More information on The Gospel of Judas

A Professor from the Moscow Theological Academy explains why The Gospel of Judas cannot change the vision of Christ's life that we already have from the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John:

Moscow, April 7, Interfax - Deacon Andrey Kurayev, professor at Moscow Theological Academy, is convinced that the so-called Gospel of Judas published in the USA can add nothing to the canonical vision of the life of either the Saviour or the apostolic community.

'This document cannot be traced back to Judas Iscariot for the simple reason that Judas hung himself on the day Christ was crucified and no Gospel of Judas can exist. Most probably, this work was created by one of the 3th-4th century Gnostic sects', Father Andrey said in an interview to Interfax.

He said all kinds of pseudo-Christian occult sects thrived in that period, especially in Egypt. Some of them deliberately appropriated the names of negative biblical characters. For instance, Ophite (Greek for serpent) sect worshipped the serpent who tempted Adam and Eve in Eden, while the Cainite sect named itself after Cain, the first murderer in the Old Testament.

'I believe the so-called Gospel of Judas can certainly clarify our ideas of the Gnostic beliefs of that time, but this manuscript will hardly change in any way our vision of the life of either Christ or the apostolic community of the 1st century', Father Andrew stated.