The Apocalypse of Paul and the vision of heavenly ascent

Record summary

The Apocalypse of Paul narrates an otherworldly journey attributed pseudonymously to Paul, including encounters with angels, judgment scenes, and differentiated heavenly or infernal destinations. Coptic and other eastern witnesses contributed to scholarship on its development and circulation, while later versions influenced medieval visionary literature. It is a useful comparison case for pseudonymous authority, visionary geography, and adaptation across languages. The attribution to Paul is literary, not historical, and scholars continue to debate the work’s original language, date, redaction layers, and relation to other apocalypses.