Harvard Professor Finds Scrap of Papyrus Suggesting Jesus Was Married

Karen L. King, a historian of early Christianity at Harvard University’s divinity school, has identified a scrap of fourth-century Egyptian papyrus that contains a reference to Jesus’ wife. The document, if authentic, could show that some early Christians believed Jesus was married, The Boston Globe reports. The fragment is smaller than a business card and appears to have been torn from the pages of a primitive book. Ms. King emphasized that the piece of papyrus—which she calls “The Gospel of Jesus’s Wife”—does not prove that Jesus was married. She will discuss her discovery at a gathering of Coptic scholars in Rome on Tuesday.