Kristina Kljajic
Function, BBC journalist
When I was preparing for an exam in medieval literature in undergraduate studies, I couldn't sleep for several days.
And I had a good reason - it was time for analysis. apocrypha, ancient Christian texts that are not included in the canonical book of the Bible.
I was afraid of everything, from little Jesus turning a child into a tree, to unusual prayers adapted to Balkan culture.
The Apocrypha have interested scholars for centuries. theologians, historians, and believers, as some of them offer alternative stories about Jesus, his disciples, and early Christian communities.
The word apocrypha itself means "doubtful or hidden," theologian Jovan Blagojević tells BBC Serbian.
The Bible consists of the Old and New Testaments, the former representing the holy book of Judaism, and the latter, together, representing the holy book of Christianity.
The New Testament consists of four gospels - accounts of Jesus' life attributed to his disciples - Luke, Matthew, Mark, and John.
"Canonical texts are authoritative writings that were included in the Bible, while apocryphal texts are omitted because their religious message is believed to be not entirely authentic," Blagojević adds.
Here are five unusual claims from these writings that present the Christian tradition in a different light.
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1. As a child, Jesus made living birds out of clay
In the "Gospel of the Youth of Jesus Christ", one of the apocryphal texts from the 2nd century, attributed to to the apostle Thomas, it is described how the little Jesus played in the mud and molded 12 clay sparrows.
When people objected to him playing on the Sabbath, which is a holy day for Jews, he clapped his hands and the birds came to life and flew away.
"We should not be surprised that this text has been declared banned."
"In addition to learning that Christ had miraculous powers of revival and healing from a very early childhood, we also have segments in it that depict him as a child who knows how to get angry, take revenge, curse, and kill," explains Maja Anđelković, professor of medieval literature at the Faculty of Philology and Arts in Kragujevac.
In the same text, Jesus turns one child into a tree and brings another back to life after pushing him off a terrace.
"Jesus was playing on the top floor of a house, but one of the children playing with him fell from the floor and died."
"When the other children saw this, they ran away, and Jesus was left alone. And the parents of the dead child accused Jesus of pushing him to fall."
"And Jesus said, I did not push him, but they accused him equally. Then Jesus jumped down from the roof and stood beside the dead child and cried out with a loud voice, saying, Woman, for that was his name, arise and tell me, did I push you?"
"And immediately he arose and said, No, Lord, you did not cast me down, but you raised me from the dead. And when they saw it, they were amazed; and the parents of the child glorified God for the signs which they had seen, and they worshipped Jesus."
Based on the text, one gets the impression that Christ, "regardless of his uniqueness and divine-human nature, went through different developmental phases like every child," explains Andjelković.
This apocrypha "fills the biblical gap from Jesus' birth to his sermons," he adds.
2. Judas did not betray Jesus – he helped him
Already 2.000 years old, Christianity portrays Judas as the apostle who betrayed Jesus with a kiss for 30 pieces of silver, which led to his arrest and crucifixion.
Ancient text "Gospel of Judas" he questioned Judas Iscariot's reputation as one of the most notorious villains in history.
The "Gospel of Judas," a manuscript discovered in Egypt in the 1970s, was only published in 2006 and portrays its author in a completely different light, the BBC wrote earlier.
However, there is doubt about the authenticity of this text, says theologian Blagojević.
"According to this text, Judas was not a villain but someone who betrayed Jesus on his orders, in order to preserve the Christian narrative and lead to the crucifixion and resurrection," he adds.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is considered in Christianity to be the victory of faith and life over death, which is why Easter is the greatest holiday for believers.
3. Mary Magdalene as Jesus' closest disciple
While in the canonical gospels Mary Magdalene is depicted as one of Jesus' followers, in the "Gospel of Mary" she appears as his closest disciple and the woman to whom he was entrusted with the secrets of learning.
She is originally from the mountainous regions of Syria, around the town of Magdala, which is why she was named Magdalene.
According to the Bible, this young sinner, and later a disciple of Jesus, mourned under the crucified Jesus on Golgotha, together with his mother, the Virgin Mary, and visited his tomb three times.
"She is one of the most unknown women in the Bible," said hagiologist Tiago Maerki, a scholar of early Christianity and a member of the Hagiographic Society of the United States. previously for the BBC.
Hagiology is the study of saints.
"On the one hand, she is a saint, a woman who has converted. On the other hand, she is a prostitute," he added.
These are Gnostic texts, explains Jovan Blagojvić.
Gnosticism is a set of religious ideas that emerged in the 1st century AD among early Christians, according to which faith is based on knowledge.
4. Jesus died of laughter?
One of the apocryphal texts brings a vision in which Jesus, during the crucifixion - nailing to a cross, which was a form of punishment in ancient Rome - appears in a different form and He laughs at those who think they are crucifying him.
According to this Gnostic view, the body is transient, and the true being of Jesus is beyond physical suffering, writes theologian Marius Nel in his work "He Who Laughs Last – Jesus and Laughter in the Synoptic and Gnostic Traditions".
"During the crucifixion, Jesus is depicted laughing at the ignorance of the supposed executioners who think they killed him," Nell writes.
And the laughter is primarily directed at those who misunderstand Jesus.
"In the Gnostic writings, those who misunderstand him the most are his own followers, who think they know who he is, but who do not possess true knowledge of his identity."
"The description of Jesus' laughter emphasizes that opponents of the Gnostic movement misunderstood him, while only the Gnostics had the true knowledge of who he was," Nell writes.
5. Eve is not to blame for the expulsion from paradise.
In some early Christian apocrypha, such as "The Life of Adam and Eve", it is written that the first people had descendants before they were expelled from paradise.
This is an unofficial biography of the first couple on earth, according to religious teachings, who, at the urging of the serpent, ate the forbidden fruit and disobeyed God's command.
The first motif, concerning man's fall and transgression of God's command - not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, is particularly developed, says Andjelković.
What makes this segment of the story special are the two perspectives on seeing the first sin.
"One is the common one, which comes from Adam, the story that Eve is to blame for everything, and that thanks to her transgression, man became mortal," says the professor.
The second story is much broader, and brings Eva's view of the entire situation, and all those segments and data that are not written down anywhere, but which, upon careful reading, certainly puzzle scientists, she says.
"How did God assign Adam and Eve's duties, how did the devil manage to enter Paradise, how did he deceive Eve, why did Eve believe him, what happened after their expulsion from Paradise, and finally - who is actually to blame for the offense committed, was there an evil intention or was the reason something else," explains Andjelković.
How did the apocrypha appear in the Balkans?
Various visions and apocalypses, Old and New Testament, apocryphal epistles, false gospels and other stories had a strong influence on popular understandings and beliefs and left traces both in oral tradition and written literature, as well as in art.
However, even today they have not ceased to intrigue readers, believes theologian Blagojević.
"These texts are rich in symbolism, have elements of myth, and also provide us with alternative insights into religious and philosophical ideas."
Some of the apocrypha are older than Christianity, as they relate to Old Testament legends and are estimated to have originated in the 2nd century BC, says Professor Andjelković.
They survived for a long time, and "new variants were created until almost the 19th century."
Appearing in the shadow of biblical writings throughout the Christian world, even in Serbia.
"It is not possible to speak with certainty about when the oldest versions of the apocrypha in the Serbo-Slavic language were created in our environment, but it is reliably known that certain writings about the Virgin Mary were present as early as the 13th century."
"Most of it was a translation of Greek texts, which was refined and shaped over time," explains Andjelković.
The wide distribution of the Apocrypha is a consequence of the lively copying and translation tradition that existed in earlier centuries in Slavic areas.
"Liver, more interesting, and clearer storytelling ensured their long existence."
"The apocrypha often includes explanations of certain terms and events, which further affects their comprehensibility and receptivity," says Aneđelković.
As an example, he cites that in some domestic translations, the organization of angels is compared to an army and ranks, which was easier for people to understand.
The exam in medieval literature is long overdue, and these texts, although sometimes clearer than the Bible, are still a bit creepy to me.
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