Book of the Secret Supper
The Book of the Secret Supper (Cena Secreta), also known as Interrogatio Iohannis (The Questions of John), The Book of John the Evangelist and The Gospel of the Secret Supper was a
Two manuscripts survive; one was found in the archives of the Inquisition in the French town of Carcassonne in Languedoc, a Cathar stronghold, and the other was kept in the National Library of Vienna, Austria. There are significant differences between the two texts indicating independent manuscript traditions.[2]
A postscript added to the Carcassonne manuscript by the Inquisitors states, "This is the Secret of the heretics of Concorrezzo, brought from Bulgaria by Nazarials, their bishop. It is full of errors."[3]
Contents
The Book of the Secret Supper is a
Creation
The book begins with the story of the
, the creator of evil. The book exhibits a mitigated dualism by stating that Satan was a former angel of God before falling, shining white before his fall and burning red after.Jesus tells John how Satan took over the semi-created world, descending from the
Nativity
Jesus then describes his own birth, telling John that the Father sent an angel, in the form of
Last Judgement
The final part of the book is a description of the
See also
References
- ISBN 978-1590306314.
- ^ Owens, Lance S. "Interrogatio Johannis". The Gnostic Society Library - Cathar Texts and Rituals. The Gnostic Society Library. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
- ISBN 978-0231096324.
- ^ a b "Cathar Texts: Interrogatio Johannis (The Book of John the Evangelist)". gnosis.org. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
Sources
- Benoist, I., "Histoire des Albigeois et des Vaudois ou Barbets" (1691)
- Thilo, J. K., "Codex apocryphus Novi Testaments" (1832)
- Reitzenstein, R. "Die Vorgeschichte der christlichen Taufe" (1929)
- ISBN 978-0198261216
- Wakefield, Walter L. & Evans, Austin P. "Heresies of the High Middle Ages" New York: Columbia Univiversity Press (1991) ISBN 978-0231096324