The Gospels · early 2nd century CE
The Gospel of Mary
The Gospel of Mary is an early Christian text in which Mary Magdalene comforts the frightened disciples after the resurrection and teaches them what the Savior told her privately — until Peter and Andrew challenge her right to speak. It survives incomplete in the fifth-century Berlin Codex and two Greek fragments; ten of its nineteen pages are lost. It is the only surviving gospel attributed to a woman.
In 1896, the German scholar Carl Reinhardt purchased a small papyrus book in Cairo. That codex — Berlin Gnostic Codex 8502 — opened with a text no one had seen in perhaps fifteen centuries: the Gospel of Mary. Two Greek fragments published later (P.Oxy. 3525 and P.Rylands 463, both third century) proved the work was circulating in Egypt within a century or so of its composition, which scholars generally place in the early second century.
The surviving text begins mid-conversation: the risen Savior answers questions about matter and sin, commissions the disciples, and departs. They weep, afraid to preach a message that got him killed. It is Mary who stands up, turns their hearts, and — at Peter's request — recounts a private vision of the soul's ascent past hostile powers. The reaction is the drama of the book: Andrew doubts her, Peter bristles that the Savior spoke to a woman privately, and Levi defends her: the Savior 'loved her more than us.'
Karen King, whose study of this gospel is the standard work, argues it preserves an early debate about women's authority and about what makes teaching authentic. Whatever position you take, the text speaks directly to questions readers still ask — which is why 'Gospel of Mary' remains the most requested missing text in every apocrypha app's reviews.
The translation below is Mark M. Mattison's, in the public domain. The gaps are real and shown as gaps: pages 1–6 and 11–14 of the codex have never been found. What Mary saw between those pages is simply lost.
BG 7–8An Eternal Perspective
⟦ Pages 1 through 6 are missing. ⟧
7 "Then will [matter] be [destroyed], or not?"
The Savior said, "Every nature, every form, every creature exists in and with each other, but they'll dissolve again into their own roots, because the nature of matter dissolves into its nature alone. Anyone who has ears to hear should hear!"
Peter said to him, "Since you've explained everything to us, tell us one more thing. What's the sin of the world?"
The Savior said, "Sin doesn't exist, but you're the ones who make sin when you act in accordance with the nature of adultery, which is called 'sin.' That's why the Good came among you, up to the things of every nature in order to restore it within its root."
Then he continued and said, "That's why you get sick and die, because [you love 8 what tricks you. Anyone who] can understand should understand!
"Matter [gave birth to] a passion that has no image because it comes from what's contrary to nature. Then confusion arises in the whole body. That's why I told you to be content at heart. If you're discontented, find contentment in the presence of the various images of nature. Anyone who has ears to hear should hear!"
BG 8–9The Gospel
When the Blessed One said these things, he greeted them all and said, "Peace be with you! Acquire my peace. Be careful not to let anyone mislead you by saying, 'Look over here!' or 'Look over there!' Because the Son of Humanity exists within you. Follow him! Those who seek him will find him.
"Go then and preach the gospel about the kingdom. Don't 9 lay down any rules beyond what I've given you, nor make a law like the lawgiver, lest you be bound by it." When he said these things, he left.
But they grieved and wept bitterly. They said, "How can we go up to the Gentiles to preach the gospel about the kingdom of the Son of Humanity? If they didn't spare him, why would they spare us?"
BG 9–10Mary and Jesus
Then Mary arose and greeted them all. She said to her brothers (and sisters), "Don't weep and grieve or let your hearts be divided, because his grace will be with you all and will protect you. Rather we should praise his greatness because he's prepared us and made us Humans."
When Mary said these things, she turned their hearts [toward] the Good and they [started] to debate the words of [the Savior].
10 Peter said to Mary, "Sister, we know 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, and which we haven't heard."
In response Mary said, "I'll tell you what's hidden from you." So she started to tell them these words: "I," she said, "I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to him, 'Lord, I saw you in a vision today.'
"In response he said to me, 'You're blessed because you didn't waver at the sight of me. For where the mind is, there is the treasure.'
"I said to him, 'Lord, now does the one who sees the vision see it /in\ the soul /or\ in the spirit?'
"In response the Savior said, 'They don't see in the soul or in the spirit, but the mind which [exists] between the two is [what] sees the vision [and] it [that …]
BG 15–17Overcoming the Powers
⟦ Pages 11 through 14 are missing. ⟧
15 "And Desire said, 'I didn't see you going down, but now I see you're going up. So why are you lying, since you belong to me?'
"In response the soul said, 'I saw you, but you didn't see me or know me. I was to you just a garment, and you didn't recognize me.' When it said these things, it left, rejoicing greatly.
"Again, it came to the third power, which is called 'Ignorance.' [It] interrogated the soul and [said], 'Where are you going? In wickedness you're bound. Since you're bound, don't judge!'
"[And] the soul said, 'Why do you judge me, since I haven't judged? I was bound, even though I haven't bound. They didn't recognize me, but I've recognized that everything will dissolve – both the things of the [earth] 16 and the things of [heaven].'
"When the soul had overcome the third power, it went up and saw the fourth power, which took seven forms:
The first form is Darkness; The second, Desire; The third, Ignorance; The fourth, Zeal for Death; The fifth, the Kingdom of the Flesh; The sixth, the Foolish 'Wisdom' of Flesh; The seventh, the 'Wisdom' of Anger.
"These are the seven powers of Wrath.
"They ask the soul, 'Where do you come from, you murderer, and where are you going, conqueror of space?'
"In response the soul said, 'What binds me has been killed, what surrounds me has been overcome, my desire is gone, and ignorance has died. In a [world] I was released 17 from a world, [and] in a type from a type which is above, and from the chain of forgetfulness which exists only for a time. From now on I'll receive the rest of the time of the season of the age in silence.'"
When Mary said these things, she fell silent because the Savior had spoken with her up to this point.
BG 17–19Conflict over Authority
In response Andrew said to the brothers (and sisters), 'Say what you will about what she's said, I myself don't believe that the Savior said these things, because these teachings seem like different ideas."
In response Peter spoke out with the same concerns. He asked them concerning the Savior: "He didn't speak with a woman without our knowledge and not publicly with us, did he? Will we turn around and all listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?"
18 Then Mary wept and said to Peter, "My brother Peter, what are you thinking? Do you really think that I thought this up by myself in my heart, or that I'm lying about the Savior?"
In response Levi said to Peter, "Peter, you've always been angry. Now I see you debating with this woman like the adversaries. But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you then to reject her? Surely the Savior knows her very well. That's why he loved her more than us.
"Rather we should be ashamed, clothe ourselves with perfect Humanity, acquire it for ourselves as he instructed us, and preach the gospel, not laying down any other rule or other law beyond what the Savior said."
When 19 [Levi said these things], they started to go out to teach and to preach.
The Gospel According to Mary
Translation by Mark M. Mattison, released into the public domain. Source manuscript: Berlin Codex (BG 8502,1); Greek fragments P.Oxy. 3525, P.Ryl. 463. Gaps and brackets reproduce the state of the manuscript — nothing has been smoothed over or invented. Read about our standards on the sources & standards page.
Common questions
Who wrote the Gospel of Mary?
The author is unknown. Like most ancient gospels it is anonymous; the attribution honors Mary Magdalene as the text's central authority, not its writer. Scholars date its composition to the early second century CE.
Is the Gospel of Mary about Mary Magdalene?
Yes — the Mary of the text is best identified as Mary Magdalene, who appears in all four canonical gospels as a witness of the crucifixion and resurrection. In this gospel she is the disciple who understood the Savior best and teaches the others.
How much of the Gospel of Mary is missing?
More than half. The Berlin Codex is missing pages 1–6 (the opening) and pages 11–14 (the middle of Mary's vision) — ten of nineteen pages. No complete copy has ever been found. This page marks those gaps exactly where they fall.
Does the Gospel of Mary say Jesus and Mary were married?
No. The Gospel of Mary says nothing about a marriage. It says the Savior loved Mary more than the other disciples and spoke with her privately. The marriage idea comes from modern fiction, not from this text or any ancient source.
Where can I read the Gospel of Mary?
Right here — the complete surviving text, in Mark M. Mattison's public domain translation from the Coptic of Berlin Codex BG 8502, is on this page, free, with the manuscript's gaps honestly marked.