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Revealing the Hidden: Apocryphal Texts and the Shaping of Religious...
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Revealing the Hidden: Apocryphal Texts and the Shaping of Religious Thought

A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444). This special issue belongs to the section "Religions and Humanities/Philosophies".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 1937

Editor

Prof. Dr. Dorota Rojszczak-Robińska

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of History of the Polish Language, Institute of Polish Studies, Faculty of Polish and Classical Philology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland
Interests: apocryphal texts; old Polish apocrypha of the New Testament

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Apocrypha are not just books that did not form part of the canon of Holy Scripture. In a much broader sense, they are all texts inspired by the Bible, i.e., theological discourses, some historiographies and hagiographies, some sermons, and some folk tales. Such texts serve as a testament to the reception of biblical history and have played a significant role in shaping the religious imagination over the centuries. The alternative narratives and interpretations that filled the gaps in the canonical texts satisfied the curiosity of audiences in different eras. Apocryphal texts have inspired spirituality, art, and literature. They have influenced the development of folk culture, while also drawing from it. Their presence in religious culture testifies to the need to find the right medium of communication for people's curiosity and desire to supplement biblical stories and make use of them.

Once referred to as religious romance or Erbaungsliteratur, today it is sometimes called “fan fiction”. This Special Issue aims to explore the relationships between apocrypha (in the broad sense) and literature, language, culture, liturgy, spirituality, religion, and folklore, both in history and in the present. We aim to examine the role of apocrypha in shaping the spirituality of societies and their use in Church teaching. We also aim to examine the vernacularisation of religious texts, translations of apocrypha into national languages and vice versa, and the use of apocrypha in the creation of religious literature in past eras. Contributions from multiple disciplinary perspectives are encouraged.

In this Special Issue, we are pleased to invite original research articles and reviews in this field. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Apocrypha concerning religion and/or folklore;
  • The role of apocrypha in the development of literature and language;
  • Apocrypha and the formation of spirituality;
  • Apocryphalness as a cultural feature;
  • Translation of apocrypha as a research problem;
  • Apocrypha and digital humanities.

We hope that this Special Issue will stimulate new multidisciplinary research based on apocrypha.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor, or to the Assistant Editor of Religions. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Please send it to the Guest Editor, or to Dr. Ana Vujković Šakanović (vujkovic.sakanovic@mdpi.com), Assistant Editor of Religions.

Prof. Dr. Dorota Rojszczak-Robińska
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • apocrypha and pseudepigrapha
  • parabiblical tradition
  • biblical exegesis
  • devotional literature and culture

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 433 KB  
Article
Medieval and Post-Medieval Traditions of Salome’s Icy Death
by Zbigniew Izydorczyk
Religions 2026, 17(5), 614; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17050614 - 19 May 2026
Viewed by 506
Abstract
Although the figure of Salome has received much attention from artists and critics alike in the last century and a half, the sources of the legend of her death by ice remain little known. This article traces the origin, development, and transmission of [...] Read more.
Although the figure of Salome has received much attention from artists and critics alike in the last century and a half, the sources of the legend of her death by ice remain little known. This article traces the origin, development, and transmission of the legend from late antiquity through the early modern period, highlighting its rich presence in medieval Eastern and near total neglect in medieval Western Christian traditions. Drawing on Syriac, Greek, Coptic, Arabic, and Slavic sources, it demonstrates that the legend emerged before the sixth century in the Christian East, where it circulated widely in apocryphal, hagiographical, and historiographical texts. Early attestations, such as the Epistle of Herod to Pilate, already contain core narrative motifs, which later Byzantine authors elaborated into a sophisticated typological narrative of divine retributive justice. In Greek and Slavic traditions especially, the legend achieves rhetorical refinement through the image of decapitation “not by iron but by ice,” while Syriac, Coptic, and Arabic retellings amplify the punitive dimension through the accumulation of often extravagant forms of divine punishment. In contrast, the medieval Latin West preserves only faint and fragmentary echoes of the legend, typically reducing it to brief notices of drowning and largely stripping it of its typological force. Instead, an alternative motif—Salome swallowed by the earth—gains prominence in Western textual and visual culture, possibly facilitated by the conflation of Salome with her mother. The article argues that the fully developed Eastern narrative entered Western Europe only in the sixteenth century through printed Latin translations of Byzantine historiography, particularly the works of Symeon Metaphrastes and Nicephorus Callistus Xanthopoulos. This print-mediated transmission enabled the legend’s broader reception in early modern Europe and its eventual transformation into a folkloric and literary motif, culminating in the nineteenth-century Decadent literature and art. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Revealing the Hidden: Apocryphal Texts and the Shaping of Religious Thought)
11 pages, 217 KB  
Article
The Image of Mary in Conversations with Her Son in the Przemyśl Mediation
by Zofia Bryłka-Baranowska
Religions 2026, 17(2), 273; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17020273 - 23 Feb 2026
Viewed by 569
Abstract
This article examines the conversations between Mary and Jesus included in the Przemyśl Meditation—the most extensive Old Polish narrative work recounting the lives of Christ and His Mother. The analysis reveals a complex, dual image of Mary: on the one hand, she [...] Read more.
This article examines the conversations between Mary and Jesus included in the Przemyśl Meditation—the most extensive Old Polish narrative work recounting the lives of Christ and His Mother. The analysis reveals a complex, dual image of Mary: on the one hand, she appears as a humble and helpless woman; on the other, as a powerful intercessor endowed with profound theological awareness. This duality is also reflected in her attitude toward her Son. In some passages, Mary identifies Jesus with the Father, emphasizing the unity of the Trinity, while in others, she clearly contrasts them, seeing in Jesus the suffering Son, obedient to a stern and relentless Father. The article explores the causes of these ambivalences, focusing on the narrative functions of the dialogues, their place within the structure of the work, and relevant extratextual contexts. The findings highlight the richness of medieval Marian thought and the theological tensions that shaped its expression in Polish religious literature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Revealing the Hidden: Apocryphal Texts and the Shaping of Religious Thought)
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