List of gospels

Gospels are written records of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The term originally referred to the Christian message that was preached and later evolved to refer to the books in which the message was written.
Gospels are a genre of ancient biography in early Christian literature. The [Development of the Development of the New Testament canon|New Testament canon|New Testament] includes four canonical gospels, but there are many gospels not included in the biblical canon. These additional gospels are referred to as either New Testament apocrypha or pseudepigrapha. Some of these texts have had an impact on Christian traditions, including various forms of iconography.

Canonical gospels

Hypothesized sources of the synoptic gospels

Q source – Q is a material common to Matthew and Luke, but not found in Mark
M source – M is a material unique to Matthew
L source – L is a material unique to Luke

Hypothesized sources of the Gospel of John

Signs Gospel – narrative of the Seven Signs
Discourses Gospel – source of the discourse material

Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

Closely related to the Canonical Gospels

Gospel of Marcion – 2nd century, closely related to the Gospel of Luke

Gnostic gospels

Gospel of Thomas – a gospel of non-canonical sayings, also known as the Coptic Gospel of Thomas
Gospel of Basilides – composed in Egypt around 120–140 AD, thought to be a Gnostic gospel harmony of the canonical gospels
Gospel of Truth – mid-2nd century, departed from earlier Gnostic works by defending the physicality of Christ and his resurrection
Gospel of the Four Heavenly Realms – mid-2nd century, thought to be a Gnostic cosmology, most likely in the form of a dialogue between Jesus and his disciples
Gospel of Mary – 2nd century Gnostic text
Gospel of Judas – 2nd century, documents Gnostic teachings in the form of a dialogue between Jesus and Judas
Greek Gospel of the Egyptians – composed second quarter of the 2nd century
Gospel of Philip – 3rd century non-canonical sayings
Gospel of the Twelve Apostles – a Syriac language gospel titled the Gospel of the Twelve, this work is shorter than the regular gospels and seems to be different from the lost Gospel of the Twelve
Gospel of Perfection – 4th century, an Ophite poem that is only mentioned once by a single patristic source, Epiphanius, and is referred to once in the 6th century Syriac Infancy Gospel
Coptic Gospel of the Egyptians – also called Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit

Jewish-Christian gospels

Gospel of the Hebrews – consisting of seven citations by Epiphanius
Gospel of the Nazarenes – consisting of citations and marginal notes by Jerome and others
Gospel of the Ebionites – a fragmented gospel harmony of the Synoptic Gospels, modified to reflect the theology of the writer
Gospel of the Twelve – a lost gospel mentioned by Origen as part of a list of heretical works

Infancy gospels

Armenian Infancy Gospel
Protoevangelium of James
Libellus de Nativitate Sanctae Mariae – Gospel of the Nativity of Mary
Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew
History of Joseph the Carpenter
Infancy Gospel of Thomas
Latin Infancy Gospel – also known as the "J Composition"
Syriac Infancy Gospel

Other gospels

Gospel of the Lots of Mary – Coptic collection of 37 oracles; around 500 AD

Partially preserved gospels

Gospel of Peter

Fragmentary preserved gospels

Fragmentary gospels are those preserved from primary sources.

Gospel of Eve – mentioned only once by Epiphanius around 400 AD, who preserves a single brief passage in quotation
Gospel of Mani – 3rd century, attributed to the Persian Mani, the founder of Manichaeism
Gospel of the Savior – a highly fragmentary 6th century manuscript based on a late 2nd or early 3rd century original
Coptic Gospel of the Twelve – late 2nd century Coptic language work, although often equated with the Gospel of the Ebionites, it appears to be an attempt at retelling the Gospel of John in the pattern of the Synoptics

Reconstructed gospels

Reconstructed gospels are those preserved from secondary sources and commentaries.

Secret Gospel of Mark – the legitimacy of this gospel is a subject of debate, as the single source mentioning it is considered by many to be a modern forgery and was lost before it could be independently authenticated
Gospel of Matthias – a lost text from the New Testament apocrypha; the content has been surmised from descriptions in works by church fathers

Lost gospels

Gospel of Cerinthus – around 90–120 AD according to Epiphanius, this is a Jewish gospel identical to the Gospel of the Ebionites; according to the Hebrews, it was apparently a truncated version of the Gospel of Matthew
Gospel of Apelles – mid to late 2nd century, a further edited version of Marcion's edited version of Luke
Gospel of Valentinus
Gospel of the Encratites
Gospel of Andrew – mentioned by two 5th century sources who list it as apocryphal
Gospel of Bartholomew – mentioned by two 5th century sources, Jerome and Gelasian Decree, that both list it as apocryphal
Gospel of Hesychius – mentioned only by Jerome and the Gelasian Decree, both of which list it as apocryphal
Gospel of Lucius – mentioned only by Jerome and the Gelasian Decree, which list it as apocryphal
Gospel of Merinthus – mentioned only by Epiphanius; thought by most to be the Gospel of Cerinthus, with the confusion due to a scribal error
An unknown number of other Gnostic gospels not cited by name
Gospel of the Adversary of the Law and the Prophets
Memoirs of the Apostles – a lost narrative of the life of Jesus, mentioned by Justin Martyr; the passages quoted by Justin may have originated from a gospel harmony of the Synoptic Gospels composed by Justin or his school

Fragments of possibly unknown or lost (or existing) gospels

Fragmentary gospels are those preserved from primary sources.

Papyrus Egerton 2 – late 2nd century manuscript of a possibly earlier original; contents parallel John 5:39–47, 10:31–39; Matthew 1:40–45, 8:1–4, 22:15–22; Mark 1:40–45, 12:13–17; and Luke 5:12–16, 17:11–14, 20:20–26, but differ textually; it also contains an incomplete miracle account which has no equivalent in the canonical Gospels
Fayyum Fragment – a fragment of about 100 Greek letters in 3rd century script; the text seems to parallel Mark 14:26–31
Oxyrhynchus Papyri – fragments #1, 654, and 655 appear to be fragments of Thomas; #210 is related to Matthew 7:17–19 and Luke 6:43–44 but not identical to them; #840 contains a short vignette about Jesus and a Pharisee not found in any known gospel, the source text is probably mid-2nd century; #1224 consists of paraphrases of Mark 2:17 and Luke 9:50
Gospel of Jesus' Wife – a fragment based on the Gospel of Thomas, suspected as a modern forgery
Papyrus Berolinensis 1171 – Book of Enoch, 0–6th century Greek fragment, possibly from an apocryphal gospel or amulet based on John
Papyrus Cairensis 10735 – 6th or 7th century Greek fragment, possibly from a lost gospel, may be a homily or commentary
Papyrus Merton 51 – fragment from an apocryphal gospel or a homily on Luke 6:7
Strasbourg Fragment – fragment of a lost gospel, likely related to Acts of John

Medieval gospels

Gospel of the Seventy – a lost 8th or 9th century Manichean work
Gospel of Nicodemus – a post-10th century Christian devotional work in many variants; the first section is highly dependent upon the 5th century Acts of Pilate
Gospel of the Secret Supper – a 12th century Cathar scripture
Gospel of Barnabas – a 16th century harmony of the four canonical gospels with Islamic elements, probably of Spanish or possibly Italian origin

Modern gospels

19th Century

20th Century

Gospel of the Childhood of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to St. Peter
Crucifixion of Jesus, by an Eyewitness
The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ
The Fifth Gospel
Jehoshua the Nazir
Gospel of Josephus
The Mystical Life of Jesus – based heavily on The Aquarian Gospel, where entire chapters were plagiarized
Essene Gospel of Peace
The Urantia Book
The Poem of the Man-God
The Fifth Gospel
The Jesus Scroll
The Gospel Given at Ares
Gospel of Jesus According to Gabriele Wittek
The Fifth Gospel, Novel