These are all forms of
Christian Apocrypha
Revelation of Paul -
Revelation of John the Theologian -
Gospel of Marcion -
Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew - part 1 -
Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew - part 2 -
Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew - part 3 -
Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew - part 4 -
Gospel of Peter -
Gospel of the Nativity of Mary -
Gospel of Mary of Magdalene -
Gospel of James -
Gospel of Bartholomew -
Gospel of Nicodemus -
Consummation of Thomas the Apostle -
Compilation of Thomas - part 1 -
Compilation of Thomas - part 2 -
Apocalypse of the Virgin -
Apocalypse of Peter -
Apocalypse of Thomas -
Acts of Thomas -
Acts of Phillip -
Acts of Peter -
Acts of Peter and Paul -
Acts of Peter and Andrew -
Acts of Paul -
Acts of John -
Acts of John the Theologian -
Acts of Barnabus -
Acts of Andrew and Matthew -
Acts and Martyrdom of Matthew -
Acts and Martyrdom of Andrew
THE GOSPEL OF THE NATIVITY OF MARY
CHAP. 1.--The blessed and glorious ever-virgin Mary, sprung from the royal stock and family
of David, born in the city of Nazareth, was brought up at Jerusalem in the temple of the Lord. Her
father was named Joachim, and her mother Anna. Her father's house was from Galilee and the
city of Nazareth, but her mother's family from Bethlehem. Their life was guileless and right
before the Lord, and irreproachable and pious before men. For they divided all their substance
into three parts. One part they spent upon the temple and the temple servants; another they
distributed to strangers and the poor; the third they reserved, for themselves and the necessities of
their family. Thus, dear to God, kind to men, for about twenty years they lived in their own
house, a chaste married life, without having any children. Nevertheless they vowed that, should
the Lord happen to give them offspring, they would deliver it to the service of the Lord; on which
account also they used to visit the temple of the Lord at each of the feasts during the year.
CHAP. 2.--And it came to pass that the festival of the dedication1 was at hand; wherefore
also Joachim went up to Jerusalem with some men of his own tribe. Now at that time Issachar2
was high priest there. And when he saw Joachim with his offering among his other fellow-
citizens, he despised him, and spurned his gifts, asking why he, who had no offspring, presumed
to stand among those who had; saying that his gifts could not by any means be acceptable to God,
since He had deemed him unworthy of off-spring: for the Scripture said, Cursed is every one who
has not begot a male or a female in Israel.3 He said, therefore, that he ought first to be freed
from this curse by the begetting of children; and then, and then only, that be should come into the
presence of the Lord with his offerings. And Joachim, covered with shame from this reproach
that was thrown in his teeth, retired to the shepherds, who were in their pastures with their
flocks; nor would he return home, test perchance he might be branded with the same reproach by
those of his own tribe, who were there at the time, and had heard this from the priest.
CHAP. 3.--Now, when he had been there for some time, on a certain day when he was alone,
an angel of the Lord stood by him in a great light. And when he was disturbed at his appearance,
the angel who had appeared to him restrained his fear, saying: Fear not, Joachim, nor be
disturbed by my appearance; for I am the angel of the Lord, sent by Him to thee to tell thee that
thy prayers have been heard, and that thy charitable deeds have gone up into His presence.4 For
He hath seen thy shame, and hath heard the reproach of unfruitfulness which has been unjustly
brought against thee. For God is the avenger of sin, not of nature: and, therefore, when He shuts
up the womb of any one, He does so that He may miraculously open it again; so that that which is
born may be acknowledged to be not of lust, but of the gift of God. For was it not the case that
the
first mother of your nation--Sarah--was barren up to her eightieth year?5 And, nevertheless, in
extreme old age she brought forth Isaac, to whom the promise was renewed of the blessing of all
nations. Rachel also, so favoured of the Lord, and so beloved by holy Jacob, was long barren; and
yet she brought forth Joseph, who was not only the lord of Egypt, but the deliverer of many
nations who were ready to perish of hunger. Who among the judges was either stronger than
Samson, or more holy than Samuel? And yet the mothers of both were barren. If, therefore, the
reasonableness of my words does not persuade thee, believe in fact that conceptions very late in
life, and births in the case of women that have been barren, are usually attended with something
wonderful. Accordingly thy wife Anna will bring forth a daughter to thee, and thou shall call her
name Mary: she shall be, as you have vowed, consecrated to the Lord from her infancy, and
she shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from her mother's womb. She shall neither eat nor
drink any unclean thing, nor shall she spend her life among the crowds of the people without, but
in the temple of the Lord, that it may not be possible either to say, or so much as to suspect, any
evil concerning her. Therefore, when she has grown up, just as she herself shall be miraculously
born of a barren woman, so in an incomparable manner she, a virgin, shall bring forth the Son of
the Most High, who shall be called Jesus, and who, according to the etymology of His name, shall
be the Saviour of all nations. And this shall be the sign to thee of those things which I announce:
When thou shalt come to the Golden gate in Jerusalem, thou shalt there meet Anna thy wife,
who, lately anxious from the delay of thy return, will then rejoice at the sight of thee. Having thus
spoken, the angel departed from him.
CHAP. 4--Thereafter he appeared to Anna his wife, saying: Fear not, Anna, nor think that it is
a phantom which thou seest. For I am that angel who has presented your prayers and alms before
God; and now have I been sent to you to announce to you that thou shalt bring forth a daughter,
who shall be called Mary, and who shall be blessed above all women. She, full of the favour of
the Lord even from her birth, shall remain three years in her father's house until she be weaned.
Thereafter, being delivered to the service of the Lord, she shall not depart from the temple until
she reach the years of discretion. There, in fine, serving God day and night in fastings and
prayers, she shall abstain from every unclean thing; she shall never know man, but alone, without
example, immaculate, uncorrupted, without intercourse with man, she, a virgin, shall bring forth
a son; she, His hand-maiden, shall bring forth the Lord--both in grace, and in name, and in work,
the Saviour of the world. Wherefore arise, and go up to Jerusalem; and when thou shalt come to
the gate which, because it is plated with gold, is called Golden, there, for a sign, thou shalt meet
thy husband, for whose safety thou hast been anxious. And when these things shall have so
happened, know that what I announce shall without doubt be fulfilled.
CHAP. 5.--Therefore, as the angel had commanded, both of them setting out from the place
where they were, went up to Jerusalem; and when they had come to the place pointed out by the
angel's prophecy, there they met each other. Then, rejoicing at seeing each other, and secure in
the certainty of the promised offspring, they gave the thanks due to the Lord, who exalteth the
humble. And so, having worshipped the Lord, they returned home, and awaited in certainty and
in gladness the divine promise. Anna therefore conceived, and brought forth a daughter; and
according to the command of the angel, her parents called her name Mary.
CHAP. 6.--And when the circle of three years had rolled round, and the time of her weaning
was fulfilled, they brought the virgin to the temple of the Lord with offerings. Now there were
round the temple, according to the fifteen Psalms of Degrees,1 fifteen steps going up; for, on
account of the temple having been built on a mountain, the altar of burnt-offering, which stood
outside, could not be reached except by steps. On one of these, then, her parents placed the little
girl, the blessed virgin Mary. And when they were putting off the clothes which they had worn on
the journey, and were putting on, as was usual, others that were neater and cleaner, the virgin of
the Lord went up all the steps, one after the other, without the help of any one leading her or
lifting her, in such a manner that, in this respect at least, you would think that she had already
attained full age. For already the Lord in the infancy of His virgin wrought a great thing, and by
the indication of this miracle foreshowed how great she was to be. Therefore, a sacrifice having
been offered according to the custom of the law, and their vow being perfected, they left the
virgin within the enclosures of the temple, there to be educated with the other virgins, and
themselves returned home.
CHAP. 7.--But the virgin of the Lord advanced in age and in virtues; and though, in the words
of the Psalmist, her father and mother had forsaken her, the Lord took her up.2 For daily was
she visited by angels, daily did she enjoy a divine vision, which preserved her from all evil, and
made her to abound in all good. And so she reached her fourteenth year; and not only were the
wicked unable to charge her with anything worthy of reproach, but all the good, who knew her
life and conversation, judged her to be worthy of admiration. Then the high priest publicly
announced that the virgins who were publicly settled in the temple, and had reached this time of
life, should return home and get married, according to the custom of the nation and the ripeness
of their years. The others readily obeyed this command; but Mary alone, the virgin of the Lord,
answered that she could not do this, saying both that her parents had devoted her to the service of
the Lord, and that, moreover, she herself had made to the Lord a vow of virginity, which she
would never violate by any intercourse with man. And the high priest, being placed in great
perplexity of mind, seeing that neither did he think that the vow should be broken contrary to the
Scripture, which says, Vow and pay,1 nor did he dare to introduce a custom unknown to the
nation, gave order that at the festival, which was at hand, all the chief persons from Jerusalem
and the neighbourhood should be present, in order that from their advice he might know what
was to be done in so doubtful a case. And when this took place, they resolved unanimously that
the Lord should be consulted upon this matter. And when they all bowed themselves in prayer,
the high priest went to consult God in the usual way. Nor had they long to wait: in the hearing of
all a voice issued from the oracle and from the mercy-seat, that, according to the prophecy of
Isaiah, a man should be sought out to whom the virgin ought to be entrusted and espoused. For it
is clear that Isaiah says: A rod shall come forth from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall ascend
from his root; and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of wisdom and piety; and he shall be
filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord.2 According to this prophecy, therefore, he predicted
that all of the house and family of David that were unmarried and fit for marriage should bring
there rods to the altar; and that he whose rod after it was brought should produce a flower, and
upon the end of whose rod the Spirit of the Lord should settle in the form of a dove, was the man
to whom the virgin ought to be entrusted and espoused.
CHAP. 8.--Now there was among the rest Joseph, of the house and family of David, a man of
great age: and when all brought there rods, according to the order, he alone withheld his.
Wherefore, when nothing in conformity with the divine voice appeared, the high priest thought it
necessary to consult God a second time; and He answered, that of those who had been
designated,
he alone to whom the virgin ought to be espoused had not brought his rod. Joseph, therefore, was
found out. For when he had brought his rod, and the dove came from heaven; and settled upon
the top of it, it clearly appeared to all that he was the man to whom the virgin should be espoused.
Therefore, the usual ceremonies of betrothal having been gone through, he went back to the city
of Bethlehem to put his house in order, and to procure things necessary for the marriage. But
Mary, the virgin of the Lord, with seven other virgins of her own age, and who had been weaned
at the same time, whom she had received from the priest, returned to the house of her parents in
Galilee.
CHAP. 9.--And in those days, that is, at the time of her first coming into Galilee, the angel
Gabriel was sent to her by God, to announce to her the conception of the Lord, and to explain to
her the manner and order of the conception. Accordingly, going in, he filled the chamber where
she was with a great light; and most courteously saluting her, he said: Hail, Mary! O virgin
highly favoured by the Lord, virgin full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou above all
women, blessed above all men that have been hitherto born.3 And the virgin, who was already
well acquainted with angelic faces, and was not unused to the light from heaven, was neither
terrified by the vision of the angel, nor astonished at the greatness of the light, but only perplexed
by his words; and she began to consider of what nature a salutation so unusual could be, or what
it could portend, or what end it could have. And the angel, divinely inspired, taking up this
thought, says: Fear not, Mary, as if anything contrary to thy chastity were hid under this
salutation. For in choosing chastity, thou hast found favour with the Lord; and therefore thou, a
virgin, shalt conceive without sin, and shalt bring forth a son. He shall be great, because He shall
rule from sea to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth;4 and He shall be called the
Son of the Most High, because He who is born on earth in humiliation, reigns in heaven in
exaltation; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He shall reign in
the house of Jacob for ever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end;5 forasmuch as He is
King of kings and Lord of lords,6 and His throne is from everlasting to everlasting. The virgin
did not doubt these words of the angel; but wishing to know the manner of it, she answered: How
can that come to pass? For while, according to my vow, I never know man, how can I bring forth
without the addition of man's seed? To this the angel says: Think not, Mary, that thou shalt
conceive in the manner of mankind: for without any intercourse with man, thou, a virgin, wilt
conceive; thou, a virgin, wilt bring forth; thou, a virgin, wilt nurse: for the Holy Spirit shall come
upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee,7 without any of the heats of
lust; and therefore that which shall be born of thee shall alone be holy, because it
alone, being conceived and born without sin, shall be called the Son of God. Then Mary stretched
forth her hands, and raised her eyes to heaven, and said: Behold the hand-maiden of the Lord, for
I am not worthy of the name of lady; let it be to me according to thy word.
It will be long, and perhaps to some even tedious, if we insert in this little work every thing
which we read of as having preceded or followed the Lord's nativity: wherefore, omitting those
things which have been more fully written in the Gospel, let us come to those which are held to
be less worthy of being narrated.
CHAP. 10.--Joseph therefore came from Judaea into Galilee, intending to marry the virgin who
had been betrothed to him; for already three months had elapsed, and it was the beginning of the
fourth since she had been betrothed to him. In the meantime, it was evident from her shape that
she was pregnant, nor could she conceal this from Joseph. For in consequence of his being
betrothed to her, coming to her more freely and speaking to her more familiarly, he found out that
she was with child. He began then to be in great doubt and perplexity, because he did not know
what was best for him to do. For, being a just man, he was not willing to expose her; nor, being a
pious man, to injure her fair fame by a suspicion of fornication. He came to the conclusion,
therefore, privately to dissolve their contract, and to send her away secretly. And while he
thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying:
Joseph, thou son of David, fear not; that is, do not have any suspicion of fornication in the virgin,
or think any evil of her; and fear not to take her as thy wife: for that which is begotten in her, and
which now vexes thy soul, is the work not of man, but of the Holy Spirit. For she alone of all
virgins shall bring forth the Son of God, and thou shalt call His name Jesus, that is, Saviour; for
He shall save His people from their sins. Therefore Joseph, according to the command of the
angel, took the virgin as his wife; nevertheless he knew her not, but took care of her, and kept her
in chastity.1 And now the ninth month from her conception was at hand, when Joseph, taking
with him his wife along with what things he needed, went to Bethlehem, the city from which he
came. And it came to pass, while they were there, that her days were fulfilled that she should
bring forth; and she brought forth her first-born son, as the holy evangelists have shown, our
Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Son2 and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns God
from everlasting to everlasting.