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The Coptic Ps.Gospel of Judas (Iscariot)



Last Updated 7th April 2006. 20:09 GMT

An ancient codex or codices containing one or more texts in coptic has surfaced on the international art market.  Various rumours about it are circulating online.  One of the texts has a colophon in which it is called the Gospel of Judas (Iscariot).

According to the owner, Dr. Mario Roberty, the manuscripts are papyrus and consist of:

- a Gnostic codex in Sahidic dialect containing:

the 'Gospel of Judas'
the "First Apocalypse of James"
the "Epistle of Peter to Philip"

- the 'Book of Exodus' in Greek
- 'Letters of Paul' in Sahidic dialect and a
- 'Mathematical Treatise' in Greek.

The texts other than the 'Gospel of Judas' have been sold through US dealer Bruce Ferrini.  I have been unable to locate information on these.

Here are the reports that I have:

English translation
Washington Post article -- clarifying who paid what for what. Added 7th April 2006, 20:09 GMT.
Publication announcement -- press conference online
Latest details -- publication Easter 2006
Some further documents concerning the sale of the other portions of the manuscripts
Opinion on comments so far by Prof. Hans van Oort of Radboud University in the Netherlands.
9 fragments in English
Notes from an article in the German magazine Focus (26 March 2005).
Images and transcriptions of some pages
Henk Schutter's article from 'Het Parool'
Update: December 2004
Update: December 2001
Contents of the codex (Jan 2001)
Focus say the Ms. of the codex containing the Gospel of Judas is 16x29cms.  The last page is folio 62.  The work is due to be published by Dr. Rudolf Kasser in 2005, acting for the Maecenas Foundation of Switzerland, who currently own the Ms.  Dr. Charles Hedrick has also had access to the Ms. and has made various tantalising photographs and transcriptions of portions available.

This page is intended to draw all these together and add more as and when necessary.  It is quite likely that some of the statements made reflect the imagination of journalists, honest mistakes, or misinformation by those who wish to obscure the origins of the artefact; the author of most of this material, Michel van Rijn, believes he has himself been misled at various points by some of those involved.  

I have simplified the formatting of material from Michel van Rijn's site, which contains so much information that it can be hard to find the material solely on this find. We all owe him a substantial debt of gratitude for publicising this material.  His focus is on the art black-market, so I have omitted material unlikely to be of interest to manuscript enthusiasts.  Full versions are available at Michel's site.


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English Translation

This is the text placed online at the New York Times site.  It was originally referred to as an extract.  The Coptic text and English translation in PDF form are here.

THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS

Translated by Rodolphe Kasser, Marvin Meyer, and Gregor Wurst, in collaboration with François Gaudard

INTRODUCTION: INCIPIT

The secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot during a week three days before he celebrated Passover.

THE EARTHLY MINISTRY OF JESUS

When Jesus appeared on earth, he performed miracles and great wonders for the salvation of humanity. And since some [walked] in the way of righteousness while others walked in their transgressions, the twelve disciples were called.

He began to speak with them about the mysteries beyond the world and what would take place at the end. Often he did not appear to his disciples as himself, but he was found among them as a child.

SCENE 1: Jesus dialogues with his disciples: The prayer of thanksgiving or the eucharist

One day he was with his disciples in Judea, and he found them gathered together and seated in pious observance. When he [approached] his disciples, [34] gathered together and seated and offering a prayer of thanksgiving over the bread, [he] laughed.

The disciples said to [him], “Master, why are you laughing at [our] prayer of thanksgiving? We have done what is right.”

He answered and said to them, “I am not laughing at you. <You> are not doing this because of your own will but because it is through this that your god [will be] praised.”

They said, “Master, you are […] the son of our god.”

Jesus said to them, “How do you know me? Truly [I] say to you, no generation of the people that are among you will know me.”

THE DISCIPLES BECOME ANGRY

When his disciples heard this, they started getting angry and infuriated and began blaspheming against him in their hearts.

When Jesus observed their lack of [understanding, he said] to them, “Why has this agitation led you to anger? Your god who is within you and […] [35] have provoked you to anger [within] your souls. [Let] any one of you who is [strong enough] among human beings bring out the perfect human and stand before my face.”

They all said, “We have the strength.”

But their spirits did not dare to stand before [him], except for Judas Iscariot. He was able to stand before him, but he could not look him in the eyes, and he turned his face away.

Judas [said] to him, “I know who you are and where you have come from. You are from the immortal realm of Barbelo. And I am not worthy to utter the name of the one who has sent you.”

JESUS SPEAKS TO JUDAS PRIVATELY

Knowing that Judas was reflecting upon something that was exalted, Jesus said to him, “Step away from the others and I shall tell you the mysteries of the kingdom. It is possible for you to reach it, but you will grieve a great deal. [36] For someone else will replace you, in order that the twelve [disciples] may again come to completion with their god.”

Judas said to him, “When will you tell me these things, and [when] will the great day of light dawn for the generation?”

But when he said this, Jesus left him.

SCENE 2: Jesus appears to the disciples again

The next morning, after this happened, Jesus [appeared] to his disciples again.

They said to him, “Master, where did you go and what did you do when you left us?”

Jesus said to them, “I went to another great and holy generation.”

His disciples said to him, “Lord, what is the great generation that is superior to us and holier than us, that is not now in these realms?”

When Jesus heard this, he laughed and said to them, “Why are you thinking in your hearts about the strong and holy generation? [37] Truly [I] say to you, no one born [of] this aeon will see that [generation], and no host of angels of the stars will rule over that generation, and no person of mortal birth can associate with it, because that generation does not come from […] which has become […]. The generation of people among [you] is from the generation of humanity […] power, which [… the] other powers […] by [which] you rule.”

When [his] disciples heard this, they each were troubled in spirit. They could not say a word.

Another day Jesus came up to [them]. They said to [him], “Master, we have seen you in a [vision], for we have had great [dreams …] night […].”

[He said], “Why have [you … when] <you> have gone into hiding?” [38]

THE DISCIPLES SEE THE TEMPLE AND DISCUSS IT

They [said, “We have seen] a great [house with a large] altar [in it, and] twelve men—they are the priests, we would say—and a name; and a crowd of people is waiting at that altar, [until] the priests [… and receive] the offerings. [But] we kept waiting.”

[Jesus said], “What are [the priests] like?”

They [said, “Some …] two weeks; [some] sacrifice their own children, others their wives, in praise [and] humility with each other; some sleep with men; some are involved in [slaughter]; some commit a multitude of sins and deeds of lawlessness. And the men who stand [before] the altar invoke your [name], [39] and in all the deeds of their deficiency, the sacrifices are brought to completion […].”

After they said this, they were quiet, for they were troubled.

JESUS OFFERS AN ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION OF THE VISION OF THE TEMPLE

Jesus said to them, “Why are you troubled? Truly I say to you, all the priests who stand before that altar invoke my name. Again I say to you, my name has been written on this […] of the generations of the stars through the human generations. [And they] have planted trees without fruit, in my name, in a shameful manner.”

Jesus said to them, “Those you have seen receiving the offerings at the altar—that is who you are. That is the god you serve, and you are those twelve men you have seen. The cattle you have seen brought for sacrifice are the many people you lead astray [40] before that altar. […] will stand and make use of my name in this way, and generations of the pious will remain loyal to him. After hi another man will stand there from [the fornicators], and another [will] stand there from the slayers of children, and another from those who sleep with men, and those who abstain, and the rest of the people of pollution and lawlessness and error, and those who say, ‘We are like angels’; they are the stars that bring everything to its conclusion. For to the human generations it has been said, ‘Look, God has received your sacrifice from the hands of a priest’—that is, a minister of error.

But it is the Lord, the Lord of the universe, who commands, ‘On the last day they will be put to shame.’” [41]

Jesus said [to them], “Stop sac[rificing …] which you have […] over the altar, since they are over your stars and your angels and have already come to their conclusion there. So let them be [ensnared] before you, and let them go [—about 15 lines missing—] generations […]. A baker cannot feed all creation [42] under [heaven]. And […] to them […] and […] to us and […].

Jesus said to them, “Stop struggling with me. Each of you has his own star, and every[body—about 17 lines missing—] [43] in […] who has come [… spring] for the tree […] of this aeon […] for a time […] but he has come to water God’s paradise, and the [generation] that will last, because [he] will not defile the [walk of life of] that generation, but […] for all eternity.”

JUDAS ASKS JESUS ABOUT THAT GENERATION AND HUMAN GENERATIONS

Judas said to [him, “Rabb]i, what kind of fruit does this generation produce?”

Jesus said, “The souls of every human generation will die. When these people, however, have completed the time of the kingdom and the spirit leaves them, their bodies will die but their souls will be alive, and they will be taken up.”

Judas said, “And what will the rest of the human generations do?”

Jesus said, “It is impossible [44] to sow seed on [rock] and harvest its fruit. [This] is also the way […] the [defiled] generation […] and corruptible Sophia […] the hand that has created mortal people, so that their souls go up to the eternal realms above. [Truly] I say to you, […] angel […] power will be able to see that […] these to whom […] holy generations […].”

After Jesus said this, he departed.

SCENE 3: Judas recounts a vision and Jesus responds

Judas said, “Master, as you have listened to all of them, now also listen to me. For I have seen a great vision.”

When Jesus heard this, he laughed and said to him, “You thirteenth spirit, why do you try so hard? But speak up, and I shall bear with you.”

Judas said to him, “In the vision I saw myself as the twelve disciples were stoning me and [45] persecuting [me severely]. And I also came to the place where […] after you. I saw [a house …], and my eyes could not [comprehend] its size. Great people were surrounding it, and that house <had> a roof of greenery, and in the middle of the house was [a crowd—two lines missing—], saying, ‘Master, take me in along with these people.’”

[Jesus] answered and said, “Judas, your star has led you astray.” He continued, “No person of mortal birth is worthy to enter the house you have seen, for that place is reserved for the holy. Neither the sun nor the moon will rule there, nor the day, but the holy will abide there always, in the eternal realm with the holy angels. Look, I have explained to you the mysteries of the kingdom [46] and I have taught you about the error of the stars; and […] send it […] on the twelve aeons.”

JUDAS ASKS ABOUT HIS OWN FATE

Judas said, “Master, could it be that my seed is under the control of the rulers?”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Come, that I [—two lines missing—], but that you will grieve much when you see the kingdom and all its generation.”

When he heard this, Judas said to him, “What good is it that I have received it? For you have set me apart for that generation.”

Jesus answered and said, “You will become the thirteenth, and you will be cursed by the other generations—and you will come to rule over them. In the last days they will curse your ascent [47] to the holy [generation].”

JESUS TEACHES JUDAS ABOUT COSMOLOGY: THE SPIRIT AND THE SELF-GENERATED

Jesus said, “[Come], that I may teach you about [secrets] no person [has] ever seen. For there exists a great and boundless realm, whose extent no generation of angels has seen, [in which] there is [a] great invisible [Spirit], which no eye of an angel has ever seen, no thought of the heart has ever comprehended, and it was never called by any name.

“And a luminous cloud appeared there. He said, ‘Let an angel come into being as my attendant.’

“A great angel, the enlightened divine Self-Generated, emerged from the cloud. Because of him, four other angels came into being from another cloud, and they became attendants for the angelic Self-Generated. The Self-Generated said, [48] ‘Let […] come into being […],’ and it came into being […]. And he [created] the first luminary to reign over him. He said, ‘Let angels come into being to serve [him],’ and myriads without number came into being. He said, ‘[Let] an enlightened aeon come into being,’ and he came into being. He created the second luminary [to] reign over him, together with myriads of angels without number, to offer service. That is how he created the rest of the enlightened aeons. He made them reign over them, and he created for them myriads of angels without number, to assist them.

ADAMAS AND THE LUMINARIES

“Adamas was in the first luminous cloud that no angel has ever seen among all those called ‘God.’ He [49] […] that […] the image […] and after the likeness of [this] angel. He made the incorruptible [generation] of Seth appear […] the twelve […] the twentyfour […]. He made seventy-two luminaries appear in the incorruptible generation, in accordance with the will of the Spirit. The seventy-two luminaries themselves made three hundred sixty luminaries appear in the incorruptible generation, in accordance with the will of the Spirit, that their number should be five for each.

“The twelve aeons of the twelve luminaries constitute their father, with six heavens for each aeon, so that there are seventy-two heavens for the seventy-two luminaries, and for each [50] [of them five] firmaments, [for a total of] three hundred sixty [firmaments …]. They were given authority and a [great] host of angels [without number], for glory and adoration, [and after that also] virgin spirits, for glory and [adoration] of all the aeons and the heavens and their firmaments.

THE COSMOS, CHAOS, AND THE UNDERWORLD

“The multitude of those immortals is called the cosmos— that is, perdition—by the Father and the seventy-two luminaries who are with the Self-Generated and his seventytwo aeons. In him the first human appeared with his incorruptible powers. And the aeon that appeared with his generation, the aeon in whom are the cloud of knowledge and the angel, is called [51] El. […] aeon […] after that […] said, ‘Let twelve angels come into being [to] rule over chaos and the [underworld].’ And look, from the cloud there appeared an [angel] whose face flashed with fire and whose appearance was defiled with blood. His name was Nebro, which means ‘rebel’; others call him Yaldabaoth. Another angel, Saklas, also came from the cloud. So Nebro created six angels—as well as Saklas—to be assistants, and these produced twelve angels in the heavens, with each one receiving a portion in the heavens.

THE RULERS AND ANGELS

“The twelve rulers spoke with the twelve angels: ‘Let each of you [52] […] and let them […] generation [—one line lost—] angels’: The first is [S]eth, who is called Christ.

The [second] is Harmathoth, who is […].

The [third] is Galila.

The fourth is Yobel.

The fifth [is] Adonaios.

These are the five who ruled over the underworld, and first of all over chaos.

THE CREATION OF HUMANITY

“Then Saklas said to his angels, ‘Let us create a human being after the likeness and after the image.’ They fashioned Adam and his wife Eve, who is called, in the cloud, Zoe. For by this name all the generations seek the man, and each of them calls the woman by these names. Now, Sakla did not [53] com[mand …] except […] the gene[rations …] this […]. And the [ruler] said to Adam, ‘You shall live long, with your children.’”

JUDAS ASKS ABOUT THE DESTINY OF ADAM AND HUMANITY

Judas said to Jesus, “[What] is the long duration of time that the human being will live?”

Jesus said, “Why are you wondering about this, that Adam, with his generation, has lived his span of life in the place where he has received his kingdom, with longevity with his ruler?”

Judas said to Jesus, “Does the human spirit die?”

Jesus said, “This is why God ordered Michael to give the spirits of people to them as a loan, so that they might offer service, but the Great One ordered Gabriel to grant spirits to the great generation with no ruler over it—that is, the spirit and the soul. Therefore, the [rest] of the souls [54] [—one line missing—].

JESUS DISCUSSES THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WICKED WITH JUDAS AND OTHERS

“[…] light [—nearly two lines missing—] around […] let […] spirit [that is] within you dwell in this [flesh] among the generations of angels. But God caused knowledge to be [given] to Adam and those with him, so that the kings of chaos and the underworld might not lord it over them.”

Judas said to Jesus, “So what will those generations do?”

Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, for all of them the stars bring matters to completion. When Saklas completes the span of time assigned for him, their first star will appear with the generations, and they will finish what they said they would do. Then they will fornicate in my name and slay their children [55] and they will […] and [—about six and a half lines missing—] my name, and he will […] your star over the [thir]teenth aeon.”

After that Jesus [laughed].

[Judas said], “Master, [why are you laughing at us]?”

[Jesus] answered [and said], “I am not laughing [at you] but at the error of the stars, because these six stars wander about with these five combatants, and they all will be destroyed along with their creatures.”

JESUS SPEAKS OF THOSE WHO ARE BAPTIZED, AND JUDAS’S BETRAYAL

Judas said to Jesus, “Look, what will those who have been baptized in your name do?”

Jesus said, “Truly I say [to you], this baptism [56] […] my name [—about nine lines missing—] to me. Truly [I] say to you, Judas, [those who] offer sacrifices to Saklas […] God [—three lines missing—] everything that is evil.

“But you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me. Already your horn has been raised, your wrath has been kindled, your star has shown brightly, and your heart has […]. [57]

“Truly […] your last […] become [—about two and a half lines missing—], grieve [—about two lines missing—] the ruler, since he will be destroyed. And then the image of the great generation of Adam will be exalted, for prior to heaven, earth, and the angels, that generation, which is from the eternal realms, exists. Look, you have been told everything. Lift up your eyes and look at the cloud and the light within it and the stars surrounding it. The star that leads the way is your star.”

Judas lifted up his eyes and saw the luminous cloud, and he entered it. Those standing on the ground heard a voice coming from the cloud, saying, [58] […] great generation […] … image […] [—about five lines missing—].

CONCLUSION: JUDAS BETRAYS JESUS

[…] Their high priests murmured because [he] had gone into the guest room for his prayer. But some scribes were there watching carefully in order to arrest him during the prayer, for they were afraid of the people, since he was regarded by all as a prophet. They approached Judas and said to him, “What are you doing here? You are Jesus’ disciple.”

Judas answered them as they wished. And he received some money and handed him over to them.

THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS


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[From the Washington Post], 7th April 2006

(This article clarifies much about the transfers of money that surrounded the manuscript most recently, and who will profit from it. RP.)

Newly Translated Gospel Offers More Positive Portrayal of Judas

By Guy Gugliotta and Alan Cooperman, Washington Post Staff Writers. Friday, April 7, 2006; Page A01


Researchers stand at caves in the area north and east of El Minya,
Egypt, near where the manuscript containing the "Gospel of Judas" was found.

The National Geographic Society released yesterday the first modern translation of the ancient Gospel of Judas, which depicts the most reviled villain in Christian history as a devoted follower who was simply doing Jesus's bidding when he betrayed him.

The text's existence has been known since it was denounced as heresy by the bishop of Lyon in A.D. 180, but its contents had remained an almost total mystery. Unlike the four gospels of the New Testament, it describes conversations between Jesus and Judas Iscariot during the week before Passover in which Jesus tells Judas "secrets no other person has ever seen."

The other apostles pray to a lesser God, Jesus says, and he reveals to Judas the "mysteries of the kingdom" of the true God. He asks Judas to help him return to the kingdom, but to do so, Judas must help him abandon his mortal flesh: "You will sacrifice the man that clothes me," Jesus tells Judas, and acknowledges that Judas "will be cursed by the other generations."

Scholars said the 26-page document was written on 13 sheets of papyrus leaf in ancient Egyptian, or Coptic, and was bound as a book known as a codex. It is one of dozens of sacred texts from the Christian Gnostics, who believed that salvation came through secret knowledge conveyed by Jesus.

Its anonymous author was "obviously a Christian person very sympathetic to a Gnostic point of view," said Coptic scholar Marvin Meyer, of Orange, Calif.'s Chapman University. The codex was written in the 2nd century, when various groups of Christians circulated what they called gospels -- "good news" -- purportedly written by most of the disciples and several other followers of Jesus, among them Mary Magdalene.

Most were outlawed during a centuries-long battle to determine which sacred texts would make up the canon of Christian orthodoxy known today as the New Testament.

National Geographic, which funded much of the research, said it authenticated the codex through radiocarbon dating, ink analysis and study of the script. And despite the document's murky history, no scholar has suggested it is a forgery, a problem that has dogged several recent finds, most notably the bone box, or ossuary, purported to have contained the remains of Jesus's brother James.

As an authentic ancient Gnostic text, the Gospel of Judas is certain to spark a surge of interest by both theologians and the faithful, but scholars said it is unclear whether it will prompt a reeval‎uation of the traitor denounced by Matthew for betraying Jesus for "30 pieces of silver."

"At one level, the Gospels already see the betrayal as a mysterious part of God's plan," said the Rev. Donald Senior, president of the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He predicted the new text would produce "a short-term sensation" but that after Christians read it, "the impact on the lives of ordinary believers will be minimal."

The ancient manuscript, a 3rd- or 4th-century translation of a 2nd-century original, probably written in Greek, was unearthed by looters near El Minya, Egypt, in the 1970s. It came to the attention of scholars in 1983 when an Egyptian antiquities dealer tried to sell it to American researchers for $3 million.

After the document passed through several hands and venues, including 16 years deteriorating in a safe deposit box in Hicksville, N.Y., National Geographic reached an agreement in 2004 to help finance its authentication and translation in return for publication rights.

Terry Garcia, National Geographic's executive vice president for mission programs, said at a news conference that the society had contributed "more than $1 million" to the project so far. The organization released two books yesterday: an annotated translation and the story of how the text came to light. The gospel will also generate a magazine cover article, a television documentary, an exhibit and its own Web site.

The arrangement between National Geographic and the Switzerland-based Maecenas Foundation for Ancient Art, the manuscript's current owner, raised long-standing questions about how such transactions may effectively legitimize illegal traffic in antiquities.

"The Swiss who bought it couldn't sell it for a profit because of laws that say you can't sell illegal antiquities," said Claremont Graduate University theologian James M. Robinson, the Coptic scholar first approached to purchase the gospel 26 years ago. "Instead of selling the papyrus, they decided to market the contents." The foundation said it intends to donate the codex to the Coptic Museum in Cairo once it is fully restored.

Ted Waitt, founder of computer-maker Gateway Inc., donated approximately $1 million to underwrite National Geographic's efforts. National Geographic, in turn, passed this money on to Mario Jean Roberty, a Swiss lawyer who heads the Maecenas Foundation.

Roberty said in an interview that he purchased the codex in February 2001 from a Swiss antiquities dealer, Frieda Nussberger-Tchacos, for $1.5 million plus half of all future proceeds from the document.

He said he also put more than $1 million into the initial restoration of the manuscript, underwriting the efforts of Coptic scholar Rodolphe Kasser and others for five years to piece together more than 1,000 papyrus fragments before National Geographic got involved. "I'm still on the nervous side economically," Roberty said. "I have to take in another $2.3 million before I break even."

So far, the biggest financial beneficiary appears to be Nussberger-Tchacos, who paid about $300,000 for the codex, according to National Geographic, which is poised to generate substantial revenue from its publications. Garcia said Maecenas would receive "some compensation" from book sales.

"They have to earn back their money, and they're trying to sell their books on all sides," Robinson said of National Geographic. "That's why they're publishing it around Easter and before the release of 'The Da Vinci Code,' " he added, referring to the film version of the popular book.

But Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archaeology Review, said that because of National Geographic, "at least the text seems to be becoming available, and that's good. The price is that they've had to be part of a scheme to increase its value."

Besides the Gospel of Judas, the codex includes three other texts. Two were known to scholars from the Nag Hammadi Library, a trove of Gnostic manuscripts found in Egypt in 1945. The third, provisionally titled the Book of Allogenes, or the "stranger," is badly fragmented, members of the translation team said.

Biblical scholars said the Gospel of Judas differs from the four New Testament Gospels in at least two important ways. First, it portrays Judas not as the betrayer of Jesus but as the most favored of his disciples, the only one who truly understood Jesus.

Some scholars suggested that view -- if it had been accepted -- might have lessened anti-Semitism over the centuries. "The story of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas gave a moral and religious rationale to anti-Jewish sentiment, and that's what made it persistent and vicious," said Princeton University professor Elaine Pagels.

Second, the Gospel of Judas offers a new creation story, depicting the evil world as the product of a bloodthirsty, foolish lower deity, rather than the higher, true God. This duality "is why this gospel could never be accepted by orthodox Christianity," said Bart D. Ehrman, chairman of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Scholars disagreed on whether the gospel sheds any new light on the historical Jesus and Judas Iscariot. Senior, the Catholic priest, said he saw "no evidence that it has a legitimate historical basis" and thought it probably was written by Gnostics who retrospectively attributed their own beliefs to Judas.

But Craig Evans, a professor at Acadia Divinity College in Nova Scotia, said the New Testament also may hint at the new text's central theme -- that Jesus instructed Judas in private to betray him.

In the Book of John, Evans noted, Jesus tells Judas at the Last Supper, "Do quickly what you are going to do," and none of the other disciples know what he means. Maybe the Gospel of Judas "points us in a direction where we can understand Judas's relationship to Jesus a little better," he said.

The Gospel of Judas, however, ends abruptly, drawing no conclusions about the consequences of betrayal: The arresting party "approached Judas and said to him, 'What are you doing here? You are Jesus' disciple.' Judas answered them as they wished. And he received some money and handed him over to them."


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Publication, 6th April 2006

I have today heard from Dr Mario Roberty of the Maecenas Foundation who own the manuscript:

Today, April 6, 2006 starting 10:30 EST or 16:30 Swiss time, the press conference at National Geographic's headquarters in Washington will be
transmitted live at:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lostgospel/av/gospel.asx

On the pages next to it, you will also find the publication of related material, including a transcription and translation of the Gospel of Judas.

On looking at National Geographic's "lost gospel" page, I find that the Coptic text and the full English translation is available for download from here.  The full English text is also online at the NY Times here (although called 'extracts').

The English text is to be published in

The Gospel of Judas. Edited by Rodolphe Kasser, Marvin Meyer, and Gregor Wurst with Additional Commentary by Bart D. Ehrman. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2006. (ISBN 1-4262-0042-0, U.S.$22)

Further details from the site:

Codex Tchacos is named after Dimaratos Tchacos, father of Zürich-based antiquities dealer Frieda Nussberger-Tchacos, who bought the document in September 2000.  

The codex contains not only the Gospel of Judas, but also a text titled James (otherwise known as the First Apocalypse of James), the Letter of Peter to Philip, and a fragment of a text that scholars are provisionally calling Book of Allogenes.

The codex, containing the Gospel of Judas, was discovered in the 1970s near El Minya, Egypt, and moved from Egypt to Europe to the United States. Once in the United States, it was kept in a safe-deposit box for 16 years on Long Island, New York, until antiquities dealer Frieda Nussberger-Tchacos bought it in April 2000. After two unsuccessful resale attempts, Nussberger-Tchacos—alarmed by the codex's rapidly deteriorating state—transferred it to the Maecenas Foundation for Ancient Art in Basel, Switzerland, in February 2001, for restoration and translation. The manuscript will be delivered to Egypt and housed in Cairo's Coptic Museum.

Several pages of the Gospel of Judas as well as pages from the other three texts in the codex will be on exhibit at National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., beginning Friday, April 7, 2006, for a limited engagement. After Kasser and his team complete conserving and translating the manuscript, the codex will be given to Egypt, where it will be housed in Cairo's Coptic Museum.

Details of scientific examination -- radio carbon dating the papyri, multi-spectral imaging, paleography and ink analysis are here, with images.  Key-points:

The National Geographic Society submitted five tiny samples of the Gospel of Judas for AMS testing at the University of Arizona's radiocarbon dating lab in Tucson—the same lab that dated the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Judas fragments included four minute pieces of papyrus and a small bit of the book's leather binding with a piece of attached papyrus page. No part of the ancient script was altered or damaged during this process. The results allowed lab experts to confidently date the papyruses to between A.D. 220 and 340. "The calibrated ages of the papyrus and leather samples are tightly clustered and place the age of the Codices within the third or fourth centuries A.D.," reported Tim Jull, director of Arizona's AMS facility, and research scientist Greg Hodgins.
Stephen Emmel, professor of Coptic studies at Germany's University of Munster, analyzed the Gospel of Judas ... "The kind of writing reminds me very much of the Nag 'Hammadi codices," he wrote, referring to a famed collection of ancient manuscripts. "It's not identical script with any of them. But it's a similar type of script, and since we date the Nag 'Hammadi codices to roughly the second half of the fourth century or the first part of the fifth century, my immediate inclination would be to say that the Gospel of Judas was written by a scribe in that same period, let's say around the year 400."
McCrone Associates, a firm specializing in forensic ink analysis, conducted a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) test on samples of the document's ink. The procedure uncovered the components used to create the ancient ink and found that they are consistent with ingredients in known inks from the third and fourth centuries A.D. The ink includes a carbon black constituent, in the form of soot, bound with a gum adhesive. An additional procedure, Raman spectroscopy analysis, established that the ink also included a metal-gallic component like those used in third-century iron-gall inks. McCrone Associates reports that the Gospel of Judas may have been penned with an early form of iron-gall ink that included a small amount of carbon black (soot). If so, it could be a previously unknown "missing link" between the ancient world's carbon-based inks and the iron-gall alternatives that became popular in medieval times.

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I have as yet been unable to contact Bruce Ferrini about the other texts.  


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[From The Christian Century, 27 December 2005]

News: December 27, 2005: Long-lost Gospel of Judas to be published. by John Dart

The heresy-fighting bishop Irenaeus of Lyon, France, mentioned the Gospel of Judas about 180 AD, linking the writing to a Gnostic sect. Some two centuries later, Epiphanius, bishop of Cyprus, criticized the Gospel of Judas for treating the betrayer of Jesus as commendable, one who "performed a good work for our salvation."

Until recent years, no copy of the text was generally known to exist. It was not among, for instance, the 46 different apocryphal texts of the Nag Hammadi Library discovered 60 years ago this month in Egypt. Other fragmentary texts, such as the Gospel of Mary, were discovered well before that.

But in 2004, Rodolphe Kasser of the University of Geneva announced in Paris that by the end of 2005 he would be publishing translations of the Coptic-language version of the Gospel of Judas. As it turned out, the owner was a Swiss foundation, and the torn and tattered papyrus text had been hawked to potential buyers in North America and Europe for decades after it was found at Muhazafat Al Minya in Middle Egypt.

The "Judas" saga was confirmed in detail last month at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in Philadelphia. Retired Claremont Graduate University professor James Robinson, general editor of the English edition of the Nag Hammadi Library, said he was first contacted in 1983 about negotiations to buy certain texts, including the Gospel of Judas. Many years later, he saw blurry photographs of part of the text.

Robinson said that early in November he learned that Kasser and several European, Canadian and U.S. scholars had signed agreements with the National Geographic Society to assist with a documentary film and a National Geographic article for an Easter 2006 release and a succession of three books.

Robinson was critical of the secrecy and inaccessibility surrounding the document—a recurring academic problem that delayed for decades the publishing of translations of some Dead Sea Scrolls and many Nag Hammadi codices. In his talk, Robinson called the practice "skullduggery"—with a glance at fellow panelist Marvin Meyer of Chapman University, a longtime colleague in the field and one of the contracted authors.

Meyer refused to describe the text's content, but he essentially confirmed the basic publishing arrangements to Robinson and to the Century at the Philadelphia meeting.

In amended remarks to his speech, Robinson said Meyer told him that he was sworn to secrecy—not by the document's owner but by the National Geographic Society, a procedure Meyer said was justified by the organization's large financial investment.

A spokeswoman for the National Geographic headquarters in Washington declined to comment. But Meyer said in a brief interview, "It will all be out for everyone to see by the spring." He added without elaboration, "It will be good. It will be good."

Hardly anything is known about the document's contents "other than a few personages" it names, said Robinson, identifying them as the mythological figure Allogenes (literally, "the stranger") known from some Nag Hammadi texts, and Satan, Jesus and Judas.

Another scholar, Charles Hedrick, who recently retired from Missouri State University, saw photographs of six damaged pages from the gospel in 2001. Hedrick agreed with Robinson that the original Gospel of Judas was probably written in Greek in the second century AD. Scholars also agree that the scribal hand used in the Coptic translation would date that text to the fourth or fifth century.

"I don't think it will unsettle the church," Hedrick said in an interview. "I mean we are not talking history here. We know very little about Judas from the New Testament, and some people have even challenged whether Judas was a historical person."

The Coptic texts, owned by the Maecenas Foundation, consist of 62 pages and also contain "The First Apocalypse of James" and "The Letter of Peter to Philip"—two texts also found at Nag Hammadi. How many of the 62 pages contain the Gospel of Judas has not been disclosed.

Hedrick said the last six pages of the Judas document describe a heavenly scene in which Allogenes is being tested and tried by Satan, followed by an earthly scene in which Jesus is being watched closely by scribes. At one point Judas is told, "Although you are evil at this place, you are a disciple of Jesus." The last line of the text says, according to Hedrick: "And he [Judas] took money and delivered him [Jesus] over."

So, Hedrick said, "it appears that Judas is working at the behest of God when he betrays Jesus as part of the divine plan." When translations of the Gospel of Judas are released with accompanying analyses, Hedrick expects that "there will be a lot of sensationalism, but it will dribble out, leaving only the scholars interested."

Yet, in academic and religious circles, the text may stir excitement for years, according to a scholar from the University of Ottawa. "It is a major discovery not only for Coptic, Gnostic or apocryphal studies, but also for ancient Judaism and early Christianity," said Pierluigi Piovanelli in an e-mail to colleagues in 2004 when the first plans to publish were announced.

Some scholarly discussions will focus on whether the document was produced by a branch of the Sethian Gnostics called Cainites by church leaders. The Cainites were said to have glorified Cain and other disgraced figures in the Bible because, according to Gnostic viewpoints, they were doing God's work.

Church discussions conceivably could revolve around the extent to which New Testament Gospels present events in Jesus' life and passion as ordained from the start. Judas Iscariot, depicted minimally by the Gospel of Mark, receives elaboration in Matthew, Luke and John. The latter Gospel says Satan entered Judas at the Last Supper just before Jesus told the disciple, "Do quickly what you are going to do."

For Robinson, the significance of the Gospel of Judas has to do not with first-century history but with second-century mythology. Still, he offered these half-serious reflections in his closing remarks last month: "Where would Christianity be, if there had been no Judas, and Jesus—instead of dying for our sins on the cross—had died of old age?" he asked. "So: Thank God for Judas? Even the most broadminded among us would call that heresy!"


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[From the website of Michel van Rijn, 27th April 2005] (A letter from the codex owner, clarifying the processes by which the codices have been dispersed: RP):

Mario Jean Roberty
ADVOKAT

Orientierungskopie

December 15, 2000
by fax to 1-212-332-3374 and by courier service

Mr. Eric R.Kaufman. Esq.
Kaufman & Kaufman
Rockefeller Center
620 Fifth Avenue
New York,
NY 10020-2457

Dear Eric:

re: Bruce P. Ferrini - Frieda Nussberger Tchacos

First of all, I would like to thank you in Frieda's name and in my own name for your generous hospitality as well as for the time and brain force you have been spending on behalf of the Logos Project. We are very grateful for your assistance.

The subject on hand being extremely complex with its numerous ramifications and far reaching implications, I feel the need to pin down in writing the basic understandings we have reached during the last few days.

Tuesday morning, Frieda and Bruce met again and - under somewhat tensed circumstances - agreed upon some further aspects of their relationship. These agreements are also reflected in the following summary.

1.       The Logos Project intends to save and publish the Gospel of Judas and other related manuscripts for the benefit of historical truth and to generate the funds necessary for this task as well as for the compensation of the expenses and efforts incurred by the promoters, leaving them with a decent profit.

2.       The principles to uphold in realizing the Project shall be:

- security and integrity (physical, legal and economical) for everybody involved
- security and integrity (physical and legal) for the manuscripts involved
- respect of ascertained better rights of third parties
- respect of the justified interests of the public (transparency).

3.       In order to be able to pursue the Project responsibly, we first must ascertain that Mr. Hana A. Airian had obtained good legal and beneficial title to the manuscripts and that he had the right to sell these documents to Frieda. Upon my return to Basel, I shall analyze this question and transmit my findings for your examination.

4.       Depending on the conclusions we will reach regarding Frieda's title to the manuscripts, we will decide on the further steps to be taken with regard to the legal protection of the Project, including - it necessary - notification to trie Egyptian authorities. In the meantime, you will be examining the question of possible restrictions in the field of copyrights resulting from using basic material for which no or uncertain title is held.

5.       In order to legally protect the Project, geographical considerations are to be made. From a first analysis we have concluded that the U.S. are to be considered a potentially risky territory for the manuscripts due to political considerations possibly taking precedence over pure legal aspects, especially when involving application of principles of foreign law. European countries such as the UK, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland seem to offer a better legal protection of the Project.

6.       The present state of the manuscripts is reason for great concern. It is imperative to start a professional conservation process as soon as possible.

7.      A characteristic of the present state of the manuscripts consists in having pages and larger as well as smaller and minuscule fragments intermingled among the various manuscripts. In order to compose each page to its meaningful original context, all manuscripts snould be brought together in the same place. Here, Coptologists only can try to re-compose each page of the manuscripts which then can be professionally conserved between glass plates.

8.       The whole conservation process preferably is to be conducted in a highly reputable private institution disposing of the necessary secure facilities (e.g. the Bodmer Foundation in Cologny) by outside professionals. This should guarantee the best possible control. The exploration and eval‎uation of such institution will be the first task to be carried out by the Foundation.

9.       The promoters of the Project have incurred and will incur substantial expenses of money and time in order to realize the Project. It is a clear understanding that they shall be fully compensated and shall make a decent profit. On the other hand, it is understood that this Project leads into a dimension far beyond a commercial transaction. The manuscripts involved being of potential importance to a major part of mankind imposes an approach substantially different to an ordinary business transaction.

10.     Therefore, the entity which shall realize the Project shouldn't be a commercial entity but the Logos Foundation as officially recognized charitable trust of public utility to be established under Swiss Law soon. I shall be submitting to you the draft for the establishment of this foundation within the next few weeks.

11.    The Logos Foundation will receive by its founders an initial capital of USD 100'000.--Moreover, the actual owner of the manuscripts intends to make a partial donation of the manuscripts to the Foundation whereby all rights to the manuscripts as well as deriving from the manuscripts shall be transferred to the Logos Foundation against assignment of totally 80 % of the Foundation's future revenues from the commercialization of the manuscripts (i.e. from the exploitation of the deriving publishing rights etc. and ultimately - if legally admissible - from their sale).

12.     Based on the above understandings, the agreements reached between Bruce and Frieda on September 9, 2000 have become obsolete and therefore

12.1   the Sales Agreement entered and signed In New York on September 9,2000 between Bruce and Frieda regarding the composite volume of at least three Coptic texts (First Apocalypse of James, Epistle of Peter to Philip and Gospel of Judas) has been cancelled;

12.2   the unformulated Sales Agreement of the same date and parties regarding three fragmentary manuscripts (Book of Exodus, Mathematical Treatise and Letters of Paul) has also been cancelled and

12.3   substituted by a new unformulated Sales Agreement by which Frieda sells to Bruce two fragmentary manuscripts (Mathematical Treatise and Letters of Paul) for a purchase price of totally USD 300'000.-- (three hundred thousand dollars US) payable on February 1, 2001. (This new agreement reflects a fact consumed by Bruce who has already disposed of these two manuscripts);

12.4   consequently, Bruce and Frieda are going to exchange the composite volume of at least three Coptic texts (First Apocalypse of James, Epistle of Peter to Philip and Gospel of Judas) as well as the Book of Exodus and the not expressly mentioned further fragments with two checks emitted by Bruce of USD 1'250'000.-- each, the first due on January 15,2001 and the second due on February 15. 2001. This exchange should take place at the earliest convenience;

12.5   moreover, in occasion of the above mentioned exchange, Bruce will guarantee his payment of USD 300'000.- under the new unformulated Sales Agreement by giving Frieda a new check over such amount, payable on February 1, 2001.

13.     Immediately after the above described exchange has taken place, Frieda will set up the Logos Foundation in agreement with you and In accordance with the above described principles. She will then transfer the manuscripts to the Foundation entering into an agreement as described sub par. 11. above. The draft of such agreement shall be submitted to you.

14.     Frieda will grant Bruce the option of acquiring half the rights assigned to her by the Foundation to the future revenues from the commercialization of the manuscripts against payment to her of USD 1'100'000.-- (one million one hundred thousand dollars US) (i.e. USD 750'000.-- corresponding to half the value of the composite volume plus USD 350'000.-- corresponding to hall the value of the Book of Exodus) and against donation to the Foundation of the same amounts she will have donated herself by then. This option shall be valid and exercisable until June 30, 2001.

15.     The exercise of the above option will include Bruce's incorporation into the organs of the Foundation at exactly the same title as Frieda.

16.     Frieda, and through her the Foundation, engage to consult and keep Bruce informed in advance about all intended decisions regarding the realization of the Logos Project until expiry of his option by June 30, 2001.

17.     Whether Bruce will be joining the Foundation or not, he shall have the option to buy the Book of Exodus when the Foundation decides to sell this manuscript after having it conserved and after having ascertained its clear and transferrable title. The price for the exercise of this option shall be of USD 875'000.- (eight hundred and seventy-five dollars US) (i.e. 100 % of 700'000 = 80 %) plus cost of conservation plus interest at a rate of 6 % (six percent) since February 1, 2001. Bruce shall have ninety days since formal notification to exercise his option.

18.     It is clearly understood by all persons involved that nobody, not even Bruce and Frieda but only the Foundation, will have the right to promulgate and commercialize any knowledge regarding, concerning or deriving from the manuscripts. Moreover, for the time being and until all legal aspects are clarified, it is in the best interest of the Project to maintain utmost secrecy about its existence.

19.     In order to further clarify the relationship between Bruce and Frieda, they have decided to have Bruce returning to Frieda all objects he had received on consignment during this year. Some objects have already been returned and others are being shipped. Should Bruce wish to extend the consignment regarding specific objects, he would compile and send to Frieda a corresponding list.

20.     The question of Bruce wanting to acquire the shares of Galerie Nefer AG, Zurich, has been suspended for the time being.

May I kindly askyou to verify together with Bruce the correctness of the above summary of understandings and to let me have your response and comments.

With my best regards.

Sincerely Yours,

Mario J. Roberty

c/c: Bruce P. Ferrini, Akron Ohio


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[From Michel van Rijn, 1st April 2005, from http://www.katholieknieuwsblad.nl/]

Judasevangelie niet van Judas

De publiciteit rond het zogenaamde evangelie van Judas is zorgvuldig getimed door de eigenaar van de tekst, die er alleen maar geld uit wil slaan. Dat meent prof.dr. Hans van Oort, gespecialiseerd in gnostiek, manicheïsme, Nag Hammadi en Augustinus. Op eigen houtje belegde hij een persconferentie als tegenwicht tegen "alle nonsens" die dezer dagen over het Judasevangelie wordt geschreven. Bijvoorbeeld dat 'het Vaticaan' er belang bij zou hebben dat het document niet gepubliceerd wordt.

Van Oort is verbonden aan de faculteit godgeleerdheid van de Universiteit van Utrecht en is hoogleraar christendom en gnostiek aan de Radbouduniversiteit.

"Uit de oudheid was al bekend dat er een Judasevangelie moest zijn. Ireneüs van Lyon, plusminus 180, spreekt erover in zijn Adversus haereses. Maar zijn eigenlijke bron is Justinus de Martelaar en dan zitten we al rond 140. Ik schat dat het Judasevangelie zo rond 120 gedateerd moet worden."

Het origineel dan wel te verstaan. De papyri die via louche handelaren eind vorige eeuw tevoorschijn zijn gekomen (zie foto) zijn waarschijnlijk een kopie uit het einde van de vierde eeuw. Het spectaculaire voor de wetenschap is dat het Judasevangelie nu eindelijk gevonden is, althans een deel ervan. Van Oort sluit niet uit dat het om de ontbrekende codex uit de Nag Hammadi-geschriften gaat. Wat hij wel uitsluit is dat het door Judas zelf geschreven zou zijn. "Er is geen enkele reden aan te nemen dat hij dat gedaan zou hebben. Niets wijst daarop."

Het Judasevangelie is een gnostisch geschrift, een beweging die al vroeg door de Kerk werd veroordeeld. "Zij keerden zich tegen de bestaande orde, dus ook tegen de Schepper-God. Daarom was Judas hun held."

Van Oort is een van de weinige mensen die kennis heeft van de inhoud van het Judasevangelie, maar wil geen gedonder met de eigenaar, de Zwitserse Maecenas Foundation. "Als ik dat doe word ik vermoord." (KN)

[Translation of the above article]
Gospel of Judas not by Judas

The owner of the text, who only wants to make money from it, has carefully timed the publicity surrounding what is called the Gospel of Judas. That is the opinion of Prof. Hans van Oort, who specialises in Gnosticism, Manichaeism, Nag Hammadi and Augustine. He called a press conference on his own initiative, to counter "all the nonsense" being written at the moment about the Gospel of Judas; for example that the Vatican has an interest in the document's not being published.

Van Oort is attached to the Faculty of Theology of the University of Utrecht and is Professor of Christianity and Gnosticism at the Radboud University.

"It was known from ancient times that there had to be a Gospel of Judas. Irenaeus of Lyons spoke about it in his Adversus haereses (Against Heresies) in around 180 A.D., but his real source is Justin Martyr, and that takes us to around 140 A.D. I would guess that the Gospel of Judas would have to be dated at about 120 A.D." The original, at least. The papyri that appeared in the hands of shady dealers at the end of the last century (see photo) were probably a copy from the end of the fourth century. What is spectacular for science is that the Gospel of Judas has at last been found, or at least a part of it. Van Oort does not rule out that it involves the missing codex from the Nag Hammadi codices. What he does rule out is that Judas himself wrote it. "There is no reason whatsoever to assume that he did this. Nothing points to that."

The Gospel of Judas is a codex from the Gnostics, a movement that was denounced by the Church in the early days. "They set themselves against the established order, and thus also against the Creator. That's why Judas was their hero."

Van Oort is one of the few people who knows the contents of the Gospel of Judas, but does not want any trouble with its owner, the Swiss Maecenas Foundation." If I did, I would be killed." (KN)


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[From Michel van Rijn, 8th April 2005:]

In 2001 this portal first revealed the existence and the contents of the looted Judas Gospel as well as enough of the skulduggery in its recent history to make it unmarketable. The action on this portal forced the culprits who owned the long lost smuggled Gospel to restore it to its true country of origin, Egypt, and to look for other venues to capitalise on their illegally acquired treasure. This portal is used to not being credited in the media for the good work we do (a happy exception was the article on the Judas Gospel by Henk Schutten in 'Het Parool') and we take consolation and soulage in the fact that as a result of our actions this historically important document will be returned to Egypt, safe for posterity.

{Note by Roger Pearse: the translation following is of uncertain authorship: it is not by Charles Hedrick, it turns out}

Nine Fragments of the Gospel of Judas

It is only a first attempt to organise them, the order can easily change as more fragments become known. This translation is based on photos. These are fragments of nine pages of the Coptic codex of the fourth century AD, the Gospel of Judas. The final fragment is the clearest to identify, because it ends with the title - as is common in this kind of Coptic documents - The Gospel of Judas.

Terminology: 'Allogenes' is most probably Jesus. 'Sakla' is Satan, the evil creator of the world.

Temptation in the desert

1...Be like those in this world and eat of my possessions! Take silver, gold and other things for yourself. "But Allogenes answered him: "Away from me, Satan! It is not you I search, but my Father who is raised high above all great Aeons = arches of heavens each with their own god. For I am him you call Allogenes, I am from a different family line, I am not from your family line." And then he who rules the world spoke to him …

2 (It is not clear by whom Sakla/Satan is defeated, but definitely not just by Allogenes/Jesus)… And then Sakla attacks him who liberates alone, many times. And he was not able to enslave them. After having defeated him he retrieved ashamed to his own place. Then Allogenes called out with a loud voice: Oh God, who is above the great Aeons, hear my voice, have pity on me and save me from all evil. Look down upon me and hear me, because I am in the empty lonely land. May the unspeakable enlighten me now…
Soon Saklas (Satan) will take control of (some of) Jesus' disciples.

7... When he has filled his times. For him, Saklas, times are limited. He comes, the first star of their family line. And those who are sent will be fulfilled. Then they will perform lewdness in my name and kill their children…

8… And he said: "why are you surprised about your star and his next lines of the aeons. There is a cry…, who is called Jesus, that are … received … he spoke to the mind. And the people … The sixth star is mistaken about our five soldiers. And they will all perish with their creations." But Judas spoke to Jesus: they will not be sedated, those who are cleansed in your name. Jesus spoke: There will be hatred … and then this cleansing…
Jesus' arrest …

9… received … go … they have his … bring … The Pharisees were careful and wanted to arrest him during the prayers, because they were afraid of the people. We said: he will fall into their hands as was prophesied. And they went to Judas and told him … although you are bad at this place, you are Jesus' true disciple. And he answered them as they wanted him to. And Judas received the money. And he surrendered him.
This is the end of the Gospel of Judas.
Some one Judas? needs to sacrifice Jesus' human earthly frame

6… You shall cleanse … in sin … And they are the stars that are perfect in all respects. For so has been spoken to human kind: see, God has received your existence as servants… But the Lord has given orders over the all… they will be despised… all evil things. But you stand supreme over every one…In fact the man who carries me, is he you Judas? will scarify. Now all is your … increased and your earthly frame has died and your star has burned out and your heart is…
Transfiguration on Mount Tabor

5… We know from where we have come and so we know where we will go and we know what we have to do with our lives." And they came and they went up a mount called Thambor = Tabor. And they threw themselves down, prayed and said: 'Oh Lord God who resides high in the great Aeons, who has no beginning and no end! Give us spiritual knowledge. Reveal us Your secret so we could receive our knowledge: where we come from, where we are going to, and what we have to do with our lives.' After these words spoken by Allogenes, he revealed himself…
Baptism scene at the Jordan (?) or a sequence of the desert-scene

3… And when I said this, see, a cloud of light surrounded me. I could do nothing, I was enclosed in the light surrounding and shining on the cloud. And I heard a word out of the cloud and the light. And the light shone upon me and said: Oh Allogenes! Your pleas are heard and I am being sent to you in this location to go and spread the Glad Tidings. But you have not found an escape from this prison yet…

4… is destroyed, because of the big family line = Allogenes = Jesus has risen above. He said: 'in the beginning of … and from the angels existed this line in the aeons. They said: raise you eyes to the clouds and to the light that surrounds the cloud and to the beauty that surrounds it and to the stars that exist as pre-mirror image. He is our star.

But Judas saw the cloud of light and went to those who were standing underneath. They heard a voice coming out of the cloud.


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Details from Focus:

The manuscript is 16x29cms.


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[Images of pages and transcriptions by Dr. Hedrick]

                    
      


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[Henk Schutter's article from 'Het Parool', translated by Michel van Rijn]

The Gospel of Judas Surfaced.

HENK SCHUTTEN

AMSTERDAM - About 1800 years after its ban by the Church because of its 'blasphemous' content, the Gospel of Judas has been made public again. A Swiss foundation discovered a copy of the forbidden gospel and is currently working on a translation.

This Saturday the Parool is the first to publish a couple of fragments from the Gospel, consisting of a dialogue between Judas Iscariot and Jesus.
It is one of the oldest Christian documents discovered so far according to Mario Roberty, the president of the Swiss Maecenas Foundation who currently owns them. He says that the content of the Gospel is 'explosive' as Judas is portrayed as a hero, not a betrayer.
Roberty can not provide any origin of the document written in Coptic.

The documents have probably already been discovered in Egypt
in the fifties or sixties of last century and smuggled out of the country. "But the price was too high and moreover no one knew that it was about the Gospel of Judas."For twenty years the m