§16§The Actus Vercellenses, a Latin text preserved in only one manuscript copy, is published widely in translation under the title Acts of Peter. The Acts of Peter is thought to be the title of an ancient work, originally in Greek, which is usually said to have been composed in the second-century in Asia Minor. Matthew C. Baldwin investigates the Actus Vercellenses, especially: the character, extent, and original time of composition of the ancient Acts of Peter; the antiquity of the manuscript copy and the Latin version; and the proximity of the Latin Actus Vercellenses to extant Greek parallels in the Martyrium Petri, the Vita Abercii, and the Oxyrhynchus fragment. Ultimately, the results show that the Actus Vercellenses is probably best understood as evidence for fourth century Christianity in the west. In its current form, this Acts of the Apostle Peter is effectively that of a later, Latin speaking scriptor from the west.
