La Translatio Philippi : survie ou seconde mort de Philippe ?

Abstract

The Translatio Philippi was edited by M. R. James in 1893 (Apocrypha Anecdota, p. 158-163) on the basis of a witness from the twelfth century and of a palimpsest from 935. In both manuscripts, the story of the Martyrdom of Philip is followed, without any break, by the translation of the relics of the apostle, but internal criticism can show that this is not the earliest form of that. The Translation does not deal with the encratism of the Martyrdom, nor with any of its characters, except the apostle John which role changes decisively. This study will illustrate how the author of the Translation found the name of an imaginary Ophioryme in the Martyrdom and built a fictional account of translation of relics, which aims not only at bringing Philip to Hierapolis in Phrygia, his traditional burial place, but mainly at confirming the veneration of Philippe from an orthodox point of view.