What role do heavily fragmented texts and hypothetical sources, "shadowy" characters and movements play in reconstructing an overall picture of developments in the theology and religious life of early Christianity? The present volume contains the proceedings of an international colloquium that dealt with these texts and the characters and movements they feature with the intention of contributing to a critical history of their research.

The present volume contains the proceedings of an international colloquium that dealt with heavily fragmented texts and hypothetical sources, and the "shadowy" characters and movements they feature. These two aspects are combined and studied to ascertain how they have been handled in the history of research, to find out what they reveal about the community or the group expressing itself through (or hiding behind) them, and to establish the role these documents and figures or groups should be given in reconstructing an overall picture of developments in the theology and religious life of early Christianity. As can be imagined, such documents and sources have sometimes been taken as an open invitation to come up with all sorts of highly creative exegesis, adventurous reconstructions of texts and movements, and quite daring suggestions about identifying particular groups or presumed literary influences between documents. The essays contribute to the writing of a critical history of researching these types of documents and movements.

Autorentext
is Professor of New Testament Studies in the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at the KU Leuven. Geboren 1967; 2000 Dr. theol.; 2005-07 Professor für Neues Testament an der Radboud Universität Nimwegen, Niederlande; seit 2007 Professor für Exegese und Hermeneutik des Neuen Testaments an der Universität Regensburg; Research Associate an der University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, Südafrika; seit 2018 Leiter des Centre for Advanced Studies "Beyond Canon" an der Universität Regensburg; seit 2019 Adjunct Ordinary Professor an der Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., USA. Geboren 1986; seit 2012 Doctoral Researcher in der Reserach Unit Biblical Studies an der theologischen Fakultät der KU Leuven (Prof. Dr. Joseph Verheyden); Free Research Associate an der KU Leuven; seit 2018 Programmplanerin Theologie bei der Verlagsgruppe Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

Inhalt
Joseph Verheyden: Introduction - Christopher Tuckett: The Community of Q - Korinna Zamfir: Elusive Opponents in the Pastoral Epistles - Michael Sommer: Die Nikolaiten und die Gegnerfiktion in der Offenbarung des Johannes - eine Annäherung an einige hermeneutische Probleme der Apokalypselektüre - Tobias Nicklas: Fragmente christlicher Apokryphen und die Geschichte des frühen Christentums - Elisabeth Hernitscheck: Im trüben Wasser des "Davidsteichs" - P.Oxy. 840 und die Suche nach seiner Provenienz - Wolfgang Grünstäudl: Enthüllung im Fragment - Notizen zu Überlieferungsgestalt und Figureninventar der Offenbarung des Petrus - Andrew Gregory: The Nazoraeans - Jean-Daniel Dubois: The Basilidians - Johanna Brankaer: Revisiting Those Elusive Sethians - Tobias Nicklas: Jenseits der Kategorien - Elchasai und die Elchasaiten - Carl Johan Berglund: Evaluating Quotations in Ancient Greek Literature: The Case of Heracleon's hypomnmata - Gianfranco Agosti: (Re)constructing a Christian Community through its Poetry