ND Expert: Authentic or not, Jesus’ wife papyrus sheds light on diversity of opinion in the early church | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › ND Expert: Authentic or not, Jesus’ wife papyrus sheds light on diversity of opinion in the early church ND Expert: Authentic or not, Jesus’ wife papyrus sheds light on diversity of opinion in the early church Published: September 27, 2012 Author: Michael O. Garvey Candida Moss Whether or not it is authenticated, the recent discovery of a purported fourth-century papyrus fragment that quotes Jesus as referring to his wife “has some important ramifications for how we think about the early church,” according to Candida Moss, professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame. “Even if the text is a modern forgery, it draws attention to a debate about the status of women and the marital status of Jesus himself that scholars know was ongoing in the early church," said Moss, who teaches courses in New Testament and Christian Origins. “It is unclear in this recent discovery to what the key and novel phrase ‘my wife’ refers. Perhaps Jesus is referring to the otherwise unknown Mary as his wife in a spiritual sense in the way that female Christian martyrs were sometimes called his ‘bride’ (for example in the third century Passion of Perpetua and Felicity). “This story also refers to Jesus as being with the martyrs, in a physical sense, at the time of their deaths, an idea that would make sense of the following sentences of the fragment in which Jesus ‘dwells’ with his wife. Perhaps, as many have noted, Jesus refers to the Church in general as his ‘wife.’ Perhaps, some early Christians thought that Jesus — like the Apostle Peter — had an actual wife. Although, in this case, we should note that there’s no evidence that Jesus himself had a wife, merely that people thought he did. “Whether or not the text is an authentic ancient text, it doesn’t provide evidence about the historical Jesus, but its announcement has directed us to the fact that there was greater diversity of opinion among early Christians about the status of women than many people realize and that, just like today, the personal example and sayings of Jesus formed the centerpiece of this debate.” A scholar of Biblical studies and early Christian history, Moss writes and lectures on Biblical and early Christian literature, history and thought. She is the author of “The Other Christs: Imitating Jesus in Ancient Christian Ideologies of Martyrdom” and “Ancient Christian Martyrdom: Diverse Practices, Ideologies, and Traditions.” Contact: Candida Moss, 574-631-5079 or candida.moss@nd.edu Posted In: Faith Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related October 03, 2022 dCEC to Award 2023 ND Evangelium Vitae Medal to Robert P. George September 22, 2022 In memoriam: Rev. Richard Warner, C.S.C., longtime leader for Notre Dame, Congregation of Holy Cross September 15, 2022 In new book on global Catholicism, Provost John McGreevy explores modern history, current challenges of the Church September 15, 2022 Death penalty abolitionist Sister Helen Prejean to speak at Notre Dame September 14, 2022 Apostolic nuncio to Great Britain to deliver the 2022 Keeley Vatican Lecture For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn