The Gospel of Mary

The four gospels of the new testament represent only a small sample of the many gospels written in the first century and beyond. During the first three centuries the church struggled with defining which teachings would ultimately be embraced and which would be excluded. By the fouth century, the orthodox church had defined which teachings were acceptable doctrine, and many teachers outside of the mainstream had been eliminated or exiled, and their sacred texts destroyed.

In particular, Gnosticism had been labeled heresy, and many early texts and gospels disappeared with little or no trace, until the discovery in 1945 of a library of many of these texts which had been buried in an earthen jar since approximately 390 AD, by a group of monks in a monastery in upper Egypt. This library is known as the Nag Hammadi.

Its generally accepted that most of these texts date from after the first century in that the works seem to be derivative in historical source references from the synoptic gospels.

The gospel of Mary was not discovered among the Nag Hammadi, but many scholars believe it too likely dates from a period of time later than the first century, and perhaps reveals more about the diversity in the early church, and the debates about Mary Magdalene's role in the early leadership of the church rather than a gospel record penned in the first person by Mary herself.

Unfortunately, no complete copy of the entire text exists, but three fragments containing portions of the Gospel of Mary have been discovered. The first fragment dating from the 3rd century was published in 1938, a second and more complete fragment from the fifth century was acquired in 1896 in Cairo and was first published in 1955, and another third century fragment was published in 1983.

The Gospel of Mary points to the authority of her leadership in the early church, and the challenges she faced with the patriarchal leadership of her time. As such a great many mysteries about her, and her life have currently become the focal point of much passionate speculation, study, and investigation.