Apocrypha
Giving Up 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
Pilate's trial in Rome: summoned to account for himself, he is condemned to death — and a voice from heaven absolves him at the last moment.
Where this text comes from
Greek, 5th or 6th century AD. Known as the Paradosis Pilati.
Why it is not in the Bible
Outside every canon.
What you will find
- The interrogation before the emperor, in which Pilate blames the accusers.
- The beheading and the voice declaring that all generations will call him blessed.
- This text is the root of the Ethiopian and Coptic tradition that venerates Pilate as a saint.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Pilate a saint in any church?
- The Ethiopian Orthodox Church venerates him, and the Coptic tradition venerates his wife. That devotion rests on texts from this cycle, not on historical sources.