Customer Reviews

The Lost Gospel of Mary: The Mother of Jesus in Three Ancient Texts

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Paraclete Press sent me a complimentary copy of The Lost Gospel of Mary by Frederica Mathewes-Green. The title might suggest a sensationalistic book which contains some supposedly lost gnostic writings that tell us about the real Mary--a Mary that is nothing like the Mary found in the Christian Scriptures. But that's not the case at all. Paraclete Press is probably trying to attract the attention of those who are interested in gnostic writings but the scholarship within the book is very good. The book contains three texts from the early church that are either about or addressed to Mary with lots of introductory material and commentary.

The first text is the longest and is my favorite. Most scholars refer to it as the Protevangelium of James. Frederica Mathewes-Green calls it the Gospel of Mary and her title is fitting. This was written sometime before AD 150 and is all about the life of Mary from her birth through the birth of Christ. In the early church some regarded it as canonical. It fills in some interesting information about her betrothal and supports the tradition that Mary remained a virgin through the birthing process. Frederica Mathewes-Green writes within the Eastern Orthodox tradition and offers a pretty balanced view of how we should regard this document. I don't see anything in this text that contradicts the Scriptures--just some filling in of details. I'm suspicious of a few of the details in the story but the bulk of it seems believable. There are a few translations of this text floating around the internet but this translations is the easiest read and has lots of helpful notes.

The second text is a prayer addressed to Mary, asking her for protection that was written around AD 250. This text does not really tell us about Mary and who she is. I don't believe this is practice that we should imitate but it does help us understand how some in the early church understood Mary. Mary certainly does pray for us but we have no promise that Mary hears our prayers.

The third text was written by St. Romanos around AD 520. The Eastern Orthodox refer to it as the "Akathist Hymn." Frederica Mathewes-Green appropriately calls it the "Annunciation Hymn." It is sung from the perspective of Gabriel. There are many Scriptural allusions throughout the hymn and some very clever poetic work that brings out some profound theological truth. I'm not saying agree with everything the hymn says about Mary but there is much truth to be found there and some excellent poetry. Frederica Mathewes-Green does caution against taking some of the things that are said about Mary too literally.

I disagree with some of the theology of the book but I still recommend it highly. Frederica Mathewes-Green has a real gift for being able to communicate to those outside of her own tradition without pandering to them or misleading them.

Like all of Ms. Mathewes-Green's books, this is a joy to read as well as nourishing food for the soul. If you come from one of the Protestant traditions (as does the author herself) forget everything you think you know about the tradition of Mary. This little gem will introduce you to a beautiful, new world.

Christianity is derived from two sources: Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. All too often, Scripture is emphasized more so than tradition. In this book Ms. Mathewes-Green introduces us to the Sacred Tradition behind Mary and the events leading up to the birth of Christ. I really appreciated the way she outlined the Protoevangelium and made it easy for people to understand. This 'pre-gospel' written by James the brother of Jesus is not one that is accepted by Protestants and even some Catholics get 'nervous' about it, but I feel that even though it is not a part of the recognized "canon" it is still a very interesting and useful source for Christians to understand why the Theotokos the Virgin Mary is important for us to respect, and it demonstrates in detail how her example of obedience to God is a good example for all of us to follow.

I'm very disappointed with myself for waiting so long to read this wonderful book. Khouria Frederica introduces us to three ancient texts, the "Protoevangelion of James" (circa 150 CE), the "Sub tuum praesidium" (circa 250 CE), and the "Akathist to the Theotokos" (circa 520 CE), each of them exemplifying some important aspect of early Christian Mariology and Marian devotion. She offers her own (very well done) translation and her own (very illuminating) notes on each of these texts in this book. She also offers some basic information that goes a long way in aiding an understanding of early Christian and Orthodox veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I recommend this book especially to those who are already Orthodox or who are considering Orthodoxy but are struggling to understand the Church's love for the Holy Virgin. This is by far the best introduction I have read to an Orthodox understanding of the Holy Mother of God. I hope more people will read this excellent book.

It really bothers me when a publisher tries to cash in on the current American penchant for lost or hidden Gospels, when in fact what is being published was always available in any half-decent library. This is the case with the "Lost" Gospel of Mary, aka the Protoevangelium of James. It was never hidden, forbidden or lost. It was not considered Scropture by the Eastern or the Western Church, and it is still not so considered, but it has been the source for legends, art and even for a number of feasts. And its text has always been available if one know where to look (obviously not in Bibles). When I wrote my Dissertation on a Medieval infancy narrative, I had no trouble finding it in English, Spanish and in the original Greek, plus also in Latin. The "Gospel" in question is apocryphal (i.e., not by James, and clearly, from internmal evidence, not by any relative or friend of Mary's, since it shows abysmal ignorance of elementary Jewish customs. However, it is essential dfor understanding much of medieval art. And granted that the commentator shows a good amount of naivete from a historical-critical point of view, she does have some good spiritual insights.
The commentatror also tries to present the prayer "To your protection we fly, o Mother of God" as just discovered. In fact, not only has it been in prayer-books from time out of mind, but even the fact that it may be the oldest known prayer to Mary comes from its dicovery in an ancient papyrus -- but hat papyrus was known, and its significance noted, in books I own which date as far back as the early 1950s -- not exactly a "recent" discovery. Again, once we get beyond the claim that the antiquity of this prayer is a just discoverd scoop, some of the commentators insights are valuable. The spiritual comments on the Akathistos Hymn are also insightful, but I would have preferred that the commentator say outright that St. Romanos the Melodist MAY have been its author; there are good arguments for its attribution to St. Romanos, but there are also good arguments against it, and as the jury is still out. Needless to say, the Akathist is such a loveley hymn on its own right, that its attribution to St. Romanos adds no authority to it; if anything, it adds honor to the great Melodist.
I give the book two stars for its valuable and beautiful insights; if it wasn't marred by the gratuitously sensationalist claims to "secrecy" or "discovery" (which make it sound like an orthodox answer to thr Da Vinci Code!) I would have given it a rather higher rating.
This publisher tends to play this kind of game, and should be discouraged from it.

I bought the book because our parish was having a deeper look at Mary and our priest chose this book. I was very pleased with it and learned more about my own Greek Catholic, Byzantine Rite, religion in the text. I highly recommend this informative read.

Award-winning author Frederica Mathewes-Green presents The Lost Gospel of Mary: The Mother of Jesus in Three Ancient Texts, an examination of the theological and cultural questions as well as the historical background offered by three sacred texts. The first is "The Gospel of Mary", a story of the Virgin Mary's life from her conception to the birth of Jesus, written circa AD 150; the second is the oldest known prayer to Mary, found on papyrus in Egypt and dated to the third century; the third is "The Annunciation Hymn", written by the Syrian poet Romanos circa AD 520 and widely considered a classic of Eastern Christian poetry, still sung in Eastern Orthodox churches throughout the modern world today. Combined, the texts offer a wondrous spiritual viewpoint into the mother of the Lord. Written from the perspective of a devout believer, The Lost Gospel of Mary is a welcome addition to Christian spirituality shelves.

Sadly, I must largely concur with the last reviewer. This is a beautiful book in many respects, and the texts have a significant place in Christian mythology (which is not a denigration) and devotion.

I disagree with the last reviewer regarding the overall value of the Protevangelion of James. This ancient text indeed reveals ignorance of Jewish customs; yet, notwithstanding this, many of its images have persisted down the ages and no one should assume that it is all simplicity and naivete. Underneath there is what appears to be substantial Christological awareness, veiled in the simple fictional images of a tale well told. Nothing surprising should be seen in this -- it's a venerable storytelling tradition along the lines of such books as Tobit, Judith, and Jonah.

What is problematic is the sensational suggestion that these texts were ever "lost". It gets attention perhaps from a certain type of readership, but it smacks of false advertising for reasons of making sales. I'm all for making sales, especially when the texts are so well worth making available; but I dislike such disingenuous and misleading packaging.

The book started out sketchy with very little original information.
From the conception of Jesus,however, it provided more substance.
I enjoyed the book.

The book was very interesting and a good read. I'm not sure how much new information or belief this book gave me. It was good but didn't hit me between the eyes as a book that I would want to read again.