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  • Published: 2 July 2021
  • ISBN: 9780241340554
  • Imprint: Penguin Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 480
  • RRP: $22.99

The Apocryphal Gospels




A new translation of the oldest non-canonical Christian gospels, including the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary and the Gospel of Judas

In the early years of Christianity, several groups produced 'hidden' or 'apocryphal' gospels, alternative versions of the story of Christ. Sometimes these texts complemented the four canonical gospels, sometimes they subverted them and often they were completely different. We hear the young Jesus making live birds from clay, words of wisdom collected by his disciples, details of his trial, gnostic cosmologies, strange angels and the Harrowing of Hell. Often kept secret by their readers and frequently attacked by their detractors, these gospels shine a fascinating light on the early Christian Church and its surprising manifestations.

  • Published: 2 July 2021
  • ISBN: 9780241340554
  • Imprint: Penguin Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 480
  • RRP: $22.99

Praise for The Apocryphal Gospels

A deeply impressive scholarly achievement, with first-class translations of many notoriously complex texts

Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury

This hugely useful volume is the best sort of scholarship . . . We are deeply in his debt

Diarmaid McCulloch, author of A History of Christianity

This will become the standard version both for the general reader and for scholars

John Barton, author of A History of the Bible