"The Gospel of Philip is best known for its portrayal of the physical relationship shared by Jesus and his most beloved disciple, Mary Magdalene. Because it ran counter to Church dogma, however, which condemned "the works of the flesh," Philip's gospel was suppressed and eventually lost until rediscovered at Nag Hammadi in 1947. Orthodox theologian Jean-Yves Leloup's translation of the gospel from the Coptic and his analysis of this scripture are presented here for the first time in English. What emerges from this important source text is a restoration of the sacred initiatic union between the male and the female principles that was once at the heart of Christianity's sacred mystery."--BOOK JACKET.