Gospel of Philip

The Gospel of Philip is a non-canonical Gnostic Gospel dated to around the 3rd century but lost in medieval times until rediscovered by accident, buried with other texts near Nag Hammadi in Egypt, in 1945.

The Gospel is not accepted as canonical by the Christian church. Although it may have some relationship to the beliefs expressed in the Gospel of Thomas, scholars are divided as to whether it should be read as a single discourse or as a collection of otherwise unrelated Valentinian sayings. Sacraments, in particular the sacrament of marriage, are a major theme. As in other texts often associated with what has been referred to as "Gnosticism," such as the Gospel of Thomas and Gospel of Mary, the Gospel of Philip defends a tradition that gives Mary Magdalene a special relationship and insight into Jesus's teaching. The text contains fifteen sayings of Jesus. Seven of these sayings are also found in the canonical gospels, and two are closely related to sayings in the Gospel of Thomas.