The Gospel of Matthias is a lost text from the

New Testament apocrypha The New Testament apocrypha (singular apocryphon) are a number of writings by early Christians that give accounts of Jesus and his teachings, the nature of God, or the teachings of his apostles and of their lives. Some of these writings were cite ...

, ascribed to

Matthias Matthias is a name derived from the Greek Ματθαίος, in origin similar to Matthew. People Notable people named Matthias include the following: In religion: * Saint Matthias, chosen as an apostle in Acts 1:21–26 to replace Judas Iscariot * ...

, the

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

chosen by lots to replace

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas bet ...

(Acts 1:15–26). The content has been surmised from various descriptions of it in ancient works by

church fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...

. There is too little evidence to decide whether a Traditions of Matthias is the same work, according to J.B. Matthews, ''The Anchor Bible Dictionary'' (IV:644).

Historical references

This Gospel is lost, but

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen ...

while describing the Nicolaitanes, quotes a sentence ascribed to Matthias urging

asceticism Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...

: "we must combat our flesh, set no value upon it, and concede to it nothing that can flatter it, but rather increase the growth of our soul by faith and knowledge". The ''Gospel of Matthias'' was mentioned by

Origen of Alexandria Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and the ...

; by

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...

, who attributes it to

heretics Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

; by

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...

, and in the

Decretum Gelasianum The Gelasian Decree ( la, Decretum Gelasianum) is a Latin text traditionally thought to be a Decretal of the prolific Pope Gelasius I, bishop of Rome from 492–496. The work reached its final form in a five-chapter text written by an anonymous ...

which declares it

apocrypha Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...

l. It comes at the end of the list of the

Biblical Canon A biblical canon is a set of texts (also called "books") which a particular Jewish or Christian religious community regards as part of the Bible. The English word ''canon'' comes from the Greek , meaning " rule" or " measuring stick". The ...

in the ''

Codex Baroccianus Baroccianus is an adjective applied to manuscripts indicating an origin in the ''Baroccianum'', a Venetian collection assembled by the humanist Francesco Barozzi (Barocius). A large part of that collection was sold after the death of Iacopo Barozz ...

'' 206, formerly in the library of

Francesco Barozzi Francesco Barozzi (in Latin, ''Franciscus Barocius'') (9 August 1537 – 23 November 1604) was an Italian mathematician, astronomer and humanist. Life Barozzi was born on the island of Crete, at Candia (now Heraklion), at the time a Venetian p ...

("Barocius") of Venice. This lost gospel is probably the document whence Clement of Alexandria quoted several passages, saying that they were borrowed from the traditions of Matthias, ''Paradoseis'', the testimony of which he claimed to have been invoked by the heretics Valentinus,

Marcion Marcion of Sinope (; grc, Μαρκίων ; ) was an early Christian theologian in early Christianity. Marcion preached that God had sent Jesus Christ who was an entirely new, alien god, distinct from the vengeful God of Israel who had created ...

, and

Basilides Basilides ( Greek: Βασιλείδης) was an early Christian Gnostic religious teacher in Alexandria, Egypt who taught from 117 to 138 AD, notes that to prove that the heretical sects were "later than the catholic Church," Clement of Alexandr ...

. According to ''

Philosophoumena The ''Refutation of All Heresies'' ( grc-gre, Φιλοσοφούμενα ή κατὰ πασῶν αἱρέσεων ἔλεγχος; la, Refutatio Omnium Haeresium), also called the ''Elenchus'' or ''Philosophumena'', is a compendious Christian po ...

'', VII.20, Basilides quoted apocryphal discourses that he attributed to Matthias. These three writings: the Gospel, the Traditions, and the apocryphal Discourses were reckoned, by

Theodor Zahn Theodor Zahn or Theodor von Zahn (10 October 1838 in Moers – 5 March 1933 in Erlangen) was a German Protestant theologian, a biblical scholar. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature three times. Career Zahn was born in Moers of the ...

, as referring to a single work. But

Adolf von Harnack Carl Gustav Adolf von Harnack (born Harnack; 7 May 1851 – 10 June 1930) was a Baltic German Lutheran theologian and prominent Church historian. He produced many religious publications from 1873 to 1912 (in which he is sometimes credite ...

''Chron. der altchristlichen Litteratur'', 597. denied this identification.

In popular culture

A fictional copy of the gospel is used in the HBO series ''

Carnivàle ''Carnivàle'' () is an American television series set in the United States Dust Bowl during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The series, created by Daniel Knauf, ran for two seasons between 2003 and 2005. In tracing the lives of disparate g ...

'', where it describes the show's mythological creatures, the Usher of Destruction and Avatara. A fictionalized version of the gospel is also the subject of Wilton Barnhardt's 1993 novel, '' Gospel: a novel''. The novel relates the search for and finding of Matthias' lost work. The Gospel of Matthias also serves as a core finding in the book, "The Secret of Altamura" and as the central fact in "The Paletti Notebook" by Dick Rosano.

References

1st-century Christian texts

New Testament apocrypha {{NewTestament-apocrypha-stub

Historical references

In popular culture

See also

References