgical instrument and saintly relic), uncompromising repudiation of licentious Greco-Roman polytheism, and the moral restoration of John Mark through enduring missionary fidelity.
When Paul opposes taking Mark on their second journey, Barnabas voices the overarching theological principle of perseverance and divine benevolence, preserved in Walker's textual edition: 'The grace of God does not desert him who has once served the Gospel and journeyed with us.'
Summary by Parts
Mark's calling and apostolic parting at Antioch: John, formerly attendant to the priest of Zeus in Iconium, is baptized by Paul and Barnabas and named Mark in a heavenly vision; in Antioch, Paul angrily refuses to travel with Mark due to his past delay in Pamphylia; Barnabas pleads for his companion, weeps at Paul's feet in mutual sorrow, and departs with Mark for Cyprus.
Cilician coast and miracles in Cyprus: Reaching Anemurium, they baptize two Greek converts and clothe them in robes of grace; landing at Cape Crommyacita in Cyprus, they encounter temple servitors Timon and Ariston suffering from virulent fevers; Barnabas places upon them the manuscript of the Gospel received from the apostle Matthew, granting instantaneous somatic healing.
Cypriot missionary circuit and pagan collapse: Traveling through Lapithus and Lampadistus, they appoint Heracleides as the first bishop of Cyprus at Tamasus; at Curium, witnessing an obscene ritual race of naked men and women, Barnabas rebukes the idolatrous practice, causing the western section of the temple of Apollo to collapse; the sorcerer Bar-Jesus opposes them persistently, barring their entrance into Paphos and Amathus.
Martyrdom at Salamis and voyage to Alexandria: In Salamis, Barnabas unrolls Matthew's Gospel in the synagogue; enraged by his success, Bar-Jesus incites the crowd, who bind Barnabas by the neck, drag him to the hippodrome, and burn him until his bones are reduced to dust; Mark, Timon, and Rhodon secretly recover the ashes and inter them with Matthew's Gospel in a hidden cave; escaping pursuers, Mark sails aboard an Egyptian vessel to Alexandria, where he preaches and baptizes the faithful.
Reception
The Acts of Barnabas was never admitted into the New Testament canon and was classified among apocryphal apostolic literature in early Latin decrees. However, it acquired immense ecclesiastico-political weight in the Christian East: it served as the historical pillar establishing the autocephalous status of the Church of Cyprus, ratified at the Council of Ephesus (431 CE) and confirmed by Emperor Zeno in 488 CE, establishing Saint Barnabas as the national apostle and patron celebrated on June 11.
The Greek textual tradition is preserved in medieval codices dating from the ninth century onward (notably Parisinus graecus 1470 from 890 CE and Vaticanus graecus 1667 from the eleventh century), as well as Latin versions (Vita et passio Barnabae) and Church Slavic translations. Daniel Papebroek published the Greek text in Acta Sanctorum (1698), followed by critical editions by Constantin von Tischendorf (1851) and Maximilien Bonnet in Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha (1903). Alexander Walker produced the standard English translation in The Ante-Nicene Fathers (1886), updated in modern scholarship by Glenn E. Snyder (2016).
Sources
- Alexander Walker; Alexander Roberts; James Donaldson, The Acts of Barnabas (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8) (1886).
- Tony Burke, Acts of Barnabas (e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha) (2024).