In the following pages I have tried to give an account of the most recent discovery in theological literature, the Gospel attributed to St. Peter, in such a form as to familiarise the mind of the non-technical reader with some of the results which are being arrived at by Biblical scholars, and which ought to be as encouraging to our faith as they are stimulating to the understanding. The Gospel of Peter, even in the imperfect form in which it has come down to us, is the breaking of a new seal, the opening of a fresh door, to those who are engaged in the problems presented by Biblical and Patristic criticism. We may expect anything, in the world of Christian letters, after such an astonishing discovery; if we do not realise our expectations, it will certainly be because, either at home or abroad, in labours philological or archaeological, we are wicked and slothful servants.
--from the Preface

J. Rendel Harris (1852-1941) was educated at
Clare College, Cambridge. He taught at Johns Hopkins University, Haverford College, and Leiden University. He was renowned for his acquisition and interpretation of ancient manuscripts.