The Gospel of Mary! We do not know which ‘Mary’ this refers to, maybe the mother of Jesus or Mary Magdalene, but many give Mary Magdalene the credit. The Gospel of Mary is considered ‘apocryphal’ that is, it is not accepted by the established Roman Catholic Church. It consists of two small manuscripts from a much larger missing document, one in Greek from the third century, the other in a Coptic translation from the fourth. We have some sayings reputed to be from Jesus, and teaching about the nature of sin, evil and wrongdoing which relates to our physicality.
Though we call it a ‘book’, it is not a concise body of written work. In the text, Mary comforts the frightened apostles and Peter asks her to reveal what Jesus had taught her. When she does so, she channels visions and teachings, including the journey that the soul makes after physical death. Peter rejects Mary’s visions. The Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Athens, Egyptians and Pistis Sophia - also apocryphal books - highlight these early unaccepted teachings.
The Gospel of Philip, like the Gospel of Mary, is Gnostic and with many missing parts. It was probably written by one or several of the disciples and was found amongst the Nag Hammadi discoveries. It is opaque but endorses women in positions of authority in early Christianity and describes Mary Magdalene as having a very close relationship with Jesus.
This text shows that visions were commonplace in the very earliest church and describes issues to do with women teaching mysteries and spirituality. Pistis Sophia is an interesting book of early spiritual teaching.
Free pdf of The Gospel of Mary: https://www.parsontom.com/books/The%20Gospel%20of%20Mary.pdf
Article by Wendy Stokes https://wendystokes.co.uk
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