Gospel of Philip

The Gospel of Philip is one of the Gnostic Gospels, a text of New Testament apocrypha, dating back to around the 3rd century but lost to modern researchers until an Egyptian peasant rediscovered it by accident, buried in a cave near Nag Hammadi, in 1945.

Although this gospel may at first appear similar to the Gospel of Thomas, it is not a sayings gospel, but a collection of gnostic teachings and reflections, a "gnostic anthology", as Marvin Meyer and Esther A. De Boer have called it, considering it to be a Valentinian text. Sacraments, in particular the sacrament of marriage, are a major theme. The text is perhaps most famous as a very early source for the popular theory that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. It is explicitly stated in the Ancient Greek manuscript that Jesus was Mary's "koinonos", meaning "companion" and implying a possibly sexual, intimate relationship. Although the original text is missing from the papyrus scriptures discovered, some translations 'fill in' the gap, suggesting; “Jesus loved Mary Magdalene more than all the disciples and used to kiss her often on the mouth.”

The text's title is modern; the only connection with Philip the Apostle is that he is the only apostle mentioned (at 73,8). The text makes no claim to be from Philip, though, similarly, the four New Testament gospels make no explicit claim to be written by Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. The Gospel of Philip was written between 150 AD and 300 AD, while Philip himself died 80 AD, making it extremely unlikely to be his writing. Most scholars hold a 3rd century date of composition.