Includes bibliographical references (p. [167]-171) and indexes.

Preliminary Materials / J.D. Beduhn and P. Mirecki -- Chapter One. Placing The Acts Of Archelaus / Jason Beduhn and Paul Mirecki -- Chapter Two. Hesitant And Ignorant: The Portrayal Of Mani In The Acts Of Archelaus / J. Kevin Coyle -- Chapter Three. Mani’s Letter To Marcellus: Fact And Fiction In The Acta Archelai Revisite / Diain Gardner -- Chapter Four. Narrative Options In Manichaean Eschatology / Tudor Andrei Sala -- Chapter Five. A Clash Of Portraits:Contrasts Between Archelaus And Mani In The Acta Archelai / J. Kevin Coyle -- Chapter Six. A War Of Words: Intertextuality And The Struggle Over The Legacy Of Christ In The Acta Archelai / Jason Beduhn -- Chapter Seven. The Light And The Darkness: The Two Natures, Free Will, And The Scriptural Evidence In The Acta Archelai / Kevin Kaatz -- Chapter Eight. “Et Sicut Rex . . .”: Competing Ideas Of Kingship In The Anti-Manichaean Acta Archelai / Timothy Pettipiece -- Chapter Nine. Biblical Antitheses, Adda, And The Acts Of Archelaus / Jason Beduhn -- Chapter Ten. Acta Archelai 63.5–6 And Pgm I. 42–195: A Rooftop Ritual For Acquiring An Aerial Spirit Assistant / Paul Mirecki -- Chapter Eleven. Basilides’ ‘Barbarian Cosmogony’: Its Nature And Function Within The Acta Archelai / Byard Bennett -- Bibliography / J.D. Beduhn and P. Mirecki -- Table Of Biblical References / J.D. Beduhn and P. Mirecki -- General Index / J.D. Beduhn and P. Mirecki -- Index Of Modern Authors / J.D. Beduhn and P. Mirecki.

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Taking as their common subject the key early Christian anti-Manichaean work, the Acts of Archelaus ( Acta Archelai ), the contributors to this volume offer a systematic exploration of what the text has to tell us about inter-religious contact, conflict, and comprehension at a crucial moment in religious history: the encounter between Christianity and Manichaeism along the political and cultural frontier zone of West Asia in the early fourth century CE. The contributions examine the text's structure, apologetic and polemical strategies, and possible sources, and through these analyses challenge received notions of ‘orthodoxy’ and ‘heresy’ in the mutual construction of identity that took place between these two claimants to the Christian heritage.