The surviving Lost
Gospel of
Judas was mentioned in a publication by the bishop of
Lyon,
St. Irenaeus over 1700 years ago. In it, Judas betrays
Jesus Christ on Jesus' own order. Accounts on the Gospels of
John,
Luke,
Mark, and
Matthew depicts Judas as a reviled traitor who betrayed Jesus in exchange for
30 pieces of silver.
The manuscript was believed to be discovered in El Minya, Egypt during the 1970s. It was not until 2000 that it would resurface and be identified as The Gospel of Judas. Because of its fragile state, it took five years to reconstruct the manuscript to a readable form.
This document is generating controversy around the world as it contradicts Catholic Church belief on who Judas Iscariot really was.