Timothy B. Sailors - Pseudo-Barsabas of Jerusalem's 'On Christ and the Churches'

The work entitled ‘On Christ and the Churches’ attributed to Barsabas of Jerusalem, though spurious, may nevertheless be of a relatively early date. This possibility was raised by M. van Esbroeck in his editio princeps of the sole surviving witness to this writing, a Georgian MS on Mount Athos. The discourse, presenting seven Old Testament figures from Adam to Moses as prophets enlightened by Christ, consists of a series of numerous ‘mysteries’ that typologically relate the Old Testament to Christianity. The work does seem to transmit a primitive Christian theology. Moreover, certain elements have been viewed as a response to Ebionite concepts, and parallels to Justin, Irenaeus and Hippolytus seem to suggest a common source. These features—examined in this paper—warrant serious consideration of the possibility that the work might date to the second or early third century. Irrespective of its date, however, we have here, thanks to this Georgian translation, a unique work of early Christian literature, and the only one attributed to Barsabas.