Ancient papyrus scrap makes reference to Jesus wife - expert

PanARMENIAN.Net - An ancient scrap of papyrus makes explicit reference to Jesus having a wife, according to a renowned expert in Christian history, BBC News reported.

Harvard divinity professor Karen King unveiled the 4th-Century Coptic script at a conference in Rome. She said researchers had identified the words "Jesus said to them, 'my wife'", which might refer to Mary Magdalene.

Christian tradition holds that Jesus did not marry - but King said in early years it was subject to debate.

The provocative find could spark debate over celibacy and the role of women within Christianity, she added.

King said the fragment, written in ancient Egyptian Coptic, is the first known scripture in which Jesus is reported to cite his wife. She said several experts agree the yellowish brown papyrus is authentic, but that "final judgment on the fragment depends on further examination by colleagues and further testing, especially of the chemical composition of the ink".

Although the script is not proof of Jesus's marital status, King said it revealed concerns early Christians faced with regards to family and marriage matters.

"This fragment suggests that some early Christians had a tradition that Jesus was married," she said. “From the very beginning, Christians disagreed about whether it was better not to marry, but it was over a century after Jesus's death before they began appealing to Jesus's marital status to support their positions. What this shows is that there were early Christians for whom sexual union in marriage could be an imitation of God's creativity and generativity and it could be spiritually proper and appropriate."

According to King's research team, the text also quotes Jesus as telling his followers that Mary Magdalene is worthy of being his disciple.

This, in turn, casts new doubt on the long-held belief that Jesus had no female disciples, and raises issues about Mary's biblical role as a sinner, they said.

King presented the document at a six-day conference held at Rome's La Sapienza University and at the Augustinianum institute of the Pontifical Lateran University.

The faded papyrus is hardly bigger than a business card and has eight lines on one side, in black ink legible under a magnifying glass.

The private collector, who owns the fragment, has asked to remain anonymous because "he doesn't want to be hounded by people who want to buy this", King said.