The Nag Hammadi Library
Fifty-two early Christian texts buried in Upper Egypt around 367 CE — gospels of Thomas, Philip, Truth, and Mary, the Apocryphon of John, the Sophia of Jesus Christ, and the parallel Christianity the councils erased. The Coptic manuscripts are ancient and free, but every serious English translation (Robinson 1977, Meyer 2007, Layton 1987) is under active copyright and can't legally be reproduced here. Below: the official free digital editions where you can read the full library, and where the codices themselves are held.
Fifty-two early Christian texts buried in Upper Egypt around 367 CE — gospels of Thomas, Philip, Truth, and Mary, the Apocryphon of John, the Sophia of Jesus Christ, and the parallel Christianity the councils erased. The Coptic manuscripts are ancient and free, but every serious English translation (Robinson 1977, Meyer 2007, Layton 1987) is under active copyright and can't legally be reproduced here. Below: the official free digital editions where you can read the full library, and where the codices themselves are held.
The texts are free — the translations aren't ours to host.
The Coptic manuscripts are ancient and public domain, but every serious English translation (Robinson 1977, Meyer 2007, Layton 1987) is under active copyright. Each book below links out to the official free digital edition hosted by the Gnostic Society Library.
The Gospel of Thomas
Read →Codex II · 114 sayings of the living Jesus
The sayings gospel — no narrative, no crucifixion, just Jesus' teachings. Overlaps ~50% with Matthew, Mark, and Luke, with parables the canon never kept.
Meyer translation · gnosis.org
The Gospel of Philip
Read →Codex II · sacramental theology
The bridal-chamber sacrament, Mary Magdalene as Jesus' companion, and the clearest early Christian statement that resurrection happens in this life, not after.
Isenberg translation · gnosis.org
The Gospel of Truth
Read →Codex I · Valentinian homily
A poetic meditation on the Father, the Word, and the return of the lost — attributed by many scholars to Valentinus himself.
Attridge & MacRae · gnosis.org
The Gospel of Mary
Read →Berlin Codex · Mary Magdalene as apostle
Mary receives a private revelation from the risen Christ and teaches it to Peter and the disciples — the earliest surviving text naming a woman as an authoritative teacher of the Jesus movement.
King translation · gnosis.org
The Apocryphon of John
Read →Codices II, III, IV & Berlin · Sethian cosmology
The full Sethian creation myth — the Monad, the aeons, Sophia's fall, and the Demiurge Yaldabaoth who made this world thinking he was the only god.
Wisse translation · gnosis.org
The Apocryphon of James
Read →Codex I · secret teachings after the resurrection
A private revelation to James and Peter 550 days after the resurrection — the teachings Jesus withheld from the crowds.
Williams translation · gnosis.org
The Sophia of Jesus Christ
Read →Codex III · risen Christ dialogue
The risen Jesus answers his disciples' questions about the Father, the aeons, and how the divine spark came to be trapped in matter.
Parrott translation · gnosis.org
The Apocalypse of Peter
Read →Codex VII · Peter's vision of the crucifixion
Peter sees the crucifixion from a Gnostic vantage — the laughing Savior above the cross, and the fleshly body suffering below.
Brashler & Bullard · gnosis.org
The (First) Apocalypse of James
Read →Codex V · Jesus prepares James for martyrdom
Jesus teaches James the passwords the soul needs to pass the archons on its ascent — days before James' own death in Jerusalem.
Schoedel translation · gnosis.org
The (Second) Apocalypse of James
Read →Codex V · James' final speech and death
James' last discourse in the Temple and the account of his stoning — a Jewish-Christian martyrdom told from inside the Jerusalem church.
Hedrick translation · gnosis.org
Where the codices live.
All thirteen leather-bound codices are held together in a single collection at the Coptic Museum in Old Cairo, a short walk from the Hanging Church.
Coptic Museum
Permanent home of all thirteen Nag Hammadi codices, held in the museum's manuscripts wing since shortly after their 1945 discovery.
Mar Girgis, Old Cairo, Cairo Governorate
Plan a visit →