Forgotten by history until its rediscovery in the late nineteenth century, the Gospel of Mary (GM) exists now only in three incomplete manuscripts. Two manuscripts from the early third century CE are in Greek and are very fragmentary (P. Rylands 463 and P. Oxyrhynchus 3525 are their archaeological classifications). Although Greek is likely the original language of the GM, the third, longer and later manuscript, is a translation into Coptic (a form of Egyptian used during the Roman period) and is dated from the early fifth century CE (P. Berolinensis 8502, 1 is its archaeological classification). Even though the Coptic material overlaps the material in the Greek fragments, notable theological differences concerning Mary and her teaching are detectable at points. Where the Greek texts describe a debate over what Mary says, the Coptic text describes a debate over her right to speak authoritatively in the first place. Like the Greek fragments, the Coptic manuscript is incomplete, with six pages missing from the beginning and four from the middle. So despite these invaluable finds, scholars still lack nearly half of the original text. They surmise that its first readers may have possibly lived in Syria or Egypt in the late first or early second century, but they are uncertain about who wrote the narrative dialogue.

Among the roughly two dozen known gospels written by early Christians, only the Gospel of Mary is written in the name of a woman, Mary Magdalene. Some of those gospels depict encounters between Jesus and his disciples after his resurrection and what we have of the GM is largely a narrative set-piece of such an encounter. Like many of those gospel scenes, the dialogue between Jesus and his followers here includes private teachings, predictions of future persecution, and a commission to preach the gospel. Appearing after his resurrection, Jesus answers a series of questions from his followers about the end of the world and the nature of sin; he departs leaving them a blessing and commissions them to preach the gospel. His disciples are immediately distressed over the prospect of being killed like Jesus. Mary, however, stands and reminds them of the grace that abides in their hearts. Acknowledging Mary’s privileged relationship to Jesus, Peter asks her to share anything Jesus taught her privately. Mary then shares a vision of Jesus in which he explains the nature of the soul and its rise away from the domination of the Powers over the material order. Mary’s vision provokes strong objections from Andrew, who finds the teachings “strange,” and Peter, who doubts that Jesus found a woman more “worthy” than the men of such new teachings, accuses her of lying. Seeing Mary visibly upset by this hostility, Levi defends her, rebuking Peter for his short-fused temper that has now led him to act like the Adversaries and attack Mary. Rather than argue out of shameful jealousy he says, they all should go out and preach the gospel that the Savior taught.

The Gospel of Mary is perhaps most significant to contemporary readers because it provides an alternative account of how early Christians understood theological and spiritual authority. During the period when the text was likely written, the early followers of Jesus were marked by theological diversity and competition for spiritual preeminence. By the second century what became “apostolic” orthodoxy certainly had its spokesmen, who labeled and denounced “gnostic” and other heresies, although they did not yet have the power to enforce uniform belief and practice. Along with other extra-canonical texts, the GM is sometimes considered a “gnostic” gospel. Recently, however, scholars have pointed out that “Gnosticism” is less a unified body of doctrines or texts, than a theological construct categorically imposed on a diverse set of early Christian literature. Setting aside that theological designation for historical purposes, the GM now may be viewed as part of the on-going interpretation of Jesus’ teachings conducted by a wide range of early Christian communities who held competing ideas of proper spiritual authority.

The controversy between Mary and Peter in the Gospel of Mary reflects early Christian debates over the nature of that authority. Like some influential early Christian writers, Peter challenges the validity of secret teachings revealed in private, and even suggests that Mary made them up. Spiritual character is the key point of the debate here. Peter questions Mary’s morality and Levi in turn critiques Peter’s by denouncing Peter’s passion for anger and aggressive accusations. Mary’s superior character is upheld both by Levi and by the author’s consistent representation of her unwavering strength and wisdom, shown in her words to the distraught disciples and in her unwavering faith and fearless reception of Jesus and his teachings in her vision. Like other disciples, Mary possesses spiritual authority because she was a follower of the earthly Jesus, a witness to the resurrection, and an inspired prophet--all widely accepted marks of legitimacy in early Christianity. Unlike other disciples, however, Mary also possessed a privileged and intimate relationship with the Savior, which Levi acknowledges as the main source of her authority and which the GM emphasizes as the deciding factor against all challengers.

Peter, however, also questions the right of women to teach when he questions Mary, registering another important debate over the nature of spiritual authority in early Christianity. Again echoing one side of the debate, Peter explicitly doubts that women may legitimately exercise authority in the Christian community (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:33-35; 1 Timothy 2:11-14). Unlike other early Christian texts, however, including some so-called gnostic texts, the GM does not link a person’s authentic, spiritual identity to a male or female body. Social distinctions based on a person’s gender belong to the material order of the body and so cannot be the basis of spiritual authority according to the GM. In fact, the GM implies through the words of Levi, which repeat the words of Jesus himself, that Peter’s opposition to the authority of women amounts to establishing a rule within the community other than what the Savior said -- a clear sign of unrepentant attachment to the perverse ways of the material world. Ultimately, the Gospel of Mary champions Mary as the representative of an alternative, but authentic, understanding of Christian authority. It claims that a clearly demonstrated spiritual character, rather the physical criteria of (male) apostolic witness, is the best sign of a legitimate Christian prophet and teacher.

by Eric Thurman, PhD Candidate, Drew University, Madison, NJ