The Protevangelium of James

The second in George T. Zervos' two-volume critical investigation of the Protevangelium of James. Whereas volume 1 offers a critical edition of the Greek text together with English translation and critical introduction this second volume considers the wide-ranging critical questions in greater depth. Zervos presents a detailed study of the critical questions regarding the ProtJas - authorship, date, origins, purpose - and offers conclusions concerning the textual and compositional history of the ProtJas within the framework of the historical and theological development of the Christian Church. Together these two volumes tell the fascinating story of how an early apocryphal gospel provided the developing church with doctrinal material that was incorporated into both the theology and the ecclesiastical liturgical cycle of the medieval Church, and became a significant part of the standard catechism.