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Saint Mark: Difference between revisions
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In 1958, Morton Smith discovered at Mar Saba, a Greek Orthodox monastery in the Judean desert, a fragment of a previously unknown letter of the second-century Church Father Clement of Alexandria, which reveals that Mark wrote a secret Gospel: | In 1958, Morton Smith discovered at Mar Saba, a Greek Orthodox monastery in the Judean desert, a fragment of a previously unknown letter of the second-century Church Father Clement of Alexandria, which reveals that Mark wrote a secret Gospel: | ||
<blockquote>Mark, then, during Peter’s stay in Rome ... wrote [an account of] the Lord’s doings, not, however, declaring all [of them], nor yet hinting at the secret [ones], but selecting those he thought most useful for increasing the faith of those who were being instructed. But when Peter died as a martyr, Mark came over to Alexandria, bringing both his own notes and those of Peter, from which he transferred to his former book the things suitable to whatever makes for progress toward knowledge [gnosis]. [Thus] he composed a more spiritual Gospel for the use of those who were being perfected. Nevertheless, he yet did not divulge the things not to be uttered, nor did he write down the hierophantic<ref>Hierophantic [from Greek ''hieros'', powerful, supernatural, holy, sacred + ''phantes'', from ''phainein'', to bring to light, reveal, show, make known]: of, relating to, or resembling a hierophant, who in antiquity was an official expounder of sacred mysteries or religious ceremonies, esp. in ancient Greece.</ref> teaching of the Lord, but to the stories already written he added yet others and, moreover, brought in certain sayings of which he knew the interpretation would, as a mystagogue,<ref>''Mystagogue'': one who initiates another into a mystery cult</ref> lead the hearers into the innermost sanctuary of that truth hidden by seven [veils]. Thus, in sum, he prearranged matters, neither grudgingly nor incautiously, in my opinion, and, dying, he left his composition to the church in Alexandria, where it even yet is most carefully guarded, being read only to those who are being initiated into the great mysteries.<ref>Morton Smith, ''The Secret Gospel: The Discovery and Interpretation of the Secret Gospel According to Mark (Dawn Horse Press, 1982), p. 15. Note: Words in brackets were added in by Smith for clarity.</ref></blockquote> | <blockquote>Mark, then, during Peter’s stay in Rome ... wrote [an account of] the Lord’s doings, not, however, declaring all [of them], nor yet hinting at the secret [ones], but selecting those he thought most useful for increasing the faith of those who were being instructed. But when Peter died as a martyr, Mark came over to Alexandria, bringing both his own notes and those of Peter, from which he transferred to his former book the things suitable to whatever makes for progress toward knowledge [gnosis]. [Thus] he composed a more spiritual Gospel for the use of those who were being perfected. Nevertheless, he yet did not divulge the things not to be uttered, nor did he write down the hierophantic<ref>Hierophantic [from Greek ''hieros'', powerful, supernatural, holy, sacred + ''phantes'', from ''phainein'', to bring to light, reveal, show, make known]: of, relating to, or resembling a hierophant, who in antiquity was an official expounder of sacred mysteries or religious ceremonies, esp. in ancient Greece.</ref> teaching of the Lord, but to the stories already written he added yet others and, moreover, brought in certain sayings of which he knew the interpretation would, as a mystagogue,<ref>''Mystagogue'': one who initiates another into a mystery cult</ref> lead the hearers into the innermost sanctuary of that truth hidden by seven [veils]. Thus, in sum, he prearranged matters, neither grudgingly nor incautiously, in my opinion, and, dying, he left his composition to the church in Alexandria, where it even yet is most carefully guarded, being read only to those who are being initiated into the great mysteries.<ref>Morton Smith, ''The Secret Gospel: The Discovery and Interpretation of the Secret Gospel According to Mark'' (Dawn Horse Press, 1982), p. 15. Note: Words in brackets were added in by Smith for clarity.</ref></blockquote> | ||
Smith and other scholars analyzed the fragment of Clement’s letter and the majority agreed it had in fact been written by the Church Father. Smith then concluded from stylistic study that secret Mark did not belong to the family of New Testament apocrypha composed during and after the late second century, but that it had been written at least as early as <small>A</small>.<small>D</small>. 100–120.<ref>Ibid., p. 40.</ref> Furthermore, from other clues Smith makes a good case for it having been written even earlier—around the same time as the Gospel of Mark.<ref>Ibid., p. 61.</ref> | Smith and other scholars analyzed the fragment of Clement’s letter and the majority agreed it had in fact been written by the Church Father. Smith then concluded from stylistic study that secret Mark did not belong to the family of New Testament apocrypha composed during and after the late second century, but that it had been written at least as early as <small>A</small>.<small>D</small>. 100–120.<ref>Ibid., p. 40.</ref> Furthermore, from other clues Smith makes a good case for it having been written even earlier—around the same time as the Gospel of Mark.<ref>Ibid., p. 61.</ref> | ||