The Appendices to the Gospel according to Mark. 355 



Syriac New Testament. Supported by the authority and the usage 

 of the great church of Rome, the Longer Conclusion early gained 

 acceptance as an authentic portion of the Gospels throughout the 

 region dominated by it. 



The Longer Conclusion is probably an excerpt from an apocryphal 

 Gospel, selected to complete the mutilated Second Gospel. 



For the origin of the Shorter Conclusion we must look to Egypt, 

 since the manuscripts which contain it as well as the form of text 

 with which it is associated both point to that country as its source. 

 It was composed as a conclusion to the Gospel, probably by some 

 scholar of Alexandria, before the close of the second century. Its 

 adoption in the territory dominated by the church of Alexandria 

 required a longer time than the adoption of the Longer Conclusion 

 in the territory dominated by Rome, since in Egypt, the home of the 

 purer texts, the tradition of the incomplete form of the Gospel per- 

 sisted as late as the fourth century, as SB witness. 



In its transmission from Alexandria the Shorter Ending gained a 

 place in manuscripts of the Sahidic, Bohairic, and Ethiopic versions, 

 and also in the Old Latin Version of Roman North Africa, apparently 

 as early as the time of Cyprian (250 A.D.). 



Even after the introduction of the Longer Ending into Egypt the 

 Shorter persisted, struggling with it for centuries, as is proved by the 

 manuscripts containing both endings, until finally the authority of 

 the church at Rome, as well as its own superior intrinsic excellence, 

 established the Longer as the autlioritative ending of the Gospel 

 according to Mark. 



