Apocrypha
Declaration of Joseph of Arimathea
Declaration
3 chapters · 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
Joseph of Arimathea's account of the three days: what happened to the body, to the guards, and to the thief who died beside him.
Where this text comes from
Greek, medieval, from the Nicodemus cycle. It is among the latest pieces attached to the trial and burial.
Why it is not in the Bible
Outside every canon.
What you will find
- It names the two thieves and tells each of their stories before the cross.
- Joseph is imprisoned and freed by an apparition, expanding what the Gospel of Nicodemus says.
- It is the literary seed from which, much later, the Grail legends attached to Joseph grow.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this connected to the Holy Grail legends?
- Indirectly. Joseph of Arimathea becomes a central figure of the Grail cycle in medieval literature, and apocryphal narratives like this one are the starting point of that tradition.