Osharian The gospel of Mary Magdalen

For more information please refer to the " Directory of the Atlanteans " which is updated every week.

* Note there are three (3) main copies of this gospel.  One copy is in German, another is in Greek, and the third is in Egyptian.

It was copied in 11 languages: Coptic, Hieroglyphic, Hieratic, Demotic, Sahidic, Greek, Germanic, Aramaic, Hebrew, proto-Semitic, and  Babylonian Cuneiform.

The Gospel of Mary is found in the Berlin Gnostic Codex (or Papyrus Berolinensis 8502,as this ancient collection of Gnostic texts is labeled for archival reasons). This very important and well-preserved codex was apparently discovered in the late-nineteenth century somewhere near Akhmim in upper Egypt. It was purchased in 1896 by a German scholar, Dr. Carl Reinhardt, in Cairo and then taken to Berlin.

*** A copy of the fragments can be downloaded at: The Nag Hammadi library, (  khazarzar.skeptik.net/books/nhl.pdf  )***

The Gospel of Mary is an apocryphal book discovered in 1896 in a 5th-century papyrus codex. The codex Papyrus Berolinensis 8502 was purchased in Cairo by German scholar Karl Reinhardt.

  Papyrus Berolinensis 8502,also known as the Akhmim Codex, also contains the Apocryphon of John,the Sophia of Jesus Christ,and a summary of the Act of Peter. All four works contained in the manuscript are written in Sahidic in the Subakhmimic dialect. [2] Two other fragments of the Gospel of Mary have been discovered since, both written in Greek (Papyrus Oxyrhynchus L 3525 and Papyrus Rylands 463). P.Oxy. L 3525 "... was in fact found by Grenfell and Hunt some time between 1897 and 1906, but only published in 1983," [3] by PJ Parsons. [4]

The two fragments were published in 1938 and 1983 respectively, and the Coptic translation was published in 1955 by Walter Till. [5]

Most scholars agree that the original gospel was written in Greek sometime during the 2nd century. [6] However, Hollis Professor of Divinity Karen King at Harvard Divinity School suggests that it was written during the time of Christ.

The most complete text of the Gospel of Mary is contained in Berolinensis 8502,but even so, it is missing six manuscript pages at the beginning of the document and four manuscript pages in the middle. [14] As such, the narrative begins in the middle of a scene, leaving the setting and circumstances unclear. King believes, however, that references to the death of the Savior and the commissioning scene later in the narrative indicate the setting in the first section of the text is a post resurrection appearance of the Savior. [15] As the narrative opens, the Savior is engaged in dialogue with his disciples, answering their questions on the nature of matter and the nature of sin. At the end of the discussion, the Savior departs leaving the disciples distraught and anxious. According to the story, Mary speaks up with words of comfort and encouragement. Then Peter asks Mary to share with them any special teaching she received from the Savior, “Peter said to Mary, ‘Sister, we know that the Savior loved you more than the rest of the women. Tell us the words of the Savior which you remember—which you know (but) we do not, nor have we heard them.’” [11] Mary responds to Peter’s request by recounting a conversation she had with the Savior about visions.

   (Mary) said, "I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to him, ‘Lord, I saw you today in a vision.’" He answered and said to me: “Blessed are you, that you did not waver at the sight of me. For where the mind is, there is the treasure." I said to him, "So now, Lord, does a person who sees a vision see it <through> the soul <or> through the spirit?" [10]

In the conversation, the Savior teaches that the inner self is composed of soul, spirit/mind, and a third mind that is between the two which sees the vision. Then the text breaks off and the next four pages are missing. When the narrative resumes, Mary is no longer recalling her discussion with the Savior. She is instead recounting the revelation given to her in her vision. The revelation describes an ascent of a soul, which as it passes on its way to its final rest, engages in dialogue with four powers that try to stop it.

The Berlin Codex

The book Reinhardt bought in Cairo in 1896 turned out to be a fifth-century papyrus codex. Papyrus was the most common writing material of the day, but codices, the precursor of our book form, had come into use only a couple of centuries earlier, primarily among Christians. The codex was made by cutting papyrus rolls into sheets, which then were stacked in a single pile, usually made up of at least 38 sheets. Folding the pile in half and sewing the sheets together produced a book of about 152 pages, which was finally placed inside a leather cover. The Gospel of Mary is a short work, taking up only the first 18% pages of a codex that itself is relatively small in size, having leaves that measure on average only about 12.7 cm long and 10.5 cm wide.

Papyrus Rylands 463 (PRyl)

This Greek fragment of the Gospel of Mary was acquired by the Rylands Library in Manchester, England, in 1917, and published in 1938 by C. H. Roberts. Like POxy 3525, it was found at Oxyrhynchus in northern Egypt, and dates to the early third century CE. It is a fragment from a codex—it has writing on both sides of the papyrus leaf—and exhibits a very clear literary script. It measures 8.7 cm wide by 10 cm long, although most fibers measure only 8.5. cm. The front of the fragment contains the conclusion of Mary's revelation and the beginning of the disciples' dispute over her teaching. After a short gap, the dispute continues on the other side of the fragment.

The Egyptian copis were written in Hieroglyph, Hieratic, and Demotic.
However the Egyptian Christians copied it in Copts ( Coptic ) which was only used by them.
"… Will m[a]tter then be utterly destroyed or not?" The Savior replied, "Every nature, every modeled form, every creature, exists in and with each other. They will dissolve again into their own proper root. For the nature of matter is dissolved into what belongs to its nature. Anyone with two ears able to hear should listen!" Then Peter said to him, "You have been explaining every topic to us; tell us one other thing. What is the sin of the world?" The Savior replied, "There is no such thing as sin; rather you yourselves are what produces sin when you act in accordance with the nature of adultery, which is called 'sin.' For this reason, the Good came among you, pursuing (the good) which belongs to every nature. It will set it within its root." Then he continued. He said, "This is why you get sick and die: because [you love what deceives you. Anyone who thinks should consider (these matters)! "Matter gave birth to a passion which has no Image because it derives from what is contrary to nature. A disturbing confusion then occurred in the whole body. That is why I told you, 'Become content at heart, while also remaining discontent and disobedient; indeed become contented and agreeable (only) in the presence of that other Image of nature.' Anyone with two ears capable of hearing should listen!" When the Blessed One had said these things, he greeted them all. "Peace be with you!" he said. "Acquire my peace within yourselves! "Be on your guard so that no one deceives you by saying, 'Look over here!' or 'Look over there!' For the child of true Humanity exists within you. Follow it! Those who search for it will find it. "Go then, preach the good news about the Realm. Do not lay down any rule beyond what I determined for you, nor promulgate law like the lawgiver, or else you might be dominated by it." After he had said these things, he departed from them. But they were distressed and wept greatly. "How are we going to go out to the rest of the world to announce the good news about the Realm of the child of true Humanity?" they said. "If they did not spare him, how will they spare us?" Then Mary stood up. She greeted them all, addressing her brothers and sisters, "Do not weep and be distressed nor let your hearts be irresolute. For his grace will be with you all and will shelter you. Rather we should praise his greatness, for he has prepared us and made us true Human beings." When Mary had said these things, she turned their heart [to]ward the Good, and they began to debate about the words of the Savior. Peter said to Mary, "Sister, we know that the Savior loved you more than all other women. Tell us the words of the Savior that you remember, the things which you know that we don't because we haven't heard them." Mary responded, "I will teach you about what is hidden from you." And she began to speak these words to them. She said, "I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to him, 'Lord, I saw you today in a vision.' He answered me, 'How wonderful you are for not wavering at seeing me! For where the mind is, there is the treasure.' I said to him, 'So now, Lord, does a person who sees a vision see it <with> the soul <or> with the spirit?' The Savior answered, 'A person does not see with the soul or with the spirit. 'Rather the mind, which exists between these two, sees the vision an[d] that is what … '

(Pages 11-14 are missing.)

" '… it.' "And Desire said, 'I did not see you go down, yet now I see you go up. So why do you lie since you belong to me?' "The soul answered, 'I saw you. You did not see me nor did you know me. You (mis)took the garment (I wore) for my (true) self. And you did not recognize me.' "After it had said these things, it left rejoicing greatly. "Again, it came to the third Power, which is called 'Ignorance.' It examined the soul closely, saying, 'Where are you going?You are bound by wickedness. Indeed you are bound! Do not judge!' "And the soul said, 'Why do you judge me, since I have not passed judgement?I have been bound, but I have not bound (anything). They did not recognize me, but I have recognized that the universe is to be dissolved, both the things of earth and those of heaven.' "When the soul had brought the third Power to naught, it went upward and saw the fourth Power. It had seven forms. The first form is darkness; the second is desire; the third is ignorance; the fourth is zeal for death; the fifth is the realm of the flesh; the sixth is the foolish wisdom of the flesh; the seventh is the wisdom of the wrathful person. These are the seven Powers of Wrath. "They interrogated the soul, 'Where are you coming from, human-killer,and where are you going, space-conqueror?' "The soul replied, saying, 'What binds me has been slain, and what surrounds me has been destroyed, and my desire has been brought to an end, and ignorance has died. In a world, I was set loose from a world and in a type, from a type which is above, and (from) the chain of forgetfulness which exists in time. From this hour on, for the time of the due season of the aeon, I will receive rest in silence.' " After Mary had said these things, she was silent, since it was up to this point that the Savior had spoken to her. Andrew responded, addressing the brothers and sisters, "Say what you will about the things she has said, but I do not believe that the Savior said these things, for indeed these teachings are strange ideas." Peter responded, bringing up similar concerns. He questioned them about the Savior: "Did he, then, speak with a woman in private without our knowing about it?Are we to turn around and listen to her?Did he choose her over us?" Then Mary wept and said to Peter, "My brother Peter, what are you imagining?Do you think that I have thought up these things by myself in my heart or that I am telling lies about the Savior?" Levi answered, speaking to Peter, "Peter, you have always been a wrathful person. Now I see you contending against the woman like the Adversaries. For if the Savior made her worthy, who are you then for your part to reject her?Assuredly the Savior's knowledge of her is completely reliable. That is why he loved her more than us. "Rather we should be ashamed. We should clothe ourselves with the perfect Human, acquire it for ourselves as he commanded us, and announce the good news, not laying down any other rule or law that differs from what the Savior said." After he had said these things, they started going out to teach and to preach.