The Gospel of Mary Magdalene

This little known yet incredible text, is thought to have been written in the second century and was originally composed in Greek. A fifth century Coptic translation of it came to light when it was purchased in Cairo by a man called Carl Reinhardt and taken to Berlin in 1896; however, it wasn't until 1955 that it was finally published. It was part of what became known as the Akhmim codex, and this version of it is the most complete.

Then in the early 20th century, during archaeological excavations at Oxyrhynchus in Northern Egypt, two other small fragments of it, written in Greek and dated to the third century, were uncovered. Yet between both versions, they still provide fewer than eight pages of the original ancient text – meaning that over half of it has been lost to the passage of time.

The first six pages of the text are missing, and so we enter into the midst of a discussion between the resurrected Jesus and his disciples. The gospel also recounts a conversation between Mary and the disciples, from which a number of pages are also missing. However, although the text is incomplete, it still contains many powerful teachings.

More Christian Gnostic texts