WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Bronislaus B. Kush TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
bkush@telegram.com
Historians and religious scholars said they are intrigued about the discovery of an ancient Egyptian document suggesting that Jesus Christ had a spouse, but they stressed that the faded, fourth century piece of papyrus doesn’t provide conclusive proof that the rabbi from Nazareth had been married.
“This is a fascinating find but there are a lot of questions that need to be answered before one can definitely say that Jesus was married,” said Virginia C. Raguin, a professor of art history at the College of the Holy Cross.
On Monday, Karen L. King, a historian of early Christianity at the Harvard Divinity School, announced that she had in her possession a fragment of papyrus written in Coptic with the words: “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife. . .’ ”
The eight-lined fragment — smaller than a business card — further states, “She will be my disciple.”
The revelation by Ms. King, Harvard’s Hollis Professor of Divinity, caused a buzz in the academic world and reignited debates that go back to the early days of Christianity about whether or not Jesus was married.
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