Written in Syriac in the late seventh century, the Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius shaped and influenced Christian eschatological thinking in the Middle Ages. Pseudepigraphically attributed to Methodius of Olympus, a fourth century Church Father, the work attempts to make sense of the Islamic conquest of the Near East.
Pseudo-Methodius is noted for incorporating numerous pre-existing aspects of Christian eschatology, such as the invasion of Gog and Magog, the rise of the Antichrist, and the tribulations that precede the end of the world. The book, however, adds a new element to Christian eschatology: the rise of a messianic Last Roman emperor. This element would remain in Christian apocalyptic literature until the end of the medieval period.
The book was early translated into Greek, Latin, Coptic, Armenian, and later into Slavonic. It is an apocalyptic text, the most famous of the Syriac apocalyptic texts.
Authorship, date, location
Pseudo-Methodius is attributed to Methodius of Olympus in the Syriac text, of Patara in the Greek, both of whom lived in the fourth century. In all likelihood, however, the text was actually written in the final decade of the seventh century, after 692, by a Miaphysite Christian. Scholars have argued that the work was written in the context of the Arab Conquests, in response to the hardships faced by Christians and their widespread apostasy (in order to avoid the jizya head tax). As well, the author sees the invasion occurring as punishment from God. The text, therefore, employs historiography, geography, and apocalyptic prophecy.
The text was originally written in Syriac, in Northern Syria.
Pseudo-Methodius begins with a history of the world, starting with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, through to the Muslim conquests, and into the end-times. One notable feature of the work is the presence of sexuality with regards to Christian behavior in the end days—specifically discussing swinging, homosexuality, and cross-dressing as indicators of a sinful society. It is only then that the text says the "sons of Ishmael", that is Muslims, will emerge from the desert of Ethribus to inflict God's punishment upon the Christians who "slipped into depravity". Pseudo-Methodius also recounts the events that took place at the hands of Muslims in the previous decades. In invoking figures in other Christian eschatological literature, such as Gog and Magog, Pseudo-Methodius attempts to legitimize his place as a fourth century Church Father. The manuscript also notes the rise of an Emperor-Saviour figure, echoing the fourth century AD prophecy attributed to the legendary Tiburtine Sibyl. This Roman emperor will save the Christian lands from "the sons of Ishmael", place his crown upon the cross "for the sake of the common salvation of all", thereby saving Christendom as a whole. The work is notable for its vivid descriptions and its brutality. Descriptions of drinking the blood of cattle, stabbing pregnant women, and feeding babies to animals permeate throughout the author's work.
Ballard notes, however, that Pseudo-Methodius deviates from previous eschatological literature, such as Revelation, in that Pseudo-Methodius utilizes Roman emperors as agents of change.
Historical context
Rome and Sassanid Persia had been at war with one another for much of the first quarter of the seventh century. With both empires still feeling the effects of such a long series of battles, an Arab threat took advantage of the weakening empires. The Persians faced defeat west of the Euphrates in Qadisiyya in what Griffith calls "the beginning of the demise of both Roman and Persian rule for good". This demise would continue throughout the 630s and 640s, as the Arabs conquered much of the Middle East and the Mediterranean world. In 635, Damascus fell, Jerusalem and Antioch followed in 637, Edessa in 640, Alexandria in 642, and Seleucia/Ctesiphon in 645. Three out of the five patriarchates of Roman Christendom were under Arab Muslim rule. In 674, the Umayyad Caliph Muawiyah launched a land and sea assault on Constantinople. Within three years, he was defeated, and turned his attention on the rest of the surviving Roman Empire, namely the Middle East, Greece, and the Balkans. As Ballard notes, Constantinople was "reduced to a small Christian enclave within an ocean of Islam." The inscriptions on the Dome of the Rock are taken from the Quran and "proclaim the arrival of a powerful empire that was founded on pure monotheist belief." The Latin translation was made by a certain Petrus Monachus in Francia. There was also seemingly a Coptic translation available by the 8th century, known only from a fragment on papyrus. All the available Greek and Syriac manuscripts, however, are late. There are over 100 Greek copies, but most of them post-date 1453. An abridged Armenian translation from the Greek, attributed to Step'anos of Siwnik', is attested in a few late manuscripts; it may derive from a translation of the full text, the existence of which is suggested by various quotation in Armenian works, but no copy survives.
The Greek text of Pseudo-Methodius is traditionally divided into four recensions: G<sup>1</sup>, G<sup>2</sup>, G<sup>3</sup> and G<sup>4</sup>, with G<sup>1</sup> subdivided into G<sup>1a</sup>, G<sup>1b</sup> and G<sup>1c</sup>. The Latin and Slavonic translations are both based on G<sup>1</sup>. The second and third Latin recensions are heavily abridged. Pseudo-Methodius was invoked by Christians throughout the centuries in order to explain the turmoil they faced in their respective time and place. It shaped Western Christendom's view of Islam through the Middle Ages, through various re-adaptions and translations. Furthermore, the Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius allowed the population, regardless of locale, to maintain a "sense of seemingly rightful superiority", despite evidence to the contrary.