The Gospel of Philip
c. 180–250 CE · Early Christian / Gnostic · Syria or Egypt
*This translation is not currently available.* The Gospel of Philip is a Valentinian Gnostic text preserved in Nag Hammadi Codex II. Like the other Nag Hammadi codices, it was discovered in Egypt in 1945; no translation is possible before that date. Adequate English translations post-date the discovery and remain under copyright. We are actively exploring ways to include this text. Subscribe to our email list at anunnaki.ai for updates when new texts are added.
notes
The Gospel of Philip is a Valentinian Gnostic text preserved in the Nag Hammadi Codex II, discovered in Egypt in 1945. Though no pre-1928 English translation exists, the text itself is a compilation of Gnostic theological reflections, aphorisms, and homilies, likely assembled in Syria in the 3rd century CE. Its central concern is the "bridal chamber" — the supreme Gnostic sacrament, representing the reunion of the soul with its angelic counterpart and ultimately with the divine. The text is remarkable for its portrayal of Mary Magdalene as the companion (Coptic: koinonos) of Jesus and the object of his special love, a passage that has attracted enormous scholarly and popular attention. Unlike the canonical gospels, the Gospel of Philip is not narrative but theological — it proceeds through a series of paradoxes, riddles, and meditations on the nature of names, sacraments, truth, and the relationship between the visible and invisible worlds. Its saying "Truth did not come into the world naked, but it came in types and images" encapsulates its hermeneutical approach: the physical world is a veil of symbols pointing toward higher realities. Composite rendering from the Coptic.
currently held: Coptic Museum, Cairo (Nag Hammadi Codex II)
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*This translation is not currently available.* The Gospel of Thomas is a Coptic sayings-gospel attributed to Didymos Judas Thomas and preserved in Nag Hammadi Codex II. The codex was discovered in Egypt in December 1945; no translation of any kind is possible before that date. All adequate English…