In translating and publishing the Gospel of the Beloved Companion, Jehanne de Quillan has made a remarkable contribution that reaches far beyond just the field of Occitan culture. Although she claims she is not a scholar, de Quillan, with technical accuracy, lays out a flawlessly logical and philosophically sound argument for accepting that this document is indeed the true Gospel of Mary Magdalene, and possibly even the original manuscript upon which other gospels, both canonical and gnostic, are based. In studying the Gospel of the Beloved Companion, one detects a singular and startlingly clear voice, speaking the truth of what the writer has experienced in the company of her teacher, and through that voice we see emerge a picture of both the man called Yeshua, and the philosophy that he taught, that is starkly different from the religion we today call Christianity.

Rai d’Honoré, Ph.D., is a Doctor of Medieval French Literature and the Interim Director of the Language Academy at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.

 

What a gift author and translator Jehanne de Quillan brings us in this extraordinary book! With this lucid translation and brief commentary, we encounter Yeshua, the fully human man whose words and presence touched, troubled, and transformed so many minds and hearts in his day. Whatever it was that people experienced in Yeshua’s presence comes alive through the clear voice of an eyewitness who truly grasped Yeshua’s teachings and embodied them. Miriam the Migdalah, the Beloved Companion, brings us to the heart of Yeshua’s message and, if we have the ears to hear, then all things are made new. Miriam’s telling of the gospel story will change forever the way Christians read and understand 'the good news'.

Kathy Spaar is a Spiritual Director and is the Coordinator of the Center for Prayer and Pilgrimage at the Washington National Cathedral, Washington, DC.

 

Imagine that you could receive a letter from Mary Magdalene, telling you forthrightly about the life and teachings of Jesus, including a path to spiritual enlightenment. You'd be reading a personal, intimate account of his works and sayings, his trial and execution, and his appearance after death to Mary Magdalene. Chapter 2 of this book, The Gospel of the Beloved Companion: The Complete Gospel of Mary Magdalene, reads like just such a letter. A first-century document, never altered to suit the needs of an institutional church, here in its first English translation, this Gospel will comfort some readers and disturb others.

Translator Jehanne de Quillan supplies historical context for the Magdalene's Gospel, compares it with other Gospels, and lets you decide about the authenticity of the document, and indeed about the relationship of Mary Magdalene and Jesus. The Gospel is so clear, and so complete, you are bound to see these two great spiritual teachers in a new light.

Marge duMond is a Copy Editor for The Atlantic magazine.