Letter of Peter to Philip

In practice it is more of an apocalypse, revealing secrets from Christ in the form of a dialogue recorded in a letter.

Philip goes to Peter, and the group of apostles gather on the mountain called Olivet, pray to God, and ask for strength as they fear being killed.

The messengers ask Jesus about the deficiency of the realms and their fullness (pleroma), their detention in the dwelling place, why they face opposition from the powers of this world, and how they can leave and gain the "authority of boldness".

Jesus responds and explains that the deficiency of the aeons occurred when the disobedience and foolishness of the mother led to the establishment of eternal realms.

Peter prays to Jesus to give them a spirit of understanding and the power to perform great deeds.

[2] While it is speculative, the concern with suffering the letter contains – there is a prayer for strength and discussion of how the evil archons rule the world – suggests that either the author, the intended readers, or both may have been directly familiar with persecution.

The first one rediscovered in the modern era is the second tractate in Codex VIII of the Nag Hammadi library.

The Nag Hammadi library was discovered in 1945, but due to a variety of reasons, it was not until 1976 that a reproduction of Codex VIII was published and available to the public.

[2][9] The second copy is found in Codex Tchacos, which was said to be discovered in 1978 near Maghagha in the Minya Governorate of Egypt.

The codex sat unanalyzed by scholars for two decades, though, in the hands of an Egyptian antiquities dealer.

It also narrates a conversation between Jesus and the apostles, a form also called a "dialogue gospel" or eratopokriseis.

[12] Henriette Havelaar argues that the Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter, another Nag Hammadi work, is the closest text to the letter, despite the difference in genre.

[2] The work considers Peter the primary authority on doctrine, a stance common in proto-orthodox Christianity that apparently influenced some groups of Gnostics but not others.

[12] The letter does stand in contrast to some other Gnostic works which portray Peter less positively, such as the Gospel of Judas.

[15][16] While the reference to Peter as author naturally suggests a Petrine-tradition document,[2] Michael Kaler argues an alternative stance: that the work is more Pauline and that it draws on the account of the apostle Paul's revelation in Acts 9.

The work is somewhat vague on the point, but could be read as having a more universalistic bent, with the apostles preaching to crowds concerning salvation.

[21] Pamela Reaves argues that there are subtle references to inter-Christian discord addressed by the letter, similar to the overt denunciation of other Christians in the Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter.

While the work seeks to mediate differences and emphasizes the unity of the apostolic collective, it could also be seen as attempting to "correct" invalid theology.