Rending the Veil

Reveals Jesus’ secret teachings to his closest disciplesFor the many Christians longing to move beyond traditional messages of the Church, “The Gospel of Philip,” found buried in the Egyptian desert, tells of Jesus’ hidden design for human transformation. Here is a glimpse into the early Jesus movement grounded in a metaphysical understanding of the Temple in Jerusalem. Through insights from early Christian mystics, we are invited into a tradition celebrating an experience of enlightenment, triumphing over the rigidity of orthodoxy. While the imperial Church, established under the rule of the emperor Constantine, focused on external rites and set beliefs, the first Jewish followers of Jesus emphasized an esoteric experience of those rites. “The Gospel of Philip” text, illumined here, is an initiation into those mysteries where Christ is born anew, bringing a new future, a new hope, and a new world, restoring the earth as the Garden of Paradise.

It is arguably the earliest work of Christian mysticism. And like mysticism in all times and places it is susceptible to misunderstandings and erroneous accusations. Declared heretical after the church councils in the fourth century, Philip was suppressed and banned and laid hidden until being rediscovered in 1945 for a new consideration. Reexamined through the lens of a longer arc of Christian mysticism we see it at the heart of the Jesus movement based secret teachings Jesus gave to his disciples.

Ward J. Bauman was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1989 and served parishes in the Bay Area of California for more than a decade, becoming a popular retreat leader in areas of Christian mysticism as well. In 2002, he moved to Minnesota to run The Episcopal House of Prayer, a retreat and conference center on the grounds of St. John’s Benedictine Abbey in Collegeville. He invited Cynthia Bourgeault and his brother, Lynn Bauman, to join him in teaching Christian mysticism there as they began the Wisdom Schools, bringing together groups seeking deeper and practical teachings on human spirituality. It was then that Ward first began to teach from the Gospel of Philip and to introduce it to a wider audience. He coauthored with Bauman and Bourgeault The Luminous Gospels: Thomas, Mary Magdalene, and Philip. He lives in Minneapolis.