The Apocryphon of

John Collection
(The Secret Revelation of
John - The Secret Book of
John)
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I have come to teach you about

what is, and what was, and what
will be
in order for you to understand
the invisible world, and the
world that is visible,
and the immovable race of
perfect humanity. - - The
Apocryphon of John
Introduction
Among the several dozen ancient
Gnostic manuscripts rediscovered
in modern times, the Secret Book
of John is generally agreed to be
the most important. It has been
called the locus classicus for the
Gnostic mythological system – in
sum, it is the preeminent “Gnostic
Gospel”, a sacred reservoir for the
defining essence of Gnostic myth
and revelation. It breathes with
the life of vision that vitalized
early Christianity, a life
suppressed and then largely
forgotten in later ages. From a
modern reading of this crucially
important and recently
rediscovered "Gospel", we are
granted fundamental insights into
the lost foundations of Christian
tradition.
Apocryphon Iohannis – the
Apocryphon of John – is the title
that appears on the original
manuscripts, and by this title the
text has been known in scholarly
circles over the last fifty years. In
Greek, apocryphon literally means
“hidden” or “secret”, thus in
recent popular literature the title is
usually translated as either the
Secret Book of John or The Secret
Revelation of John.

By its
own declaration, the Secret Book
of John is a sacred text intended to
be shared only with individuals
properly prepared to receive its
revelation. In second-century
Christian communions circulation
of the text probably remained
restricted. Amazingly, despite
limited circulation and the
effective later efforts by evolving
Christian orthodoxy to destroy all
such “heretical” scriptures, four
separate manuscripts of the SBJ
have survived into our own age.
Three of these were found among
the Nag Hammadi codices
discovered in 1945, while a fourth
copy was independently recovered
fifty years earlier from another
site in Egypt. All four versions
date to the fourth century. Three
of the four appear to be
independently produced Coptic
translations of an original text in
Greek. Two of the four
manuscripts (NHC II and NHC
IV) are so similar that they most
likely represent copies of a single
common source.

To put in context the uniqueness

of finding four complete copies of
a document of this extreme
antiquity, note that we possess
only two fairly complete
manuscripts of the canonical
gospels of equal age (the Codex
Vaticanus and Sinaiticus). Only a
few fragments of canonical texts
with dates of creation earlier than
the fourth century have survived.
These four manuscripts of the
Apocryphon of John represent
some of the oldest known
surviving books. From the ancient
sands of Egypt, they come to our
modern age bearing a timeless
message.
The Secret Book of John is the
one Gnostic text every student
seeking to understand the roots of
ancient Christianity must read. At
first reading it will seem unlike
anything encountered in the New
Testament -- excepting perhaps
the Apocalypse of John. Like the
Apocalypse, this too is a
revelation text, a secret and sacred
vision. It is the story of God, and
by reflection, the story of
Humankind -- a penetrating
psychological reflection on the
source of consciousness and the
existential predicament of an
eternal light indwelling life. It is
not an intellectual curiosity, nor is
it a text to be "surfed", in the
perverse sense of modern internet
reading. As Prof Karen King
notes:
In antiquity, readers studied the
Secret Revelation of John in order
to perfect the divine image of their
souls; it was composed, translated,
and distributed largely to further
salvation—or to refute its claims
to aid in salvation. In the modern
world, however, it has rarely been
read with such goals in mind. It
usually finds its place either in the
theology of orthodox Christianity
as a chapter on Gnostic heresy or
in disputes about the historical
origins and definition of
Gnosticism. Within the academy
more narrowly its value largely
has to do with intellectual
production and prestige, including
concerns about tenure and
promotion—salvation, if you will,
of a rather different sort. As the
Secret Revelation of John
becomes known more widely, we
may expect it to have new and
varied impacts on early Christian
historiography, constructive
theology, and personal
appropriation. In any case,
modern readers do not stand
outside the work's history, but take
it up on a new historical stage.
(King, p 23)
The resources in this collection
are intended to assist study of the
Secret Revelation -- the Secret
Book, the Apocryphon -- of John,
to help it become more widely
known, to aid the "personal
appropriation" by modern readers
who now surprisingly find
themselves part of its history.
In addition to the materials
presented here, we strongly advise
serious students obtain two
excellent books. The first is
Stevan Davies' superb new
translation of The Secret Book of
John. Davies has produced a
readable translation that is
profoundly true to the source
material: it is both accurate and
beautiful. Davies' translation is
accompanied by an excellent
verse by verse commentary on
facing pages. For any reader, this
is the place to start. The second
book is Karen King's The Secret
Revelation of John. This is an
extensive and scholarly -- but still
very readable -- study of the text
and the cultural milieu that
influenced and in turn was
influenced by the Apocryphon
Iohannis.
-- Lance Owens

Online Editions of the

Apocryphon of John

The Secret Book of John

by Stevan Davies
Buy the Book

Four translations of the

Apocryphon of John are available
in our Library collection. It must
be remembered that there are four
separate manuscripts of the text,
each with some variation. Most
translations reference the text of
all four to develop a single
coherent English version. This is
the case with the first two
translations listed.
Stevan Davies Translation --
Davies renders the text in a free-
verse format that greatly enhances
its beauty and intelligibility. This
is the translation we recommend
to readers meeting the text for the
first time.
Frederik Wisse Translation --
Prepared for the Nag Hammadi
Library in English, this is an
accurate and widely-referenced
translation, however the 1995
Wisse & Waldstein scholar's
edition (below) provides what we
judge to be a much improved
rendering of the texts.
It is instructive to see how and
where the different manuscripts
vary textually. To allow this, we
provide editions of the Waldstein
and Wisse translations of both the
long version (from NHL Codex
II,1 and Codex IV,1) and short
version (from NHL Codex III,1
and Berlin Codex BG 8502,2) of
the Apocryphon of John.
Michael Waldstein and Frederik
Wisse Translation -- This is the
scholar's edition, providing
comparative translations of each
of the four surviving manuscripts
of the Apocryphon of John.
Short Version (NHL Codex III,1
and Berlin Codex BG 8502,2)
Long Version (NHL Codex II,1
and Codex IV,1)

Print Editions of the

Apocryphon of John
In addition to the materials
presented here, we strongly advise
serious students obtain one or two
of the following print editions of
the Apocryphon of John. Each of
these three volumes has a
different scope and focus.
The Secret Book of John,
translation & annotation by
Stevan Davies, Skylight Paths
Publishing, 2005
Our first recommendation is
Stevan Davies' superb new
translation of The Secret Book of
John. Davies has produced a
readable translation that is
profoundly true to the source
material: it is both accurate and
beautiful. The author provides a
useful and detailed verse by verse
commentary on facing pages. For
any reader, this is currently the
place to start. (Dr. Davies has
given us permission to include his
translation in this collection,
however the commentary is only
available in the print edition.)
Stevan Davies is Professor
Religious Studies, College
Misericordia. Buy the Book
Read an excerpt from the
Introduction.
The Secret Revelation of John,
by Karen King, Harvard
University Press, 2006
 The Secret Revelation of John
by Karen King
Buy the Book
The second recommended book is
Karen King's The Secret
Revelation of John. This is an
extensive and scholarly -- but still
very readable -- study of the text
and the cultural milieu that both
influenced, and in turn was
influenced by, the Apocryphon
Iohannis. Included are translations
of the "short" and "long" version
of the text (based on the Waldsein
and Wisse edition), an in-depth
analysis, an extensive multi-
faceted commentary, and copious
academic notes and citations.
Karen King is Winn Professor of
Ecclesiastical History, Harvard
University. Buy the Book
Read an excerpt from the
Introduction.

The Apocryphon of John:

Synopsis of Nag Hammadi
Codices II,1;III,1; and IV,1 with
BG 8502,2 by Michael
Waldstein and Frederik Wisse,
Brill Academic Pub, 1995
The authoritative academic
translation of the Apocryphon of
John, prepared by two leading
Coptic scholars. All current
translations of the manuscripts
reference this edition. While not
suited for the casual student, every
serious scholar will be eventually
wish to consult this text.We have
included a translation of both the
long and short versions of the
Apocryphon of John base on this
edition in our online collection.
(Like all the academic books
published by Brill, this volume
usually sells for around $100.)
Buy the Book

The Gnostic Gospels of Jesus,

edited and translated by Marvin
Meyer, HarperSanFrancisco, 2005
This is our top recommendation
for readers beginning their
exploration of the Gnostic
scriptures. Over the last three
decades Prof. Marvin Meyer has
distinguished himself as a
singularly talented translator and
commentator. In this new
collection, the best of several
that he has now published, Meyer
presents twelve key Gnostic
"gospels"-- including the Secret
Book of John -- in succinct,
accurate and highly readable new
translations. Each text is given a
useful explanatory introduction. If
you do not already own a
collection of the principal Gnostic
scriptures, you will want this
book. Buy the Book

Gnostic Texts from the

Tradition of John
In early Christianity there existed
traditions, often geographical
localized, that honored a specific
Christian apostolic figure as
primary patron and initiatory
source. The tradition of John
was prominent among
these. Scholars generally accept
that several voices conveyed the
traditions and authored the texts
attributed to the apostolic figure
of John -- and they recognize in
this tradition a distinctive vision
of Christ and His message. Of
course, even the most casual
students note that the Gospel of
John and the Apocalypse of John
are unlike anything else in the
New Testament.
During the second and third
century, some factions within the
early Christian movement
considered the tradition of John to
be dangerously admixed with
Gnostic heresy to the point of
rejecting the Gospel of John as a
Gnostic forgery. For many
centuries it was argued that the
Revelations of John should not be
part of the canon of Christianity.
That extreme view reflects a
fact well recognized by modern
scholarship: the tradition that
claimed to speak in the name of
John was intertwined with
esoteric, visionary inclinations
associated with Christian
Gnosticism. Orthodox Christianity
has perpetually labored to
embrace John, and at the same
time, extract John from the deep
running Gnostic currents that
suffused Johannine tradition.
The Secret Book of John is one
evidence of this supressed
"Gnostic" view and veneration
of John. In complement to the
Secret Book of John, another
remarkable "voice of John" has
survived within a text known as
the Acts of John.
The Hymn of Jesus and The
Mystery of the Cross from the
Acts of John
These two readings are taken from
the Acts of John, a text dating
from the early second century
(perhaps as early as A.D. 130) and
preserved for two millennia within
orthodox archives. The passages
here, comprising sections 96 to
102 of the Acts of John, unfold a
movingly poetic statement of the
Gnostic vision of Christ,
presented through the voice of the
Apostle John.

For a detailed introduction and

commentary on the texts, see The
Hymn of Jesus by G.R.S. Mead.
The Hymn of Jesus by G.R.S.
Mead. A commentary and analysis
of the Hymn text in the Acts of
John.
The Acts of John Complete text
of the Acts of John.

The first known Gospel

commentary was a commentary
on the Gospel of John written
around 170 AD. It was authored
by a prominent Gnostic Christian
and disciple of Valentinus,
Heracleon. While the Secret
Revelation of John and the hymn
text in the Acts of John reflect the
esoteric and visionary side of the
John tradition, Heracleon's
commentary illustrates the public
exegetical energy of the Gnostic
memory of John.
Heracleon: Fragments from the
first Commentary on the Gospel
of John
Though the complete text of
Heracleon's commentary has been
lost, portions are preserved in the
surviving sections of Origen's
commentary on John, written
about fifty years later (perhaps
around 230 AD). In his
commentary, Origin extensively
quotes and then responds to
Heracleon. For an extensive
analysis of Heracleon's
Commentary, see: Elaine H.
Pagels, The Johannine Gospel in
Gnostic Exegesis: Heracleon's
Commentary on John (Nashville
and New York: Abingdon Press,
1973). This was Dr. Pagels first
book, and is based on her doctoral
dissertation. Buy the Book
In addition to Heracleon's
commentary, we find one of the
earliest commentaries on the
Prologue to the Gospel of John
was authored by Ptolemy, another
late-second century Gnostic
Christian and prominent disciple
of Valentinus.
Ptolemy: A Gnostic
Commentary on the Gospel of
John Prologue
These fragments from Ptolemy's
commentary are preserved by
Irenaeus in his Adversus Heraeses
(1.8.5), written around 180 AD.
(Remember, the earliest known
quotations from the Apocryphon
of John appear in this same work
by Irenaeus.)

Online Audio Lectures about

The Secret Book of John
The following lecture series
presented by Dr. Stephan A.
Hoeller, a noted authority on
Gnosticism, is available for
purchase and download online in
MP3 format. This series of
lectures is based on the excellent
new "reader's edition" of the The
Secret Book of John by Dr. Stevan
Davies.
Gnostic Theory and Practice - A
Commentary on the Secret
Book of John (Available at
www.bcrecordings.net)
• Lecture 1 -- In the
Beginning: The roots of
consciousness and of
being. (86 minutes)

• Lecture 2 -- The
Structures of Divine
Consciousness: The
threefold structures of
Divine mind, from whence
all knowledge proceeds.
(43 minutes)

• Lecture 3 -- The Story of

Sophia: How the
demiurge fashioned
creation. (81 minutes)

• Lecture 4 -- How
Humanity Began: The
mysterious origins of
human nature, its esoteric
psychology and
philosophy. (79 minutes)

The Gospel of Thomas and

the Hermeneutics of Vision
In its opening words the Gospel of
Thomas offers a stunning
hermeneutic challenge: "whoever
finds the interpretation of these
sayings will not experience
death." Unfortunately, modern
readers comes to this incipit
devoid of a technique of
interpretive reading -- an
hermeneutics -- that grants entry
into the mysterious meaning
vouchsafed by such words. This
essay, The Gospel of Thomas and
the Hermeneutics of Vision by Dr.
Lance Owens, explores answer to
a compelling question: "Was
there an original tradition of
interpretation – a hermeneutic
technique – implicit in early
transmissions of the Thomas
tradition that gave an organic
coherence to readings of the text,
and if so, is that hermeneutic
method still accessible? Can
modern readers meet the
challenge of the Thomas incipit?"

Essays and Academic

Articles Online
This is a selection of the some of
the better articles available
online. We find that links to pages
outside our own permanent
collection very frequently change
or disappear. Currently, all of
these external resources seem to
be available:
(Coming soon)

Translations of The Secret

Book of John in Other
Languages
(Coming soon)

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Web Lectures | Ecclesia Gnostica |
Gnostic Society