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TheGospel of Matthias is a lost text from theNew Testament apocrypha, ascribed toMatthias, theapostle chosen by lots to replaceJudas Iscariot (Acts 1:15–26). The content has been surmised from various descriptions of it in ancient works byChurch Fathers. There is too little evidence to decide whether aTraditions of Matthias is the same work, according to J.B. Matthews,The Anchor Bible Dictionary (IV:644).[1]
This Gospel is lost, butClement of Alexandria[2] while describing theNicolaitanes, quotes a sentence ascribed to Matthias urgingasceticism: "we must combat our flesh, set no value upon it, and concede to it nothing that can flatter it, but rather increase the growth of our soul by faith and knowledge". TheGospel of Matthias was mentioned byOrigen of Alexandria;[3] byEusebius,[4] who attributes it toheretics; byJerome,[5] and in theDecretum Gelasianum[6] which declares itapocryphal. It comes at the end of the list of theBiblical Canon in theCodex Baroccianus 206, formerly in the library ofFrancesco Barozzi ("Barocius") of Venice.
This lost gospel is probably the document whence Clement of Alexandria quoted several passages, saying that they were borrowed from the traditions of Matthias,Paradoseis, the testimony of which he claimed to have been invoked by the hereticsValentinus,Marcion, andBasilides.[7] According toPhilosophoumena, VII.20, Basilides quoted apocryphal discourses that he attributed to Matthias. These three writings: the Gospel, the Traditions, and the apocryphal Discourses were reckoned, byTheodor Zahn, as referring to a single work.[8] ButAdolf von Harnack[9] denied this identification.
A fictional copy of the gospel is used in the HBO seriesCarnivàle, where it describesthe show's mythological creatures, the Usher of Destruction and Avatara. A fictionalized version of the gospel is also the subject ofWilton Barnhardt's 1993 novel,Gospel: a novel. The novel relates the search for and finding of Matthias' lost work. The Gospel of Matthias also serves as a core finding in the book, "The Secret of Altamura" and as the central fact in "The Paletti Notebook" by Dick Rosano.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "St. Matthias".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
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