5. 15. It was already noon, and darkness enveloped all Judea. And they began to worry and fear that the sun had set, and He was still alive. For it is ordained by them [145] that the sun should not set on the slain. 16. Then one of them said, "Give him gall and vinegar to drink," and they mixed him and gave him to drink. 17. And they have done all things, and have completed sins over their heads. 18. And many went about with lamps, and thinking that night had come, they went to rest. 19. And the Lord cried out, "My strength, my strength, you have forsaken me!" and having said this, he ascended [146]. 20. And at the same hour the veil of the temple of Jerusalem was torn in two.

6. 21. And then they pulled the nails out of the hands of the Lord[147] and laid Him on the ground. And the earth shook all over, and great fear began. 22. Then the sun shone, and it became clear that it was still the ninth hour [148]. 23. The Jews rejoiced and gave Joseph his body to bury the body, for he saw how much good he had done. 24. So he took the Lord, washed Him, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths,[149] and carried Him to his own tomb,[150] which is called Joseph's Garden,[151]

7. 25. Then the Jews, and the elders, and the priests, realizing what evil they had done to themselves, began to beat their breasts and say: "Alas, our sins! judgment is coming, and the end of Jerusalem is coming." 26. But I and my companions were grieved, and, broken in spirit, we hid ourselves, for we were sought out as evildoers and those who wanted to burn down the temple [152]. 27. Because of all this, we fasted and sat grieving and weeping night and day until the Sabbath.

8. 28. The assembled scribes, and Pharisees, and elders, heard that all the people were murmuring and beating their breasts, saying: "If such great signs appeared at His death, then you see how righteous He is." 29. They were frightened and went to Pilate, asking him and saying, "30. "Give us soldiers so that we can guard His grave for three days, so that His disciples do not come and steal Him, and the people do not think that He has risen from the dead and will not do us harm." 31. Pilate gave them Petronius the centurion to guard the tomb. And the elders and the scribes went with them to the sepulchre. 32. And having rolled a large stone, together with the centurion and the soldiers, they rolled it to the entrance of the tomb. 33. And having sealed it with seven seals, they set up a tent and began to watch.

9. 34. Early in the morning, when the Sabbath dawn began, a crowd came from Jerusalem and its environs to see the sealed tomb. 35. And that same night, when the day of the Lord was dawn,[153] and the soldiers were on guard two at a time, a loud voice rang out in the sky. 36. And they saw how the heavens were opened, and two men came down from there, radiating radiance, and approaching the tomb. 37. And the stone that was rolled against the door fell away of its own accord and moved away, and the tomb opened, and the two young men entered.

10. 38. And when the soldiers saw this, they woke up the centurion and the elders, for they were there guarding (the tomb). 39. And when they told what they had seen, they again saw three men coming out of the tomb, two supporting one, and the cross following them. 40. And the heads of the two reached to heaven, but the one who was led by the hand had a head higher than the sky. 41. And they heard a voice from heaven: "Have you declared to the asleep?" 42. And the answer from the cross was, "Yes" [154].

11. 43. And they were discussing with one another, that they might go and tell Pilate. 44. And while they were deliberating, the heavens opened again, and a certain man came down and entered the tomb. 45. Those who saw this, together with the centurion, hastened to Pilate,[155] leaving the tomb they were guarding, and announced all that they had seen in great confusion and agitation, saying, "Verily, the Son of God was the Son." 46. Answering, Pilate said, "I am clean from the blood of the Son of God, you have decided so." 47. Then everyone asked him to order the centurion and the soldiers not to tell anyone about what they had seen. 48. For it is better, they said, for us to be guilty of the greatest sin before God, than not to fall into the hands of the Jewish people and be stoned. 49. And then Pilate commanded the centurion and the soldiers not to tell anything.

12. 50. Early in the morning of the Lord's day, Mary Magdalene, a disciple of the Lord, fearing the Jews [156] who were seized with anger, did not perform at the Lord's tomb (what women usually do over the loved ones of the dead). 51. Taking her friends with her, she went to the tomb where she had been laid. 52. And they were afraid that the Jews would see them, and they said: "If we could not weep and groan on the day when he was crucified, now at his tomb we will do it. 53. Who, then, will roll away for us the stone that covers the entrance to the tomb, so that when we enter, we may sit down by Him and do what is due? [157] 54. For the stone was great, and we are afraid that someone will see us. And if we can't, let us put at the entrance what we brought in memory of Him, weeping and beating our breasts all the way to our house."

13. 55. And they went, and saw the tomb open, and when they came up, they bent down there, and saw there a certain young man sitting in the middle of the tomb, beautiful and clothed in shining garments, who said to them, 56. Who are you looking for? Is it not the One Who was crucified? He arose and departed. But if you don't believe it, bend down and look at the place where He lay, He's not there. For he arose and departed, whence he was sent. 57. Then the women, seized with terror, fled.

14. 58. And it was the last day of the feast of unleavened bread, and many departed, returning to their homes, since the feast was ending. 59. But we, the twelve [158] disciples of the Lord, wept and grieved, and each one, depressed by what had been accomplished, went to his house. 60. But I, Simon Peter, and Andrew my brother, took their nets and went to the sea. And Levi the son of Alphaeus [159] was with us, whom the Lord... [160]

The Protoevangelium of James

On the Protoevangelium of James

In the second century, when the main revered gospels had already been created, peculiar works appeared that adjoined the gospels and filled in the gaps in the stories about the life of the founder of Christianity and the people associated with him. The expansion of the number of believers, the influx of Greeks, Syrians, Italians, and Egyptians into Christian communities led to the fact that all these people brought their traditions to Christianity. Sincerely refusing to worship their old gods, they nevertheless retained their tastes, their former perception of the world, transferring the usual literary and fairy-tale philosophical images to the deity whom they began to worship.

The influence of the Oriental fairy tale was intertwined in the perception of Christians of the second century with the influence of mass literature. This was the time of the spread of Works describing the most incredible miracles performed by gods or sorcerers, transformations, sorcery. The history of real historical figures was unrecognizably transformed in such works. The most characteristic example is the novel about Alexander the Great, in which Alexander appears as the son of the sorcerer Nectanebus; at the same time, Alexander is the embodiment of his father. The popularity of this novel was such that it was later translated into Latin, Syriac, and Armenian; in the thirteenth century it came to Russia. In the second century, Flegon compiled a collection of "Amazing Stories", where various fantastic creatures and ghosts act. Such literature about miracles and super-valor (aretalogy) is characterized by a combination of outright fantasy, traditional fairy-tale motifs with elements of mysticism and vulgarized philosophy. Lucian, parodying all these fantastic stories in the True Story, describes the "Isles of the Blessed", where he allegedly ended up with his companions during his journey. It is characteristic that the common passages of such stories parodied by Lucian can also be found among Christians: on the islands, the land is full of flowers and covered with shady garden trees, grapes bear fruit twelve times a year... There live incorporeal shadows, which represent the "idea of man" (II.12-13). Christians who read such stories also introduced into the teachings created by the early followers of the Messiah Jesus the ideas they were accustomed to.