Union Académique Internationale

Project nº46, adopted in 1990

The Association pour l’Étude de la Littérature Apocryphe Chrétienne (AELAC)

The Association pour l’Étude de la Littérature Apocryphe Chrétienne (AELAC) was founded in 1981. Its purpose is the publication of critical editions of pseudo-epigraphic or anonymous texts of Christian origin, as well as their translation and associated commentary. These texts focus on figures from biblical books or subjects having to do with events narrated or suggested by these books. Insofar as they have been christianized during their transmission, writings which deal with figures from the Old Testament or which take up Jewish tradition also belong to this body of literature. Texts in various languages written after the the fourth century which correspond to the characteristics of Christian apocryphal literature are also included in the AELAC’s field of study.

Corpus Christianorum Series Apocryphorum_ (CCSA) and other series

The Association brings together all the researchers collaborating on the preparation of a volume for the Corpus Christianorum’s Series Apocryphorum. The intention of the Series Apocryphorum is to renew and enrich knowledge of Christian apocryphal literature that for the most part has been scattered or may even have gone unpublished. Its mission entails collecting the texts, establishing critical editions and their translation and interpretation. Because of the transmission routes of this literature, many of the apocryphal writings have not, or only partially, come down to us in their original language. They have, however, often left traces in versions or reworkings which have been preserved in a great variety of languages. The Series Apocryphorum’s purpose is to gather into one volume all these writings which contribute, directly or indirectly, to the knowledge of an apocryphal text in order to facilitate the study of the text in question and to give a sense of how it has been transmitted and reworked over time and in different environments. Each of the volumes of the Series Apocryphorum thus takes on the features of a dossier drawn up from an apocryphal text. To facilitate the use of these dossiers, which gather together materials from diverse eras and languages, the texts are introduced and translated into a modern international language. Given the complexity of the literary problems they pose and the obscurity still overshadowing the origins of these writings, the editors have chosen to give prominence to introductions and commentaries. Alongside the Series Apocryphorum, the Instrumenta series (CCSAIN) collects concordances and other working tools such as preliminary studies, current status reports, editions of auxiliary texts, studies of the manuscript tradition, repertories of apocryphal texts, and bibliographies. As currently planned, the concordances will first be published as books, then will be brought together and relayed to another support. Besides the Series Apocryphorum, the APOCRYPHES series is also published under the aegis of the AELAC. These volumes offer translations of original texts published or forthcoming in the Series Apocryphorum. An introduction to the text and precise but simple notes will guide the reader of these works. The AELAC has also sponsored the publication of two volumes of the Écrits Apocryphes Chrétiens, for the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade (vols 442 and 516), which were published in Paris as edited by F. Bovon, P. Geoltrain and J. D. Kaestli.