Secret Mark

The Secret Gospel of Mark is a longer, mystical version of the traditional Gospel of Mark, purportedly written by the apostle shortly after Peter's martyrdom. Adding to the events of canonical Mark, the text includes perplexing passages, such as those depicting a spiritually intimate and perhaps even sexual relationship between Jesus and the naked fugitive of Mark 14:51. Though academics contest the apparent homoerotic undertones of the account, Secret Mark has nonetheless spurred scholarly debates on the social organization of early Christian communities.

Most of what we know about this gospel comes from the following epistle purportedly attributed to Clement. According to this letter, Mark had written this gospel exclusively for the spiritually advanced and entrusted it with the elders of the church of Alexandria. Unfortunately, the Carpocrations — advised by their demonic co-conspirators — enslaved one of the presbyters, forcing him to reveal this secret gospel, which they then altered and circulated. Moved to correct the record on the most dramatic passages, Clement propounds a secret exegesis meant only for those initiated into the higher mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven.

It must be noted that a meaningful minority of scholars allege that its discoverer, Morton Smith, fabricated the document. Unfortunately, the document was lost before it could be physically examined due to mismanagement at a library in Jerusalem. Arguments can be made both ways, and we won't attempt to provide a balanced or comprehensive analysis. Nevertheless our translator, Dr. Zinner, is pursuaded Smith did not forge the document. This is primarily due to the testimony of his colleagues, who insist Smith lacked the skills needed to forge the manuscript and that he couldn't compose such an intricate work in Greek.

Note: you can read along with our audiobook here.


Other Gospels proudly presents as part of our Open Scriptures Initiative. The Greek text was translated by Samuel Zinner and edited by Mark Mattison via our financial support.

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How to cite:

Zinner, Samuel. . Translated by Samuel Zinner, edited by Mark Mattison, technical editing by Rachel Bousfield. Other Gospels. (accessed ).