Gospel of Saint Thomas

The apocryphal Gospel of Thomas was found with the Nag Hammadi excavations in 1947-49. It is written in Coptic and belongs to the Gnostic tradition, dating to around AD200. The content of this "gospel" is a collection of sayings of Christ, but little in the way of any actions.

Gnosticism was a philosophical orientation that was strong in the first century AD. It competed with Judaism and Christianity, but eventually failed in the struggle. "Gnosis" simply means "Knowledge." The classical Gnostic view is that salvation derives from an insight into secret knowledge and the capacity to discover truth by means of our intellect alone. The Gnostic view also understands everything as an outcome of a struggle between two powers, light and good versus dark and evil. This dualism is what characterizes Gnosticism.

There were a number of Gnostic writers and writers of other cults and sects in the days of early Christianity that used and reinterpreted Christian theology to suit their own philosophical points of view. The gospel of Thomas is an example of this. St Paul warns against such views and instructs Christians to stay away from them.

Gnosticism led to a kind of elitism where only those with the "secret knowledge" could hope to be saved. One needed to be rather clever to understand that secret knowledge, too. Christ brought and continues to bring salvation to all who believe in Him, open their hearts to Him and follow in His Way by means of His Grace through the life-giving waters of His One, Holy, Orthodox-Catholic and Apostolic Church. While insights into the Mysteries of the Orthodox Catholic Faith are certainly welcome, especially from the Fathers, the Church is instructed to "test the spirits" and accept only what is "of Christ and the Holy Spirit."

Let us also remember that this is a good illustration concerning how the Bible canon was formulated. The Bible did not "drop from Heaven." For every book of the New Testament that was accepted and canonized by the Orthodox Catholic Church of Christ, one or more were rejected. Some of those not included were rejected for outright heresy, including the Gnostic heresy. Others were rejected, but continued to be read by the Christian faithful for their Orthodox, inspirational value. Such as the case with the Gospel of Nicodemus and the Letters of Clement. The Ethiopians continue to include the extracanonical Book of Enoch and the Book of Jubilees as their official Old Testament Scripture. They also have quite a large collection of Old Testament apocrypha that they include after their Old Testament text for people to read. They also include the eight books of the Apostolic Constitutions into their New Testament Canon! The Celtic Christians read the Shepherd of Hermas and the Creed of the Apostles as part of their New Testament. There is still disagreement between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches on the acceptance of four books of the deuterocanonical Old Testament collection (i.e. the Orthodox Church accepts them, the Roman West rejects them).

There are collections of such texts which have been edited by orthodox Christian scholars. It is not in keeping with the Mind of the Church for us to read heretical texts. However, one might read other writings that do not go against the principles of faith. I myself have found the Gospel of Nicodemus and the Psalms of Solomon (a Christian work) to be inspiring. The services of the Orthodox Church have also borrowed from such writings which describe, for example, the suffering of St Andrew on a cross, the Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos and other Feasts. I also find it helpful to refer to a Priest for guidance in this and to be open to his suggestions and recommendations on these and other matters. That is what our Priests are there for. I have been so blessed to have had the good advice, over the years, of our Priests and pray that I will continue to have it in all aspects of my spiritual and daily life! God bless!

Also see: Gospel of Saint Thomas and Fear |What the Gospel of Thomas Really Means

Dr. Alexander Roman alex@unicorne.org