Teachings of Jesus - Gnostic Gospel of St Thomas - Christian Mystics

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This is a selection of "Sayings of Jesus" from the gnostic Gospel of St. Thomas (translated by Stephen J. Patterson and James M. Robinson) plus a few other selections of Jesus' key teachings from other gospels.

The Gospel of Thomas (also known as the Coptic Gospel of Thomas) is a non-canonical sayings gospel. It was discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945 among a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library. Scholars speculate that the works were buried in response to a letter from Bishop Athanasius declaring a strict canon of Christian scripture. Scholars have proposed dates of composition as early as AD 60 and as late as AD 140.

The Coptic-language text, the second of seven contained in what modern-day scholars have designated as Codex II, is composed of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus. In the Gnostic Christian tradition, Christ is seen as a divine being which has taken human form in order to lead humanity back to the Light. The usual meaning of gnostikos in Classical Greek texts is "learned" or "intellectual".

Art image - "Ground" by Dan Hillier used with kind permission of the artist.

Music: Father Archimandrite Serafim Bit-Kharibi and his choir - Saint- Petersburg