Apocrypha
Letter of Pontius Pilate
Pilate Cycle
1 chapter · read and listen
Reading note
An apocryphal or pseudepigraphal text — outside the canon of the Western churches, yet widely circulated among ancient Jews and Christians. Published here from a public-domain translation, edited for continuous reading.
Chapters
Dossier
The report Pilate is said to have sent to the emperor about what happened in Judea — written by someone who wanted Rome to know the governor regretted it.
Where this text comes from
Latin and Greek, 4th or 5th century AD. It belongs to the Pilate cycle, a set of texts imagining the official documentation of Jesus's trial.
Why it is not in the Bible
Outside every canon.
What you will find
- Pilate reports the miracles as administrative facts, in the language of a dispatch.
- Blame is placed entirely on the local authorities — the tendency of the whole cycle.
- The text is short and was copied alongside the Gospel of Nicodemus in most manuscripts.
Frequently asked questions
- Did Pilate really write a report about Jesus?
- There is no historical record of any such document. The letters attributed to Pilate are later Christian compositions, from the 4th century onwards.