National Geographic revealed last week that a 1,700-year-old papyrus manuscript or codex believed to be the only known copy of the never before told Gospel of Judas, along with three other texts, was sitting in a Hicksville safe deposit box for 16 years. The deteriorated codex, removed from the vault at the North Broadway Citibank branch some five years ago, was recently conserved, authenticated and translated from the ancient Egyptian Coptic language and publicly revealed on April 6 in Washington, D.C. Experts state the document clearly translates as the Gospel of Judas as it is titled on the codex' final page. The Gospel of Judas tells a story very different to that presented in the Bible's New Testament Gospels in that it states that Judas did not betray Jesus but rather did what Jesus wanted him to do. According to published reports from the National Geographic Society, the anonymously written codex was found some three decades ago in a desert near El Minya, Egypt by villagers who sold it to a Cairo-based antique dealer known as Hanna around 1978. About two years later, before Hanna could find a buyer, the codex was stolen but Hanna recovered it two years later in Geneva, Switzerland. After being unable to sell it for a $3 million asking price, Hanna brought it over to the United States but, even after reducing the price to $1 million, was still unable to sell it to a Manhattan-based rare book dealer. Wanting to return to Egypt, Hanna, who did not speak English, received assistance from the late Rev. Gabriel Abdel Sayed, a Coptic priest from New Jersey with ties in the Hicksville community. The priest recommended Hanna put the codex in a bank vault and that's where it remained, deteriorating in safe deposit box 395 at the Hicksville Citibank, until 2000 when Zurich-based antiques dealer Frieda Nussberger-Tchaco arranged to purchase the codex for hundreds of thousands of dollars. National Geographic reports that Tchaco then offered to sell the document to Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, where it was, for the first time, accurately identified as the Gospel of Judas. Yale declined the purchase and the codex was sold to Bruce Ferrini, an Ohio-based antiques dealer, who stored it briefly in a refrigerator freezer. In February 2001, the sale fell through so Tchaco recovered the codex and transferred it to Maecenas Foundation for Ancient Art in Basel, Switzerland for conservation and translation. The codex is currently on display to the public at National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C. Following the exhibit, the codex will be donated delivered back to Egypt for exhibit at the Coptic Museum of Cairo. Experts believe that while the gospel survived for many centuries before being found because it was "hidden in the Egyptian desert for more than 1,600 years," it deteriorated severely during the 16 years it sat in the Hicksville safe deposit box. As a result, nearly a thousand broken fragments of papyrus had to be reassembled and about 15 percent of the document could not be salvaged. In July 2001, Maecenas Foundation President Mario Roberty retained Coptic scholar Rodolphe Kasser to lead an effort to transcribe and translate the codex from Coptic. Conservator Florence Darbre was retained to conserve it. Over the five years, the National Geographic Society, in a collaborative effort with the Maecenas Foundation and the Waitt Institute for Historical Discovery, led an international effort to authenticate the deteriorating codex based on five factors: radiocarbon dating, ink analysis, multi-spectral imaging, contextual evidence and paleographic evidence. "This dramatic discovery of an ancient, non-biblical text - considered by some to be the most significant of the past 60 years - enhances our knowledge of the history and theological viewpoints of the early Christian period, and is worthy of continued study by historians, scholars and theologians ...," stated Terry Garcia, executive vice president for mission programs for the National Geographic Society. As a result of the codex' deteriorated condition, gaps in the text still exist and researchers are still working to ensure that as many remaining pieces as possible are accurately filled. Kasser stated that it has been difficult to match up bottom pieces of the codex that had broken off and others that had become rearranged over the years. With the help of collaborator Professor Gregor Wurst, Kasser stated that many pieces were put back in place using a computer to record text already identified while preserving and registering gaps. When an unfinished word is located, the computer searches among the pieces not yet identified for anything that corresponds with what's missing. Kasser added that " ... there is a front and back of each page so what seems right for one side must also be right on the other." In addition, National Geographic reported that a missing half-page of the gospel surfaced in New York City earlier this year. Like the rest of the codex, it was photographed, transcribed and translated. As conservation, transcription and translation of the manuscript continues, Kasser hopes that once photographs of the preserved, unplaced fragments are in the public domain, other scholars over time will be able to fill in more of the puzzle pieces and that more of the missing pages will come to light. Researchers believe that the original gospel was written by a group of early Gnostic Christians sometime between when the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were penned and A.D. 180. and translated to Coptic between 220 and 300 A.D. In addition to the 26-page Gospel of Judas, the 66-page codex also includes a text titled First Apocalypse of James, a Letter of Peter to Philip and a fragment of a fourth text being referred to as the Book of Allogenes. The Gospel of Judas, indicated as such on the last page, was written on the front and back of 13 sheets of papyrus. Unlike what is presented in the Bible's New Testament Gospels, experts report that this particular one states that Judas did not betray Jesus but rather did what Jesus wanted him to do by handing him over to authorities for money. The Gospel of Judas reflects themes that scholars regard as being consistent with Gnostic traditions. According to National Geographic, in the very first scene of the gospel, Jesus laughs at his disciples for praying to "your God," meaning the lesser Old Testament God who created the world. He challenges the disciples to look at him and understand what he really is, but they turn away. The key passage comes when Jesus tells Judas, "... you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me," states the gospel. Judas is singled out several times for special status. "Step away from the others and I shall tell you the mysteries of the kingdom. It is possible for you to reach it, but you will grieve a great deal," Jesus says in the gospel. He also tells Judas, "Look, you have been told everything. Lift up your eyes and look at the cloud and the light within it and the stars surrounding it. The star that leads the way is your star." The gospel also suggests Judas will be despised by the other disciples but will be exalted over them. "... you will be cursed by the other generations - and you will come to rule over them," Jesus says in the gospel. Judas also reports a vision where he is harshly opposed by the other disciples: "In the vision I saw myself as the disciples were stoning me and persecuting [me severely]." A passage in the gospel also appears to refer to the transfiguration of Judas. "Judas lifted his eyes and saw the luminous cloud, and he entered it," states the gostpel. People on the ground hear a voice from the cloud, but what it says may remain forever unknown due to a gap in the papyrus. The gospel ends abruptly, stating, "They [the arresting party] approached Judas and said to him, 'What are you doing here? You are Jesus' disciple.' Judas answered them as they wished. And he received some money and handed him over to them." There is no mention of Jesus' crucifixion or resurrection. According to Kasser, the codex is significant because, for the first time, "we have Judas's testimony from ancient times in a dialogue between Jesus and Judas. Jesus explains to Judas that he must pull away from the community of the 12 disciples that don't understand issues of a higher level, and then tells him what his role will be." Kasser continued, stating, "Jesus says it is necessary for someone to free him finally from his human body, and he prefers that this liberation be done by a friend rather than by an enemy. So he asks Judas, who is his friend, to sell him out, to betray him. So it's treason for the general public, but between Jesus and Judas it's not treachery. "Although theologians have hypothesized this, this is the first time an ancient document defends this idea ...," Kasser stated. According to National Geographic, leading biblical scholars believe this alternative view of the relationship between Jesus and Judas is an important window into the minds of early Christians and offers new and important evidence of the diversity of the early Christian Church. Elaine Pagels, Harrington Spear Paine Foundation Professor of Religion at Princeton University and one of the world's leading authorities on Gnostic gospels, said, "The astonishing discovery of the Gospel of Judas ... and the many other recently discovered gospels that had remained hidden for nearly 2,000 years is transforming our understanding of early Christianity. These discoveries are exploding the myth of a monolithic religion and demonstrating how diverse and fascinating the early Christian movement really was." Marvin Meyer of Chapman University said, "It is a rare occurrence that a previously unknown gospel manuscript is discovered, particularly one that was mentioned in early Christian sources. The Gospel of Judas sheds important light on the character of developing Christianity and reminds us again of the rich diversity of the early Church." Craig Evans, professor of New Testament at Acadia Divinity College, Acadia University, in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, said "The Gospel of Judas is an important second-century witness to the diversity of Christian perceptions of Jesus and his disciples. This gospel may even help us better understand things hinted at in the New Testament Gospels themselves." National Geographic is sharing information about the Gospel of Judas with the public. An exhibit featuring pages of the codex opened at National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C. on April 7 and National Geographic magazine will feature the codex in its May 2006 issue, which is on newsstands April 25. In addition, a two-hour television special, "The Gospel of Judas," is currently showing on the National Geographic Channel and two National Geographic books, The Gospel of Judas and The Lost Gospel: The Quest for the Gospel of Judas Iscariot, are both in stores now. Additional information is also available at www.nationalgeographic.com/lostgospel.