Furore over claim Jesus was married

An American historian has caused a storm in the Christian fraternity with her claim to have found a relic that proves Jesus had a wife.

Karen L. King, a historian of early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School, identified a scrap of papyrus that she says was written in Coptic in the 4th century and contains a phrase never seen in any piece of scripture: “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife …’”

Just below the line about Jesus having a wife, the papyrus includes a second provocative clause that purportedly says, “she will be able to be my disciple.”

Papyrus fragment

The faded papyrus fragment is smaller than the average business card, with eight lines on one side in black ink legible under a magnifying glass.

The Bible, which documents the doctrine of Christianity, is silent on Jesus’ marital status. On Thursday, the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano slammed the piece of papyrus as fake and “inept forgery”.

In an editorial, the paper criticised Harvard for contacting the media about its findings, setting off “clamorous” worldwide response, the Associated Press reported.

National Council of Churches of Kenya Secretary-General Peter Karanja also rubbished the finding, saying Jesus was a bachelor.

“In his day, not everyone married. In the Bible, there is no mention of John the Baptist being a husband, and Paul, who converted from Saul, was a confessed bachelor,” said Rev Karanja.

The finding was made public two weeks ago in Rome at an international meeting of Coptic scholars by Ms King, who has published several books about new Gospel discoveries and is the first woman to hold the nation’s oldest endowed chair, the Hollis Professor of Divinity.

Fragment’s authenticity

The Vatican newspaper cited concerns expressed by other scholars about the fragment’s authenticity and the fact that it was purchased on the market without a known archaeological provenance.

The origin of the papyrus fragment remains a mystery, and its owner has asked to remain anonymous.

Ms King had initially shown the fragment to only a small circle of experts in papyrology and Coptic linguistics, who concluded that it most likely was not a forgery. But she and her collaborators say they are eager for more scholars to examine the papyrus and prove them wrong.

The discovery has reignited the debate over whether Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and if he had a female disciple. The Bible says he had 12 male disciples. These debates date back to the early centuries of Christianity, scholars say.

The discussion is particularly lively in the Roman Catholic Church where, despite calls for change, the Vatican has reiterated the teaching that the priesthood cannot be opened to women and married men because of the model set by Jesus.

Kate Cooper, a professor in Ancient History at the University of Manchester, told the BBC the presentation of the papyrus could not have been timed better to generate controversy, coming just weeks before the Church of England votes on women bishops.

Ms King has also cautioned that the finding should not be taken as proof that the biblical Jesus was married.

“It is not evidence, for us, historically, that Jesus had a wife,” she said. “It’s quite clear evidence, in fact, that some Christians, probably in the second half of the 2nd century, thought that Jesus had a wife.”

“Jesus spoke in parables, thus his words cannot be taken literally,” added Rev Karanja. Analysts have suggested that Jesus could have been referring to the church as his wife. One suggested the complete sentence could have read: “Jesus said to them, ‘my wife the church to whom I am the bridegroom…”.